Customer Case Study
Microsoft 365 Tenant Separation and Business Carve-Out Project
Project Overview
SilverCloud was engaged to support the separation of the Shoal business unit from Safehinge Primera, enabling Shoal to operate independently with its own Microsoft 365 infrastructure, security controls, and IT environment. The project required the creation of a new Microsoft 365 tenant, migration of users and business data, and transition of devices whilst maintaining business continuity and minimising disruption to staff.
Challenge
As Shoal became an independent organisation, it needed to be separated from the existing Safehinge Primera Microsoft 365 tenant. This required the migration of users, email, OneDrive data, SharePoint content, Teams structures and associated devices into a new secure environment. The project also had to preserve access to critical business information and ensure users could continue working throughout the transition
Solution
SilverCloud designed and delivered a structured tenant separation programme which included:
- Creation of a new dedicated Microsoft 365 tenant for Shoal.
- Migration of 16 users (subsequently increasing during project planning) from the Safehinge environment.
- Migration of Exchange Online mailboxes and historical email data.
- Migration of OneDrive and SharePoint data into the new tenant.
- Recreation of Microsoft Teams memberships and collaboration structures.
- Transition of user devices to the new Entra ID and Microsoft 365 environment.
- Deployment of Microsoft 365 licensing and security services within the new tenant.
- Configuration of security controls, authentication services, DNS records and email authentication standards including SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
- User onboarding, validation and post-migration support.
Outcome
The project provided Shoal with a fully independent Microsoft 365 environment, allowing it to operate separately from Safehinge Primera while retaining access to the data, systems and collaboration tools required for day-to-day operations. The migration was carefully planned and executed to minimise disruption, preserve business-critical information and establish a secure foundation for future growth.
With IT and security operations running smoothly, internal teams are now able to focus more time and energy on strategic business functions, supporting the SWA’s mission to protect and promote the future of Scotch Whisky on a global stage.
Key Benefits Delivered
- Successful separation from a shared Microsoft 365 environment.
- Independent Microsoft 365 tenant and security boundary.
- Seamless migration of email, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams data.
- Reduced operational risk through a controlled migration approach.
- Improved governance, security and management of IT services.
- Platform established to support future business growth and autonomy.