Migrate On-Premise Email to Office 365- Cloud services and other Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions are enormous. Microsoft Office 365 has reached over 200 million monthly active users, up from just 60 million active users in November 20151. This shift is mainly due to its functionality in working from anywhere, collaborating efficiently, always having up-to-date Software, manageable monthly costs, improved security features, and the ability to mix and match the features that best suit your needs.
If your company is ready to jump onto the cloud, you must understand how to manage your email migration. Despite being relatively old tech, email is still a prominent and essential part of the business landscape, so the migration needs to be as smooth as possible.
Migration Methods-Migrate On-Premise Email to Office 365
There are several ways to handle your email migration. Let’s take a look at the most common migration methods.
Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) migration
When you Migrate On-Premise Email to Office 365, you can use Exchange Online PowerShell or the Exchange Admin Center to migrate the data within your users’ mailboxes to Office 365.
Staged Migration – Migrate On-Premise Email to Office 365
If you plan to migrate all mailboxes eventually but want to do it over several weeks or months, then a staged migration is the best option for your business. You can’t opt for a staged migration if you plan to upgrade from Exchange Server 2003, 2007, 2010, or 2013 to Office 365.
Cutover Migration – Migrate On-Premise Email to Office 365
This approach favours companies who want to migrate over days and plan to move the mailboxes for their whole organisation. However, in Migrate On-Premise Email to Office 365, the recommended number of mailboxes you should migrate in a cutover migration is 150, although the maximum is 2000. This is because performance starts to suffer over 150 mailboxes.
Hybrid Migration – Migrate On-Premise Email to Office 365
A hybrid migration is somewhere in between on-premise and full Office 365. You can choose the administrative control you retain from your on-premise solution and the part of Office 365 you want access to. This is a common approach for companies unsure whether the cloud is the right fit for their business.
Third-Party Migration – Migrate On-Premise Email to Office 365
This approach utilises tools from third parties to conduct the migration. Third parties provide these migration services, including AvePoint, BitTitan, Matalogix, SkyKick, and more.
Migrating on-premise email to Office 365 can seem daunting, but with careful planning and execution, it can be a smooth and painless process. Here are the general steps to follow:
- Evaluate your current environment: Assess your current on-premise email environment and determine what needs to be migrated to Office 365. Determine how many users you have, how much data you need to migrate, and what email systems you currently use.
- Choose your migration method: There are several ways to migrate on-premise email to Office 365, including cutover migration, staged migration, and hybrid migration. Choose the method that best suits your needs based on the size of your organisation, the complexity of your email environment, and the features you require.
- Prepare for migration: Ensure that your current environment meets the requirements for Office 365 migration. Verify that your Active Directory (AD) is functioning correctly, that your Exchange servers are up to date, and that your DNS is configured correctly. You should also prepare your Office 365 environment by setting up users, domains, and licenses.
- Start the migration: After you have prepared your current Office 365 environments, you can begin the migration process. Follow the specific steps for your chosen migration method, and closely monitor the migration’s progress.
- Verify and complete the migration: Once the migration is complete, verify that all data has been successfully migrated to Office 365. Test email flow, permissions, and other critical functions to ensure everything works as expected. Then, finalise the migration by decommissioning your on-premise email environment and making necessary changes to your DNS and AD.
- Provide user training and support: Office 365 offers many new features and capabilities, so it’s essential to provide training and support to users to help them get the most out of the new platform. Offer training sessions or provide documentation and resources to help users transition smoothly.
Overall, migrating on-premise email to Office 365 can be a complex process, but with careful planning and execution, it can be accomplished smoothly and efficiently.
What Factors Affect Migration Performance?
Depending on the mailbox size, migration can take several hours to several days. However, other factors can also affect the performance of your migration.
- Gmail limits how much data can be extracted within a specific time frame, slowing the process down.
- The number of mail items can also affect the migration speed, even when the mailboxes are the same size.
- Your data migration engine may have its own set of limitations that slow down the migration.
- Your overall network performance and firewall configurations can also slow down the migration. Even if you have a fast network, it can slow the migration if it suffers from stability issues.
Get Migrating!
This article isn’t an exhaustive step-by-step guide to migration but an overview to help you migrate your on-premise email to Office 365.