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Decide Which Method Is Best For Your Company When Needing An Office 365 Migration

December 20, 2020 | By: Scott Lard

As cloud-based applications and systems become more common, more businesses are choosing to shift from their previous systems to trusted cloud-based communications systems like Microsoft Office 365 to experience benefits like increased collaboration, security, and productivity.

Once you’ve made the decision to switch to Office 365, the process of migrating your data begins. Given the large amount of data involved and the importance of email systems to businesses, many find that migrations can be confusing and frustrating. To help make the process easier, read on to learn the various types of Office 365 migrations and how professionals at this process  can make the process seamless.

Office365 Migration Houston

Types of Office 365 Migrations

Moving your business’s systems to Office 365 requires moving all of your data, which includes emails, calendar events, contacts, mailboxes, and more. Doing so can be a lengthy process, but it’s made easier by choosing the right Office 365 migration type for your business. There are various migration types to choose from, including:

Staged Migration
This type of migration is ideal for medium-sized companies with more than 2,000 mailboxes that are currently using Microsoft Exchange 2003 or 2007. The migration is completed by moving mailboxes and users in batches over a period of time ranging from weeks to months, depending on the size and complexity of your business’s data.

Cutover Migration
A cutover migration is ideal for businesses moving around 150 mailboxes from an on-premises Exchange system. Although this style of migration can be used for businesses with up to 2,000 mailboxes, it’s not recommended for very large businesses because the performance metrics of the migration can suffer if over 150. In this type of migration, all mailboxes, groups, and contacts are moved at one time. This typically takes a few days.

Hybrid Migration
Hybrid migration allows businesses to integrate Office 365 with their existing on-premises Exchange servers. With this method of migration, you can synch and manage users on both platforms. Hybrid migration can be used as a combination system or as a first step to a long term transition to Office 365.

IMAP Migration
Unlike other migration types, which depend on Exchange, IMAP migrations allow you transition from any IMAP email system (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) to Office 365. During this migration, the data and information is pulled from existing IMAP systems to Office 365. This method doesn’t transition anything other than email, so it’s important to make accommodations to manually migrate other data like calendar events, contacts, etc.

Office 365 Migration

How to Choose an Office 365 Migration Type

Different migration types are ideal for different kinds of businesses and situations. When looking at the available types of migrations, there are some questions to ask that will help determine the right one for your needs. These questions include:

  • How much time does your business have available for migration?
  • How large is your business’s migration?
  • What are the details of your existing email system and exchange server?
  • What is the size of your migration budget?

Get Expert Office 365 Migration Assistance

As you can see, there are a lot of details to consider when migrating If you’re unsure how to go about migrating to Office 365 or which migration type is best for your business, it’s best to work with an experienced professional. Whether your business is small or large, having an expert in Office 365 can leverage their  knowledge and experience to make the transition as seamless as possible.

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