How to Migrate Exchange to Office 365

Migrate Exchange 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 to Office 365 – How to Tips

Microsoft officially launched its cloud-based email platform (Office 365) in June 2011. Since then, many small, medium and large organizations working with On-Premise email servers such as Exchange, have switched to the cloud-based suite. The major reasons for users who migrate from Exchange 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 to Office 365 is because it provides better security and more flexibility.

Today many organizations are transferring their on-premises data to Microsoft 365. According to the organizations maintaining data on cloud storage is more cost-effective than storing data on-premises, which is the main reason behind on-premises to cloud transition. However, Organizations can not make this transition to the cloud lightly as it involves huge planning and processes to make a transition from an established infrastructure to a cloud environment.

Why Users Are Looking to Migrate Exchange to Office 365?

  • Office 365 gives you more scalability without spending on infrastructure. All you have to do is purchase email accounts for new users. The whole process of buying more storage, supporting additional devices, configuring everything, etc. It was simply removed.
  • It is cost-effective as you no longer have to maintain anything. Just invest in an Office 365 subscription and get all the benefits of our on-premises services. In addition to many other utilities.
  • Leave everything to the experts (Microsoft), this gives you peace of mind about the security of your data. You no longer have to worry about data theft or data loss due to natural disasters, technical errors, etc.
  • You don't need to worry about being up to date with software releases to the latest. Everything is taken care of automatically and smoothly. As a result, your users will not experience server downtime or any other such situation.

Issues Faced During Exchange Mailbox to Office 365 Migration

As we have indicated, applicable email relaying can be risky and require specialized supervision. A lot of things can go wrong. So only try to do it if you are sure what and how it will be done. If not, you might encounter one or more of the following issues:

  • Corruption issues can be faced in the Exchange environment
  • Increased downtime of Exchange Server
  • Slow internet connections can result in time wastage
  • Incorrect configuration of CAS server, firewalls and other important devices can result in negative consequences
  • Organization’s policy compliance issues
  • Users who are running older version of Microsoft Outlook on their local systems may face issues in email syncing

There are multiple ways of manual procedures that can help Exchange users to migrate their mailboxes into Microsoft 365 account. Users can select any of these methods depending on their requirements like the number of mailboxes and the Exchange Server that they are currently running.

Method 1: Staged Migration - Migrate Exchange 2003, 2007 to Office 365

This migration procedure is supported in the earlier versions of Microsoft Exchange. It only compatible in Exchange 2003 and 2007 to Office 365 migration. You can carry out the migration process in batches to complete the process. If you are running the later versions of Exchange like Exchange 2010 or more, then you cannot use this migration process.

Additionally, when you create a list of mailboxes for Exchange Server 2003 and 2007 to Office 365 migration, you can add upto 2000 rows in the CSV file. Thus, you can only add upto 2000 mailboxes in a CSV file. If you have more than 2000 mailboxes, then you need to create more CSV files to create a new migration batch.

The steps to use Staged Migration for Exchange to O365 are as follows:

  • Start preparations for Staged Migration
  • Verify that you are the owner of the domain
  • Make use of Directory Synchronization to create Office 365 Users
  • Create a list of mailboxes that you want to migrate
  • Create Office 365 connection with your email system
  • Migrate your Exchange mailboxes
  • Start staged migration for Exchange mailbox to Microsoft 365
  • Convert your On-premise Exchange mailboxes into Mail-enabled users
  • Route your emails to Office 365
  • Delete the migration batch
  • Complete the post-migration checklist

Shortcomings of Staged Migration

  • You can only migrate Exchange 2003 and 2007 to Office 365.
  • A single migration batch has a limit of 2000 mailboxes. For more than 2000 mailboxes, you need to create a new migration batch.

Method 2: Cutover - Migrate Exchange 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016 to Office 365

The next type of migration process that we are going to discuss in this segment is cutover migration. You can opt for this process if you are using Microsoft Exchange 2003 or later versions. Furthermore, you need to ensure that you have less than 2000 mailboxes for migration.

Although the cutover migration supports migration of upto 2000 mailboxes, it is more feasible if you migrate only 150 users or less than that. Due to this limitation, many users don't prefer using Cutover migration for Exchange 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 to Microsoft Office 365.

The step by step process to migrate Exchange 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 from on-premises to Office 365 using cutover migration are:

  • Make preparations for a cutover migration
  • Verify the ownership of your domain
  • Connect Office 365 with your email system
  • Create a migration batch for cutover migration
  • Initiate the migration batch
  • Route your email messages directly to Microsoft 365
  • Delete the migration batch
  • Assign Office 365 licenses to the respective users
  • Complete required tasks after migration

Drawbacks of Cutover Migration

  • Despite the fact that this migration process supports mailbox migration for upto 2000 mailboxes, it is highly advisable to migrate only 150 or less mailboxes.
  • It takes quite a long time to migrate Exchange Server to Microsoft Office 365.
  • Some users can lose their important emails while the DNS record changes are getting updated.

Method 3: Hybrid - Migrate Exchange 2010, 2013 or 2016 to Office 365

This migration procedure is considered as one of the most preferred procedures for Exchange server to Microsoft 365 migration. Here, you create a hybrid Exchange environment where both On-Premise Server and Office 365 can co-exist.

This method is compatible if you are running at least one Exchange 2010, Exchange 2013 and / or Exchange 2016. Thus, if you are running any of these Exchange versions, you can migrate Exchange 2010, 2013 or 2016 to Office 365.

The Steps to Migrate Exchange 2010, 2013, and 2016 to Office 365 via Hybrid Migration are as follows:

  • Domain verification
  • Start Express Migration
  • Run Directory Synchronization to create new users in Office 365
  • Assign Office 365 licenses to all the users
  • Start mailbox migration of users
  • Update DNS records

Limitations of Hybrid Migration

  • The entire process might take up to weeks for completion as it involves various synchronizations.
  • This process demands IT adminss expertise to create an error-free hybrid environment.
  • This process does not support Exchange 2007 and 2003 versions.

Quick Workaround to Migrate Exchange to Office 365 (Most Recommended)

There are several tools available in the field with which a user can make the transition. But there is a tool provided by SysTools Exchange to Office 365 Migration Tool. This is a tried and tested tool and is recommended by many experts if organizations or users are switching platforms. Take a look at its most important features and see why it is the most appreciated tool among tech professionals.

  1. Bulk Migration – The app's best feature is that it allows users to perform bulk migration work. Users can add all users at the same time and perform an Exchange to Office 365 migration in a group of 20 users at the same time. This feature saves a lot of time and makes the IT admin job simple.
  2. Assign Mailbox Priority – The software has the ability to prioritize certain user accounts to complete their export before other users. Users can be selected from a list of user resources available in the program's user interface.
  3. No Mailbox Size Limitation - This one-stop solution to migrate Exchange mailbox to Office 365 has no size limit for mailboxes during the process. Regardless of whether the Exchange mailbox is small or large, this tool ensures that all data is moved without compromising data integrity.

For users who have offline Exchange EDB files and looking for a solution to migrate them to Microsoft 365, they can read this article to import EDB to Office 365.

Exchange to Office 365 Migration Tool                     

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Step by Step Way to Migrate Exchange 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 to Office 365

Step 1. Free download this Exchange to Office 365 Migration Software on Windows OS. Select Exchange as your source platform and Office 365 as destination platform.

Exchange to Office 365 Migration Tool

Step 2. Choose the mailbox categories that you want to migrate and use Date-Filter to filter selective data.

Date-Filter

Step 3. Enter Exchange Server details in the respective fields and validate the permissions.

Exchange Server details

Step 4. Move to the next screen, enter Office 365 details and validate required permissions.

Office 365 details

Step 5. In the final step, click on Start Migration button to complete Exchange 2013, 2016, 2019 to Office 365 migration.

Start Migration

Conclusion

Migrating Exchange 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 to Office 365, is not an easy task for many organizations to perform because it is an important and complex procedure. In order to properly implement this method, without data loss and affecting data integrity, it is recommended to use third-party applications. The main reason is - it reduces all risks involved in the process and carries out the migration seamlessly with less user input. However, we have also discussed all alternative methods that may be used along with the marking limitations along with them in this article.