Office 365 Transition
1. What are my migration options?
To move emails to Office 365, we follow the following migration methods:
2. Which migration option is best for me?
Migration options are based on your current setup and type. Listed below are a few options, based on the setup and type of your current e-mail services.
Your Current E-Mail | Migration Options |
| Microsoft Exchange | Cutover Migration | IMAP Migration | PST Migration | Hybrid Migration |
| G Suite | G Suite Migration | IMAP Migration | PST Migration | Hybrid Migration |
| Lotus Notes | IMAP Migration | PST Migration | Hybrid Migration |
| POP/IMAP | IMAP Migration | PST Migration | Hybrid Migration |
| Zimbra | IMAP Migration | PST Migration | Hybrid Migration |
Google Workspace/ G Suite Migration
- Applicable for:
- Google Workspace/ G Suite users.
- Pros:
- All the data in your existing mailboxes will be migrated to Office 365 mailboxes including emails, contacts, and calendar.
- Data migration can be done even before changing the MX records.
- As the data migration is performed before you change the MX record, you get an opportunity to verify the data even before going live from Office 365.
- Cons:
- Cannot find any cons: Until there is an issue while creating a G Suite service account with full access.
- Things to keep ready:
| Here are the different things you need to keep ready for migration: | ||
| 1 | List of email addresses from the existing provider. | a. Once the email addresses are provided, Apps4Rent team will create the mailboxes on Office 365. |
| 2 | List of aliases from existing provider. | a. If your email address has any associated email addresses(alias) you need to get it from your existing provider and provide to Apps4Rent to create it on Office 365. |
| 3 | List of forwarders from existing provider. | a. If your email address is configured to forward emails to any other email address, then you must provide the list to Apps4Rent. |
| 4 | List of Groups/Distribution lists from the existing provider | a. If your email addresses are a part of any email group or distribution list, then you must provide the list to Apps4Rent. |
| 5 | Passwords of all users. | a. Passwords are required to cross verify the data post migration. |
| 6 | Confirm the domain is not associated with any other CSP | a. If your domain is already under any other CSP then please provide the details of the current CSP and admin portal login details |
| 7 | Admin Login | a. Services account with Complete admin access |
| 8 | Domain registrar control panel login details | a. In order to add your domain in Office 365, you need to create a TXT record in domain registrar control panel. Only post successful verification we can add the domain and create mailboxesb. Also, we would require access to change MX record and other DNS records like SPF, CNAME etc. |
- Migration checklist for G Suite migration:
The migration checklist provided is for a domain with up to 50 mailboxes of up to 50 GB size
| Checklist for G Suite Migration | |||
| Sr. No | Task | Responsible | Time |
| 1 | Share the Service account with full admin access | Customer | Day #1 |
| 2 | DNS login detail | Customer | Day #1 |
| 3 | Create TXT record on the domain registrar control panel to verify the domain | Customer | Day #1 |
| 4 | Verify the domain as accepted domain | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 5 | Create email addresses | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 6 | Provide email login details to customer | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 7 | Provide the list of groups, distribution lists, aliases, forwarders to be created | Customer | Day #2 |
| 8 | Create groups, distribution lists, aliases, forwarders | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 9 | Create end-point in Office 365 | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 10 | Initiate the migration batch | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 11 | Monitor and confirm all mailboxes display “Synced” status | Apps4Rent | Day #5-Day #6 |
| 12 | Change the MX to Office 365 | Customer | Day #7 |
| 13 | Confirm new emails have started arriving to new mailboxes | Customer | Day #7 |
| 14 | Verify the groups, distribution lists, aliases, forwarders | Customer | Day #7 |
| 15 | Perform a couple of incremental sync to ensure no emails left on-premises to sync and wait for 48 hours | Apps4Rent | Day #8 |
| 16 | Update CNAME, SPF Records | Customer | Day #10 |
| 17 | Provide the steps to configure client profiles | Apps4Rent | Day #10 |
| 18 | Configure the Outlook profile | Customer | Day #10 |
| 19 | Delete the batch to complete the migration process | Apps4Rent | Day #10 |
Cutover Migration
- Applicable for:
- Those who have their existing email on Microsoft Exchange Server in-house or with a provider.
- Pros:
- All the data in your existing mailboxes will be migrated to Office 365 mailboxes including emails, contacts, and calendar.
- Data migration can be done even before changing the MX records.
- As the data migration is performed before you change the MX record, you get an opportunity to verify the data even before going live from Office 365.
- Cons:
- Cannot find any cons: Until there is an issue with your existing Exchange server or mailboxes.
- Things to keep ready:
| Here are the different things you need to keep ready for migration: | ||
| 1 | List of email addresses from the existing provider. | a. Once the email addresses are provided, Apps4Rent team will create the mailboxes on Office 365. |
| 2 | List of aliases from existing provider. | a. If your email address has any associated email addresses(alias) you need to get it from your existing provider and provide to Apps4Rent to create it on Office 365. |
| 3 | List of forwarders from existing provider. | a. If your email address is configured to forward emails to any other email address, then you must provide the list to Apps4Rent. |
| 4 | List of Groups/Distribution lists from the existing provider | a. If your email addresses are a part of any email group or distribution list, then you must provide the list to Apps4Rent. |
| 5 | Passwords of all users. | a. Passwords are required to cross verify the data post migration. |
| 6 | Confirm the domain is not associated with any other CSP | a. If your domain is already under any other CSP then please provide the details of the current CSP and admin portal login details |
| 7 | Autodiscover CNAME OR SRV record should be pointed to the current exchange server | a. Autodiscover record must be pointed to the existing email server to create the migration batch |
| 8 | Full access permission on all mailboxes should be assigned to an email address | a. Migration batch will be initiated with a specific email address that has full access permission on all the mailboxes in the organization. If the permission is not assigned properly then the migration will fail. |
| 9 | Domain registrar control panel login details | a. In order to add your domain in Office 365, you need to create a TXT record in domain registrar control panel. Only post successful verification we can add the domain and create mailboxes b. Also, we would require access to change MX record and other DNS records like SPF, CNAME etc. |
- Migration checklist for cutover migration:
The migration checklist provided is for a domain with up to 50 mailboxes of up to 50GB size
| Checklist for Cutover Migration | |||
| Sr. No | Task | Responsible | Time |
| 1 | Get the Outlook Anywhere/Autodiscover working on current environment | Customer | Day #1 |
| 2 | Full Access Permissions on all mailboxes | Customer | Day #1 |
| 3 | Verify Full access permission: Apps4Rent Team to login to the admin mailbox and connect to other mailboxes from there and make sure the permission is assigned properly | Apps4Rent | Day #1 |
| 4 | Domain admin permissions should be assigned to admin whose credentials will be used for end-point | Customer | Day #1 |
| 5 | Provide the domain verification code to Customer | Apps4Rent | Day #1 |
| 6 | Create TXT record on the domain registrar control panel to verify the domain | Customer | Day #1 |
| 7 | Verify the domain as accepted domain | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 8 | Create Email addresses | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 9 | Provide email login details to customer | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 10 | Provide the list of groups, distribution lists, Aliases, Forwarders to be created | Customer | Day #2 |
| 11 | Create groups, distribution lists, Aliases, Forwarders | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 12 | Create end-point in Office 365 | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 13 | Create cutover batch in Office 365 | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 14 | Start the cutover batch | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 15 | Monitor and confirm all mailboxes display “Synced” status | Apps4Rent | Day #5-Day #6 |
| 16 | Change the MX to Office 365 | Customer | Day #7 |
| 17 | Confirm new emails have started arriving to new mailboxes | Customer | Day #7 |
| 18 | Verify the groups, distribution lists, Aliases, Forwarders | Customer | Day #7 |
| 19 | Perform two-three incremental sync to ensure no emails left in On-prem to sync. Wait for 48 hours | Apps4Rent | Day #8 |
| 20 | Update CNAME, SPF Records | Customer | Day #10 |
| 21 | Provide the steps to configure client profiles | Apps4Rent | Day #10 |
| 22 | Configure outlook profile | Customer | Day #10 |
| 23 | Delete the batch to complete the migration process. | Apps4Rent | Day #10 |
IMAP Migration
- Applicable for:
- If your existing email provider is using a Non-Microsoft Exchange Server such as IMAP or POP.
- If you are migrating from G-Suite or Zimbra.
- Pros:
- All your emails will be migrated to Office 365 (Except contacts and calendar).
- Data migration can be done even before changing the MX records.
- As the data migration is performed before you change the MX record, you get an opportunity to verify the data even before going live from Office 365.
- Cons:
- Only emails will be migrated to Office 365.
- Contacts and Calendar will not get migrated.
- Customer must export the contacts from the existing Outlook profile before changing the MX record to Office 365.
- Customer must Import the contacts and calendar after changing the MX record to Office 365.
- Things to keep ready:
| Here are the different things you need to keep ready for migration: | ||
| 1 | List of email addresses from the existing provider. | a. Once the email addresses are provided, Apps4Rent team will create the mailboxes on Office 365. |
| 2 | List of aliases from existing provider. | a. If your email address has any associated email addresses(alias) you need to get it from your existing provider and provide to Apps4Rent to create it on Office 365. |
| 3 | List of forwarders from existing provider. | a. If your email address is configured to forward emails to any other email address, then you must provide the list to Apps4Rent. |
| 4 | List of Groups/Distribution lists from the existing provider | a. If your email addresses are a part of any email group or distribution list, then you must provide this list to Apps4Rent. |
| 5 | Passwords of all users. | a. Passwords are required to cross verify the data post migration. |
| 6 | Confirm the domain is not associated with any other CSP | a. If your domain is already under any other CSP then please provide the details of the current CSP and admin portal login details |
| 7 | Autodiscover CNAME OR SRV record should be pointed to the current exchange server | a. Autodiscover record must be pointed to the existing email server to create the migration batch |
| 8 | Full access permission on all mailboxes should be assigned to an email address | a. Migration batch will be initiated with a specific email address which that has full access permission on all mailboxes in the organization. If the permission is not assigned properly then the migration will fail. |
| 9 | Domain registrar control panel login details | a. In order to add your domain in Office 365, you need to create a TXT record in domain registrar control panel. Only post successful verification we can add the domain and create mailboxes b. Also, we would require access to change MX record and other DNS records like SPF, CNAME etc. |
- Migration checklist for IMAP migration:
The migration checklist provided is for a domain with up to 50 mailboxes of up to 50GB size
| Checklist IMAP Migration | |||
| Sr. No | Task | Responsible | Time |
| 1 | Provide domain verification code to Customer | Apps4Rent | Day #1 |
| 2 | Create TXT record in domain registrar control panel to verify the domain | Customer | Day #1 |
| 3 | Verify the domain as accepted domain | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 4 | Create Email addresses | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 5 | Provide the email login details to customer | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 6 | Provide the list of groups, distribution lists, Aliases, Forwarders to be created. Provide email address and password of all mailboxes | Customer | Day #2 |
| 7 | Verify the passwords before initiating the migration | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 8 | Create the groups, distribution lists, Aliases, Forwarders | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 9 | Create end-point in Office 365 | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 10 | Create IMAP batch in Office 365 | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 11 | Start the IMAP batch | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 12 | Monitor and confirm all mailboxes display “Synced” status | Apps4Rent | Day #5- Day #6 |
| 13 | Change the MX to Office 365 | Customer | Day #7 |
| 14 | Confirm new emails have started arriving to new mailboxes | Customer | Day #7 |
| 15 | Verify the groups, distribution lists, Aliases, Forwarders | Customer | Day #7 |
| 16 | Perform two-three incremental sync to ensure that no emails are left in On-prem to sync. Wait for 48 hours | Apps4Rent | Day #8 |
| 17 | Update CNAME, SPF Records | Customer | Day #10 |
| 18 | Provide the steps to configure client profiles | Apps4Rent | Day #10 |
| 19 | Configure Outlook profile | Customer | Day #10 |
| 20 | Delete the batch to complete the migration process. | Apps4Rent | Day #10 |
| 21 | Migrate the Contacts and Calendar | Customer | Day #10 |
PST Migration
- Applicable for:
- In case cutover and IMAP migration fails then such customers can use PST migration method to migrate old emails to O365
- Pros:
- In case cutover and IMAP migration methods fail, you can still bring your old emails to Office 365.
- Cons:
- PST migration can be done only after changing the MX record.
- Things to keep ready:
| Here are the different things customer needs to keep ready for the migration: | ||
| 1 | List of email addresses from the existing provider. | a. Once the email addresses are provided, Apps4Rent team will create the mailboxes on Office 365. |
| 2 | List of aliases from existing provider. | a. If your email address has any associated email addresses(alias) you need to get it from your existing provider and provide to Apps4Rent to create it in Office 365. |
| 3 | List of forwarders from existing provider. | a. If your email address is configured to forward emails to any other email address, then you must provide the list to Apps4Rent. |
| 4 | List of Groups/Distribution lists from the existing provider | a. If your email addresses are a part of any email group or distribution list, then you must provide the list to Apps4Rent. |
| 5 | Passwords of all users. | a. Passwords are required to cross verify the data post migration. |
| 6 | Domain registrar control panel login details | a. In order to add your domain in Office 365, you need to create a TXT record in the domain registrar control panel. Only post successful verification we can add the domain and create mailboxes b. Also, we would require access to change MX record and other DNS records like SPF, CNAME etc. |
- Migration checklist for PST migration:
The migration checklist provided is for a domain with up to 50 mailboxes of up to 50GB size
| Checklist for PST migration | |||
| Sr. No | Task | Responsible | Time |
| 1 | Provide the domain verification code to Customer | Apps4Rent | Day #1 |
| 2 | Create TXT record in domain registrar control panel to verify the domain | Customer | Day #1 |
| 3 | Verify the domain as accepted domain | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 4 | Create Email addresses | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 5 | Provide the email login details to customer | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 6 | Provide list of groups, distribution lists, Aliases, Forwarders to be created | Customer | Day #2 |
| 7 | Create groups, distribution lists, Aliases, Forwarders | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 8 | Change MX to Office 365 | Customer | Day #2 |
| 9 | Confirm new emails started coming to new mailboxes | Customer | Day #2 |
| 10 | Verify groups, distribution lists, Aliases, Forwarders | Customer | Day #2 |
| 11 | Take backup of old email in PST | Customer | Day #3- Day #4 |
| 12 | Provide FTP location to customer | Apps4Rent | Day #3 |
| 13 | Upload PST files to an FTP location | Customer | Day #3- Day #4 |
| 14 | Upload PST files to Azure and Import following below support article (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/securitycompliance/use-network-upload-to-import-pst-files) | Apps4Rent | Day #5- Day #10 |
| 15 | Update CNAME, SPF Records | Customer | Day #11 |
| 16 | Provide steps to configure client profiles | Apps4Rent | Day #11 |
| 17 | Configure Outlook profile | Customer | Day #11 |
Hybrid Migration
- Applicable for:
- You should have dedicated Microsoft Exchange server or Non-Microsoft server in-house or with a provider.
- Pros:
- In case if you want to keep few mailboxes on-premise and rest online it is possible using this method.
- Cons:
- Data sync happens only through Azure AD server.
- Things to keep ready:
| Here are the different things customer needs to keep ready for the migration: | ||
| 1 | List of email addresses from the existing provider. | a. Once the email addresses are provided, Apps4Rent team will create the mailboxes on Office 365. |
| 2 | List of aliases from existing provider. | a. If your email address has any associated email addresses(alias) you need to get it from your existing provider and provide to Apps4Rent to create it on Office 365. |
| 3 | List of forwarders from existing provider. | a. If your email address is configured to forward emails to any other email address, then you must provide the list to Apps4Rent. |
| 4 | List of Groups/Distribution lists from the existing provider | a. If your email addresses are a part of any email group or distribution list, then you must provide the list to Apps4Rent. |
| 5 | Passwords of all users. | a. Passwords are required to cross verify the data post migration. |
| 6 | Autodiscover CNAME OR SRV record should be pointed to the current exchange server | a. Autodiscover record must be pointed to the existing email server to create the migration batch |
| 7 | Full access permission on all mailboxes should be assigned to an email address | a. Migration batch will be initiated with a specific email address that has full access permission on all mailboxes in organization. If the permission is not assigned properly then the migration will fail. |
| 8 | Domain registrar control panel login details | a. In order to add your domain in the Office 365, you need to create a TXT record in the domain registrar control panel. Only post successful verification we can add this domain and create mailboxes b. Also, we would require access to change MX record and other DNS records like SPF, CNAME etc. |
- Migration checklist for PST migration:
| Checklist for Hybrid Migration | |||
| Sr. No. | Task | Responsible | Time |
| 1 | Get Outlook Anywhere/Autodiscover working on current environment. | Customer | Day #1 |
| 2 | Confirm SSL Certificate is valid and updated on Exchange. | Customer | Day #1 |
| 3 | Run Hybrid deployment assistant and check if any pre-requisites is missing, if yes then complete it | Customer | Day #1 |
| 4 | Create TXT record on the domain registrar control panel to verify the domain | Customer | Day #1 |
| 5 | Verify the domain as accepted domain | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 6 | In Office 365 admin center start express migration page. Setup –> Data migration –> Exchange. | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 7 | It will run Hybrid Configuration Wizard (HCW) to complete the minimal hybrid setup | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 8 | As a next step, it will run AAD Connect to create users in Office 365 | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 9 | Assign Office 365 licenses to users | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 10 | On Data migration page, select users and start migrating mailboxes | Apps4Rent | Day #2 |
| 11 | Once all mailboxes migrated update the DNS records (MX, TXT, SPF) | Customer | Day #3 |
| 12 | Provide the steps to configure client profiles | Apps4Rent | Day #3 |
| 13 | Configure outlook profile | Customer | Day #3 |
| 14 | Delete the batch to complete the migration process. | Apps4Rent | Day #4 |
Important:
Even if you are using Exchange or any other email service as the source email server, sometimes, migration may fail due to the mailbox corruption at source or improper permissions at the source email server. In this case, App4Rent will not be able to do the Cutover or IMAP migration. Hence, in case of migration failures, customer must provide PST backup of the failed mailboxes in the FTP location provided by Apps4Rent.
What is the final date of delivery?
We cannot predict how long the migration will take. Multiple factors like current providers bandwidth, Average items count and the size on the current mailbox, Mailbox Errors, Server Load on the source server etc. matters how fast the migration is completed. Here is an approximate expected time table for cutover and IMAP migration.
| Sr. No | Mailboxes | Expected Time | |
|
|
| 50GB | 100GB |
| 1 | 1 to 25 mailboxes | 3-4 Days | 6-8 Days |
| 2 | 25 to 50 mailboxes | 5-6 Days | 8-10 Days |
| 3 | 50 to 75 mailboxes | 7-8 Days | 10-12 Days |
| 4 | 75 to 100 mailboxes | 8-9 Days | 12-14 Days |
| 5 | 100 and above | 10+days | 15+days |