How to Migrate from Exchange to Office 365?

There are several benefits of migrating from Exchange Server to Office 365, such as not having any on-premises servers and shifting the email service along with the authentication to the cloud with Azure AD Join. In addition, you can benefit from Microsoft Teams, Automation with Power Apps, and SharePoint Online. However, the major challenge is the Exchange to Office 365 migration process.

In this post, we are going to discuss the methods for migrating an on-premises Exchange Server to Office 365.

But before starting the migration, you need to work on the following requirements:

• Decision on what subscription to go for
• Make a spring cleaning of all the mailboxes
• Decide which mailboxes to migrate and to be set as shared
• Client’s operating system
• Client’s Office applications version
• Security enforcement
• Migration method

Some of the above are technical requirements but there are several administrative tasks which the business would need to decide. Now, let’s look at the migration methods and see which method is the best.

Cutover Migration

In cutover migration, you have to stop using the Exchange Server, move the domain, and point it to Office 365. The data is then exported from the current Exchange Server and imported into Office 365 at a later stage. If you have 15 to 20 mailboxes and no public folders or complex customizations, then this method is ideal for you.

When this is complete, the users will use the new system and you need to reconfigure all the clients, import the data, and decommission the Exchange Server. If the server is decommissioned and you need to export the data, then you need to restore or retrieve the data from the offline server.

Staged Migration

A staged migration synchronizes the data to Office 365 and migrate to it in stages. In the first stage, you need to import all the older data before a specified date. After that you need to transfer the internet domain MX records to point to Office 365 so that the users will start working on the new setup. In the second stage, you need to import the rest of the data. For example, in the first stage you upload all the data with a month’s delay. After the migration, you just need to synchronize a month’s emails.

Note: This method is only applicable if you are running Exchange 2010 or Exchange 2013.

Minimal Hybrid Migration

A hybrid migration is an ideal method for seamless migration and less painful to the companies. Depending on the volume of data, the migration process will take a considerate amount of time to complete. However, it is the most secure method, with minimal disruption.

There are some limitations of the minimal hybrid migration. It excludes the following from import.

• Free/busy sharing between users
• Redirection of ActiveSync, OWA, and Outlook Anywhere for migrated users
• Archive mailboxes automatic retention

If you want to import the above, you need to go for a full hybrid solution.
There are some requirements you need to fulfil before migration. You must install Azure AD Connect to synchronize the local users with the online identities. The next step is to start the migration of data between Exchange Server and Office 365 tenant. It is recommended to start the migration with one or two mailboxes as it would be easy to troubleshoot if any issue arises.

When the migration is almost done, a cut-off date is decided. You need to complete the domain setup on the Office 365 tenant to add the remaining records. Once you finish off the records, you will be able to start using Office 365 for your business.

Using Stellar EDB Converter

You can use an EDB converter tool such as Stellar Converter for EDB to migrate mailboxes from Exchange to Office 365. By using the software, you can open any EDB file of any Exchange Server version - from 2007 till 2019. You can then extract the EDB data to PST and import the PST into Office 365 account. The application also offers the facility to export from an EDB file directly to an Office 365 tenant.

Conclusion

You can use cutover, stage, or minimal hybrid method to migrate from Exchange Server to Office 365, depending on your requirements. However, there are several limitations of these manual methods. The best and quickest way to migrate all the data from Exchange database to Office 365 is by using Stellar Converter for EDB software.