The Hidden Cost of File Migration: Automatic Link Remediation

You planned the migration carefully. You defined the success metrics: all enterprise content moved, all permissions intact, all departmental projects delivered on schedule. On paper, everything looked perfect. But then the helpdesk tickets start coming in. Without automatic link remediation, employees can’t find what they need. Important links within documents and spreadsheets stop working. Reports are broken, presentations don’t display correctly, and productivity takes a hit. You may have hit your success metrics, but moving files is only part of the job; keeping your organization running smoothly without interruption is what defines true success.

These disruptions create hidden costs and risk the project’s ROI, making it difficult for leadership to measure true migration success.

So where did your migration go wrong?

The Hidden Migration Problem: Broken Links

If not properly accounted for during your enterprise file migration project, broken links can silently drain your organization’s productivity. They can appear in multiple ways:

• Hyperlinks to websites or documents, including HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, FTPS, or local files. These are common in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Excel references between workbooks, linking to specific cells in other spreadsheets. A small change in a file path or name can break these references.
• PowerPoint linked objects, like embedded Word or Excel content inserted using Object or Paste Special. Moving the source file breaks the embedded content.

Traditional migration methods do not automatically repair these links and references. Files may arrive intact in the new system, but if the links are broken, workflows and documents that depend on them fail. The result is lost productivity, frustrated employees, and added support work for IT teams.

The Solution: Automatic Link Remediation

While there are tools that can find and replace broken links post-migration, an all-in-one enterprise migration platform that automatically remediates links as part of the migration project will ensure that no productivity is lost. The platform will scan documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, detect broken links, and automatically update them as they move so they point to the correct location after migration.

When automatic link remediation is embedded in the migration process, employees can open files in the new system and continue working without interruption. Reports run correctly, linked spreadsheets remain intact, and presentations display the content they were meant to show.

No broken links. No lost productivity. Work continues as usual.

That’s a better sign of a successful migration.

Other Essentials for a Complete Migration Project

Automatic migration link remediation addresses this common pain point, but there are other critical factors that must be addressed for a truly successful migration project. DryvIQ’s enterprise file migration solution ensures end-to-end success by also providing:

• Full file fidelity: Folder and file structure, permissions, version history, metadata, and timestamps are preserved.
• Intelligent migration: AI-driven discovery identifies sensitive content, stale files, and redundant data, enabling cleanup and enrichment during the migration.
• Enterprise scale: DryvIQ handles billions of files and multiple petabytes across complex, multi-source environments without disrupting users.
• Ongoing governance: Post-migration insights into file usage, access rights, and compliance allow organizations to proactively manage content over time.

These migration capabilities, combined with automatic link remediation, take the headache out of the most complex projects.

Plan for Productivity, Not Just Completion

When planning an enterprise file migration project, it’s essential to look for success beyond files moved or deadlines met; these are table stakes. What truly makes a migration successful is whether employees can continue working without interruption. Broken links can undermine even the best-planned migrations.

DryvIQ’s automatic link remediation eliminates that risk, allowing teams to work with confidence from day one, alleviating IT burden, and giving leadership assurance that the migration delivered actual business value.

Learn more about DryvIQ’s intelligent file migration capabilities, or contact us to speak with an expert about your upcoming project.