How to Plan and Execute an Office 365 Migration?

Office 365 is a software as a service; it provides multiple features, capabilities, and functionality. It allows users to add SharePoint, Skype, Exchange Server, and many other SaaS on their subscription plan. Besides this, Office 365 has plans for every type of organization and individual. It is the best way to increase productivity in any organization. That is why organizations and individuals are moving towards Office 365. However, Office 365 migration is not a task to take lightly.

If you are one of those who are planning to migrate to Office 365, then you are on the right blog. Here in this write-up, we’ll describe a few suggestions and a third-party tool, which you can include in your Office 365 migration plan.

Download a trial version of Office 365 Migration Tool to know in a better way.

Table of Content

How to plan an Office 365 Migration?

Planning makes the difference between a successful migration and a disastrous one. When preparing for Microsoft 365 migration, it is vital to plan effectively and thoroughly. You should take care number of factors for a hassle-free migration, such as:

Why are you choosing to migrate?
How will you train your staff, and how will your infrastructure change after migration?
Which is the best Office 365 plan for you?
What benefits do you expect from migration towards Office 365?

Manual methods to migrate in Office 365

Multiple manual methods are used to migrate to Office 365, such as Hybrid, Staged, and Cutover, etc. Here we will describe the Cutover Migration method. It is a process that must be completed in one go. Microsoft too recommends that, although cutover allows migration of up to 2000 mailboxes only, it is recommendhttps://www.shoviv.com/blog/cutover-migration-migrate-exchange-to-office-365/ed not to exceed 150 for better stability and to reduce the risk of many undesired errors.

Step-by-step Office 365 migration plan using the Cutover Migration method:

Firstly, ensure your source system is up to date with all service packs.
Secondly, enable Outlook anywhere to allow for remote connection to the Exchange Server (on-premises).
Make sure that your administrator’s account has full access to all mailboxes.
Add an SSL certificate with Outlook anywhere included Auto discover services.
Check that you can connect to your Exchange organization using Outlook anywhere (Optional).
Disable Unified Messaging before the migration and turn it on after the migration.
If you have security groups to migrate, then create them in Office 365 as well.
Create Migration Endpoint (Note: A single Endpoint can handle up to 100 concurrent mailboxes migration).
Create the migration batch containing every single mailbox, which you want to migrate.
After the data transfer gets finished and the TTL passes, change the DNS MX record. (It may take up to 72 hours to change DNS records).
Delete the migration batch.
Assign the licenses to the migrated accounts within 30 days to prevent users’ accounts from being disabled.

There is no question that the migration of Office 365 is like a walk on eggshells. Luckily, few vendors in the market provide Office 365 migration services and tools to ease the migration process.

How to Get Better Office 365 Migration Service While Spending Less

We provide an automated tool named Shoviv Exchange Server Suite.

It is an automated desktop-based application recommended by Microsoft MVPs and professionals. The software is developed so that even novice users can use it without having any prior technical knowledge.

With this software, users can migrate to Office 365 from 8 different sources, for example, EDB files, Exchange Server mailboxes, Office 365 mailboxes, Outlook profile stores, Outlook files (OST/PST), and etcetera.

Shoviv Exchange Server Suite can move emails, contacts, contacts, et cetera to Office 365. It can also recover corrupted EDB/OST/PST files and export them into Office 365.

Features of Shoviv Exchange Server Suite:

It allows users to recover corrupted EDB, OST, as well as PST files.
Users can migrate Exchange Server, Outlook Profile Store, PST files, OST files, and EDB files to Office 365.
It displays a preview of the added source items before the migration that comes in handy to get assured about data.
The software allows users to migrate the Archive mailbox and Public folder into Office 365.
It provides a folder mapping feature to export data from one folder to another folder. (One can also create a new folder in the target mailbox).
The software keeps a search option that comes in handy in finding a specific item.
It has a filter option to migrate only desired items based on the message class and item date range criteria.
It comes with a free trial version that allows processing the first 50 items per folder.

Office 365 migration easy as ABC:

Install and open the Exchange Server Suite.
Then, click on the Add source option.
Add source mailboxes/files and click the Finish button.
Now click on the Office 365 option from the ribbon bar.
After that, check/uncheck the subfolders and click Next.
Now, provide the Office 365 credentials and click Finish.
Following select Mailboxes to migrate and map them with target mailboxes. Then, click Next.
Now, the filter wizard will open. Use the filter option according to your need.
Click on the Advance option to use other features. Once done, click OK and then click Next.
Now the software will start the migration process and provide you with a complete log report. At last, click the Finish button.

Why Prefer Exchange Server Suite over Office 365 migration services?

Going with the Shoviv Exchange Server Suite is a reliable choice for Office 365 migration plan as with it, users can migrate from different types of sources and anytime. Also, there are many more reasons to pick the Exchange Server suite over Office 365 migration services; some of them are:

Full control over migration: Shoviv Exchange Server Suite provides complete control of the migration for users. The doer can monitor the entire migration process by themselves. Also, the software’s GUI is very convenient, and one can easily navigate the software without prior technical expertise.
Anytime and desired migration: As I have mentioned above, with Shoviv Exchange Server Suite, users have to buy the license once, and they can migrate into Office 365 anytime. And also, with the Office 365 migration service, you cannot change the migration process if your needs change, but the Shoviv Exchange Suite allows the same, and users can get desired Office 365 migration every time.
Office 365 migration from different sources: Shoviv Exchange Server Suite enables users to migrate into Office 365 from multiple sources. The added source can be EDB files, OST/PST files, Exchange Server mailboxes, Office 365 mailboxes, and Outlook profile stores.
Cost-effective: If you search the web for the cheapest Office 365 migration services, it will cost you around $5 user/month. But with the Shoviv Exchange Server Suite, organizations/individuals can purchase the software for $999 once and migrate unlimited mailboxes for a lifetime. For small organizations, we also provide standard and corporate licenses that cost $499 and $699.

Conclusion

In this Office 365 migration plan, we have described the cutover migration method (Manual method) and Shoviv Exchange Server Suite (Professional tool) along with their step-by-step process. We have also described a few reasons to pick the Shoviv Exchange Server Suite over Office 365 migration services. In the end, it depends on you what you choose. We suggest downloading and using the free trial version before investing time and money in the random method. The free version allows the processing of the first 50 items per folder.

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Jenniffer

Jenniffer is a Microsoft-certified professional and has helped thousands of clients with their Outlook and Office 365 problems. She loves to write about email clients and data recovery. She always remains enthusiastic about providing all the latest information, solutions, and advancements to readers.