While moving in the summer is hot and exhausting, moving from Box to Dropbox with the ITS Self-Service Migration Tool should be no sweat (pun intended!). Today, the Migration Tool opens to Michigan Medicine, allowing you to schedule a time to automatically move the contents of your Box account to Dropbox.
If you’re one of the 13,000+ Michigan Medicine users who has created a Dropbox account, read on (and you rock!). You’re ready to schedule your migration. If you still need to create your account, visit Getting Started with Dropbox. A Dropbox account is required before you can schedule your migration.
What You Need to Do
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Review the ITS Self-Service Migration page for information on what to expect before, during, and after your migration.
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Login to the ITS Self-Service Migration tool by July 31 (through the Self-Service Migration page) to schedule a day to migrate your data or delete your U-M Box account. Login early for the most migration date options!
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Communicate with collaborators about your scheduled migration date. External collaborations, and internal collaborations with those who have not yet created their U-M Dropbox accounts, will not be maintained through the migration process and files will need to be reshared.
If You Do Not Take Action
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Account deactivation: If your U-M Box account is not scheduled for migration by July 31, ITS will assume your account is not in use and deactivate it. Deactivated accounts will be inaccessible.
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Extensions: If you have a business reason for not migrating your U-M Box account by July 31, you will have the opportunity to extend the migration window for your U-M Box account after July 15, 2021.
More About the Process
Give me a refresher. Why are we moving from Box to Dropbox?
Due to rising costs, U-M (along with many other universities) made the tough decision to transition our cloud data storage from Box to Dropbox. We have until December 2021 to move all data out of Box. Given the size of U-M, we need to migrate the organization’s data over time. The migration tool is currently open to Michigan Medicine users and Shared Account owners to schedule their account migration.
How does the ITS Self-Service Migration tool work?
The Self-Service Migration tool allows you to schedule a time to move your data from Box to Dropbox while maintaining your folder structure, the most recent version of a file, and internal sharing permissions. If you don’t need your data, you can also use the tool to delete your Box account. Migration times with the tool vary from a few minutes to three days, depending on the amount of data in an account. Most accounts are expected to migrate within minutes or hours. All migrations take place in the evening to minimize downtime, and can also be scheduled over a weekend. You will not have access to your Box account once your migration begins.
Can someone else schedule my account migration for me? No, each user must schedule their own individual account migration. The ITS Self-Service Migration tool uses your level-1 credentials to confirm your identity.
What if I need access to Box after I migrate? We understand that not everyone is migrating at once. To continue collaborating with others in Box who have not migrated yet, contact the ITS Service Center or HITS Service Desk to request a zero data Box account. You may only request a zero data Box account after your migration is complete.
What if I still need to migrate a Shared Account? The migration window for Shared Accounts is open through July 15, 2021. If you are a Shared Account owner, please take action as soon as you can.
How will I know my migration is successful? You will receive confirmation emails once your migration is scheduled and completed, as well as a report after migration is complete. Your migration report will identify files and folders where sharing permissions were altered. Check out this article for an overview of the migration report.
How do I share Dropbox files with collaborators outside of U-M? To share Dropbox files with others (including those with and without Dropbox accounts) use shared links.
Where can I get my questions answered?
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Start with the ITS Box Migration website, which includes short videos explaining how the migration works and the differences between Box and Dropbox.
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If you have other questions, contact your Unit Ambassador or the HITS Service Desk. If your department does not have a Unit Ambassador, that’s okay! The HITS Service Desk is ready to help. Not having a Unit Ambassador simply means you’ll receive fewer reminders about scheduling your migration (so get started today).