How to Migrate Exchange Mailbox to Office 365 (Exchange Online)

exchange to office 365

TechsPlace | Many organizations nowadays are moving their user mailboxes and data to cloud storage. The reasons are simple as cloud offers easy accessibility, reduced operating costs, and better security & compliances offered in Office 365. Thus, the organizations running Microsoft Exchange Server are planning for migration. But the main query is how to migrate Exchange to Office 365 without affecting the workflow of employees.

Fortunately, there are various techniques available using which users can plan and perform the migration job. However, there are only selected tools and utilities which are trusted and suggested by tech experts. Therefore, we will be discussing one such utility using which you can perform Exchange 2013, 2016 mailboxes to Office 365 migration. We will also mention the migration techniques provided by Microsoft in the second half of the article.

How to Migrate Exchange to Office 365 Using Third-Party Utility?

As mentioned above, there are multiple ways to carry out-migration, but it is always recommended to go for a tried and tested third-party tool. There are several utilities, but experts nowadays are suggesting SysTools Exchange On-Premise to Office 365 Migration Tool. It is a one-stop solution that is considered best when you are planning how to migrate Exchange mailbox to Office 365 without any hassle.

Some of the advanced features of the tool are mentioned below which gives this utility an edge over other applications available online.

  • Migrate All Emails, Calendar, Contacts from Exchange 2013, 2016
  • Concurrent Migration: Support Migration of up to 200 Mailboxes Simultaneously
  • Include Sub-Domain Users to Migrate Data from Sub-Domain Mailboxes
  • Delta Migration: Migrates the Data that Arrived while Transferring Old Data
  • Retry Failed Items: Try Exporting Failed Items Again Without Creating Duplicates
  • Maintain Read / Unread Status of Emails Messages in Destination Account
  • OS Compatibility: Windows 10, Windows Server 2016/2012

Step by Step Guide to Migrate Exchange to Office 365 – How-To

1. Install Exchange to Office 365 Migration Tool on your system and launch it.

Exchange to Office 365 Migration Tool

2. Under Setup window, select Source and Destination account as per your choice. Here, we will select Exchange and Office 365.

Exchange and Office 365

3. Under Workload selection, select / deselect Emails, Contacts, Calendar, and apply date-filter using “From” and “To” fields. Then, click on the Next button.

Emails, Contacts, Calendar

4. Provide Exchange Server details which include Admin ID and password along with Active Directory IP and Server IP.

Exchange Server details

5. Provide Admin ID and Application ID under Office 365 details.

Office 365 details

6. Perform User Mapping (Source & Destination mailboxes) and set the priority of mailboxes if required.

set priority of mailboxes

7. Click on the Start Migration button once you are done with user mapping.

Start Migration

8. You can download the Summary and Detailed Report of migrated users.

Summary and Detailed Report

Manual Techniques to Migrate Exchange 2013, 2016 to Office 365

Staged Migration – The Staged Migration Office 365 technique is suitable for organizations that are running Exchange 2003 or 2007. It can be used for the batches for up to 2000 mailboxes at a time.

Cutover Migration – This method can be used if you are planning to migrate Exchange mailboxes to Office 365 in one go. But if we see the negative side of it, you cannot transfer a large number of mailboxes as all of them are migrated at one time. It is best for around 150 mailboxes, but you can use it for up to 2000 mailboxes. You can use this technique if you are running Exchange 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016.

Hybrid Migration – The Hybrid migration method is best suited if you have a large number of mailboxes. However, you only go for this technique if you are planning to migrate complete Exchange data over the course of a few weeks. You can use this method on Exchange 2010, 2013, 2016.

Why Choose Third-Party Tool Over Manual Method?

Many users who want to know how to migrate Exchange to Office 365 without any data loss and issue opt for third-party utilities over manual techniques. This is because the manual method has some drawbacks and limitations which can be eliminated using the automated tool discussed above.

Moreover, the users can plan the complete task in batches and prioritize migration according to their requirements which they cannot do in any of the manual techniques. Users also get all the emails and other mailbox items into the destination account without any data loss. If any item is skipped or failed during the process, then the Re-Run Migration option can be used to make sure that 100& data is migrated.

Must Read: Simple Tips for Google Apps to Office 365 Migration

Final Verdict

How to migrate Exchange to Office 365 is one of the most frequently asked questions by users today. The major reason for this is that cloud storage offers better management and easy accessibility of data. But finding a secure and reliable solution to complete the task without losing any bit of data is still a difficult task. Therefore, we have discussed an automated tool in the article which makes the job simple for organizations.