Exchange to Office 365 Migration – Easiest Guide

Exchange to Office 365 migration has been trending for a couple of years. Office 365 delivers sophisticated services and flexibility to work. And, Exchange (on-premises) provides a primary platform for users to interact. It cooperates where administrators can control users’ access. Most organizations already use Office 365 services, and several businesses are looking for ways to migrate Exchange to Office 365.

This technical article will look at several alternatives for Office 365 migration. Also, we discuss how to migrate Exchange 2010 to Office 365 and migrate public folders to Office 365 as well.

Before we get into the Exchange to Office 365 migration ways, let’s look at its advantages.

Why migrate to Office 365?

• You don’t have to worry about keeping its programs up to date with Office 365 cloud services. Microsoft automatically schedules and manages all cloud apps. It will never experience server downtime or similar scenarios.
• Office 365’s specialized features help users maintain confidence by securing their data. There is a minimum chance of data loss, system failures, or technical issues.
• It would be best if you got an Office 365 plan subscription. Using the internet, you may access its services from anywhere and at any time. You do not need to invest in infrastructure as it is accessible on any device that supports it. All advanced features, setup advice, and a slew of different things are taken care of immediately after signing up for Office 365.
• You don’t need an extra hardware provider. It has good storage, a way to set up everything, and everything is already set up. Hence, it is now widespread to migrate Exchange to Office 365.

The above points indicate that this is a trending task, encouraging users for this migration. Now let us learn how to migrate exchange 2010 to Office 365 and public folders to office 365.

Office 365 migration plans:

You may migrate Exchange to Office 365 manually or use professional third-party software. This guide will explore these two potential Exchange to Office 365 migration methods.

1. Manual strategies:

There are two methods for using manual Exchange to Office 365 procedures. The first method exports mailboxes to PST using PowerShell instructions. The second is native deployment to import PST files into Office 365,

Manual method 1: Export Exchange Mailboxes to PST-

You may use the export mailbox or merging scripts if the mailboxes are from Exchange Server 2007 or previous versions.

Exchange Server 2010 or above may employ PowerShell’s Mailbox Export command to export and import mailboxes into Office 365.

Manual method 2: Native utilities and deployment-

There are three different types of native deployment to migrate Exchange to Office 365. You can use any of these, depending on the version of the Exchange server and the number of mailboxes.

• Cutover Office Migration:

The cutover technique of office 365 migration migrates 2000 or fewer mailboxes at a time. This process is only compatible with Exchange Server 2003, 2007, 2010, and 2013. It is not going well with the large-scale organization migration.

• Staged Migration for Exchange data: 

A staged migration facilitates the Exchange to Office 365 migration of mailboxes in batches. It supports over 2,000 Exchange Server 2003 and 2007 mailboxes. This approach cannot be used to migrate Exchange 2010 to Office 365.

• Hybrid deployment for Office 365 Migration:

Using Hybrid migration, you can move between 150 and 2000 mailboxes. It moves mailboxes in batches. Hybrid migration can transfer Exchange Server 2010 and 2013 to Office 365. It helps to migrate public folders to office 365.

These methods to migrate Exchange to Office 365 may seem simple. As detailed in the next section, they have significant limits and drawbacks:

Why manual approaches are challenging:

• It would help if you were well-versed in Exchange to Office 365 migration. Not every user migrates manually.
• These migration procedures work with specific Exchange servers. Not all versions are compatible.
• They have a restricted amount of mailboxes that they can move. They are not suitable for increased migration.
• There are no filters, searches, or previews for the source items in the processing.
• It may take a very long time to finalize Office 365 migration.

The manual techniques have several limits and complications. We will now move on to the solution provided by a professional to migrate Exchange to Office 365.

2. Professional Office 365 migration software:

Shoviv’s software is an excellent solution for avoiding all of the challenges that come with manual procedures. Users may utilize the Shoviv Exchange to Office 365 migration tool to migrate Exchange 2010 to Office 365 and migrate public folders to Office 365. You can use this software with exchange server mailboxes of any version of the Exchange server.

Shoviv’s Office 365 migration tool brings mailbox migration up to date with high-level algorithms and a simple interface.

It just asks for valid credentials for your source Exchange and target Office 365. There’s no need for additional service.

The great tool has valuable features like Email Translation and Mapping Folders that make it effortless to migrate Exchange to Office 365. Users can use CSV files by using email translation and mapping.

Closure Lines:

The preceding tutorial provided you with a thorough understanding of the Exchange to Office 365 migration. Manually, you might encounter difficulties. Using the mentioned tool is the best solution. It makes it easier to migrate Exchange 2010 to Office 365; even migrate public folders to Office 365.

This software solution has a free trial version. Using the trial version, you can get a better understanding of its works.