When you switch from Server to Cloud, getting your users licensed properly is essential. Tableau recommends setting up your Creator users first, and we agree! Working with your Creators, the Content Authors, throughout the migration process is vital to a successful migration. Once your Creators are added then you want to migrate the content so it keeps the correct ownership.
If you migrate manually, this looks like asking each of your Creators to download their content from the Tableau Server and republish to the new Cloud location, recreating any extract refreshes and custom views in the process.
One thing that is different about user set up in Cloud vs. Server is that Cloud requires users to sign in with full email addresses (ex: johnsmith@company.com), whereas Server requires just a username (ex: johnsmith) and password. If your Server currently has users signing in with simple usernames, they will need email-based credentials for Cloud, and it’s important to communicate any new sign-on procedures to your users during migration.
Unlicensed Users with Content
But what about the content sitting on your Tableau Server owned by an unlicensed user – either they have left the company or changed roles – and their legacy dashboards exist without continued ownership? How will their content get migrated?
The best thing to do is take inventory of all content owned by unlicensed users and evaluate if that content is still relevant and needed. Are those workbooks being accessed and used regularly?
If yes, then a Tableau Admin can reassign that content to a licensed owner so it can be migrated to Cloud.
If not, then the content can be decommissioned and flagged to not migrate to Cloud.
Clean House Before You Move
Not only can you clean up unlicensed users’ content but think of your Tableau Cloud migration like moving to a new home - it's the perfect opportunity to declutter! Why spend the time to migrate (and then maintain) dozens of outdated dashboards that nobody's looked at in months?
It's common for Tableau Servers to accumulate digital dust over time. That quarterly report from 2019? The prototype dashboard someone built but never finished? The "test" workbooks scattered across projects? Migration is your chance to leave them behind.
Before moving anything to Cloud, we recommend auditing your content usage. Look for:
- Workbooks with zero views in the last 6-12 months
- "Test" or "Draft" content that never went live
- Dashboards created by employees who've left the company
- Multiple versions of the same analysis
Starting fresh in Tableau Cloud with only your active, valuable content means:
- Faster migration process
- Cleaner, more organized environment
- Easier maintenance and governance
Get a Jump Start
As mentioned in our introduction post to this series, auditing your Server content and creating a Content Readiness Dashboard provides insight to which content on your Server is owned by an unlicensed user, so you can zoom in on the relevant content to make license changes before migrating.
When we handle migrations for our clients, we migrate content and make necessary changes at scale. This includes moving active users with proper licenses, content, and permissions. If needed, we can automatically reassign orphaned content to valid licensed users in Cloud during the migration process.
To get a Content Readiness Dashboard for your Server and see your unlicensed users' content, schedule a call with our migration experts below.
This is part two of our ongoing series on Tableau Cloud Migration Roadmap. Up next: Font Compatibility: The Hidden Migration Complexity.
This can be a pretty tedious process depending on how much content you have on your Server.
Taking the time to evaluate if content is still needed is well worth it in the long run — and will save you time on your migration journey.
CobWEBS...am I right?!?
Your future self will thank you for the squeaky clean Cloud environment.
If you get to Cloud and realize you've forgotten something, we can help you restore it from a pre-migration backup!