Why Migrate to Office 365?
Many organizations are rapidly transitioning to cloud services such as Office 365, driven by the appeal of having all essential business productivity applications in one centralized location, eliminating the need for costly infrastructure deployments. The Office 365 cloud platform empowers them to enhance business performance and foster growth, with Microsoft assuming full responsibility for maintenance. Microsoft's well-crafted subscription plans are tailored to meet the diverse needs of organizations, making them both versatile and cost-effective. These factors underscore why a significant number of small and mid-sized organizations are embracing and migrating to Office 365.
Microsoft 365 offers a multitude of applications designed to enhance organizations' communication, collaboration, and security. Beyond these key advantages, Microsoft 365 also delivers:
- Task Management - There are several applications that are helpful in managing business tasks and their assignments to team members like Power Apps, Power Automate, Planner, and To-Do. All these applications can enhance productivity and the quality of any project.
- Content Management - With the help of cloud storage facilities from Microsoft, the organizational data is accessible from any device or location. Also, it has applications like OneDrive for Business, Microsoft Teams, and Sway for collaborative activities.
- Intranet and Team sites - There are facilities like SharePoint and Yammer to connect with your team members for the enterprise-level social networking. It helps you create a connected workspace.
- Threat Protection - There are multiple services that work solely to protect your data from internal and external threats like Microsoft Advanced Threat Analytics.
- Information Protection - Control the sharing of information using various information protection features of Office 365. There are several applications like Office 365 data loss prevention, and Azure Information Protection for this purpose.
For small organizations, the cutover migration process is the recommended method for migrating mailboxes. This approach allows them to migrate up to 2000 mailboxes from Exchange versions 2003, 2007, 2010, and 2013 to Office 365 (although for optimal results, migrating up to 150 mailboxes is advised). Moreover, it is the simplest among all migration methods.
In a Staged migration, mailboxes are migrated in batches. This approach is recommended for organizations with more than 2000 mailboxes, especially if they are running older versions of Exchange (such as 2003 or 2007). On the other hand, a Hybrid migration is the preferred choice when an organization intends to maintain and manage both on-premises and off-premises setups for a period and gradually migrate from Exchange 2010 or 2013 to Office 365.
Here is the glimpse of the cutover migration process’s Steps in brief:
- Step 1: Prepare servers and create empty security groups (mail-enabled) in Office 365.
- Step 2: Verify your on-premises domain with your Office 365 account to ensure that you own the domain.
- Step 3: Establish connection between the Office 365 account and the existing email system.
- Step 4: Create a migration batch to export EDB files in single migration cycle.
- Step 5: Initiate the cutover migration process and then route your emails on Office 365.
- Step 6: After routing the emails on office 365, delete the cutover migration batch.
- Step 7: Assign license to Office 365 users for the exported accounts.
The process mentioned above may seem straightforward, but it is not without its complexities. Even a minor mistake during the process can lead to issues. Therefore, it is advisable to consider using a third-party EDB to Office 365 conversion tool to ensure a seamless and error-free migration.
To ensure the uninterrupted flow of business operations and email communication, it is essential for organizations to export their existing email data to Office 365. In this blog, we will delve into methods for exporting data from EDB, PST, and OST files to Office 365, as many enterprises rely on Exchange Server or Outlook as their primary email application.
Microsoft provides a range of methods for migrating Exchange data to Office 365. The selection of the migration method hinges on the organization's Exchange environment, the number of mailboxes, resource availability, and the desired timeframe for completing the migration process. There are four primary methods for migrating EDB to Office 365:
- Cutover migration
- Staged migration
- Migration using a hybrid configuration
Alternately, organizations can rely on user-friendly third-party tools to migrate Exchange to Office 365 for faster and hassle-free mailbox migration.
There are three methods for migrating PST files to Office 365: network upload, drive shipping, and using a third-party tool. Among the two manual methods, uploading files through the network is the simpler option. Follow the steps below to migrate PST files to Office 365 using the network upload method:
- Step 1: Install Azure AzCopy tool by Microsoft.
- Step 2: Copy the Shared Access Signature URL (SAS URL).
- Step 3: Import PST files in Azure location in cloud using AzCopy.exe.
- Step 4: Use Microsoft Azure Storage Explorer to view the list of uploaded PST files.
- Step 5: Create CSV file defining the PST mailboxes to be exported.
- Step 6: Create an import job in Office 365 and import PST files using CSV files.
These Steps are complex and require technical training for successful accomplishment, which is why experts recommend third party option to migrate Outlook PST file to Office 365. Tools such as Import PST to Office 365 makes migration simple and easy. It imports PST files to Office 365. Also, it makes the process quick and convenient for all types of users.
Exchange OST cannot be directly exported to Office 365. User must convert OST to PST file to migrate to Office 365. In order to convert OST to PST file format manually, follow below given Steps:
- Step 1: Open MS Outlook and click on File menu.
- Step 2: Select Export to a file option and click Next button.
- Step 3: Choose PST file/folder option then click Next button
- Step 4: Select the OST folder which is required to be converted and check include subfolders option.
- Step 5: Define the saving location for the converted file and click on Finish button.
By following the previously outlined process, users can obtain the necessary OST file in PST file format. Subsequently, they can proceed with the manual steps discussed above to transfer the selected OST files to Office 365. Nevertheless, it has been emphasized that the manual process can potentially lead to complications. Therefore, users are advised to consider acquiring a third-party tool that can save them time and effort. "Import Outlook PST file data to Office 365" is one such tool that streamlines the entire OST to Office 365 migration process.
Easy methods for migrating EDB, PST, and OST to Office 365
Based on the preceding discussion, it is evident that the manual migration process for different file types (EDB/PST/OST) can be efficiently replaced by third-party tools, streamlining the migration and making it both swift and straightforward. Leveraging third-party EDB to PST tools offers numerous advantages to organizations, saving them time, money, and effort. Additionally, these third-party tools are user-friendly and can be operated even by non-technical personnel.
