Microsoft 365 is one of biggest collaboration systems in the world with a wealth of features and tools for your business, it is easy to see why it is one of the top choices for business. With its 50GB Mailboxes as standard and 25TB of Sharepoint Storage available to every business it is easy to see why it is so popular.  Hamblett Consultancy who have been a Microsoft Certified Partner since the company was formed, have done a lot of Microsoft 365 for businesses around the world and when we say a lot we mean several a week and it hasn’t slowed down. We are always perfecting our migration techniques to make sure the transition is as seamless as it can be.

 

Preparing for the Microsoft 365 Migration

Preparation is key when it comes to migrating from one system to Microsoft 365. Whether it is a straight forward migration from a company like Ionos to Microsoft 365 or a more complex legacy mail system to Microsoft 365, the process is always the same.

1. Determine what and who is to be migrated from the current system(s) to Microsoft 365 – There is no point moving old users if they are not needed anymore. Archiving old mailboxes can be done in several different ways (Shared Mailboxes or .pst files placed in sharepoint).
2. This is the ideal time to make sure your file structure is correct and data is in the correct place.
3. Migrating data from several places or workstations into the centralised structure before the migration will save time on the process.
4. Prepare the new Microsoft 365 Tenancy with the domain name and mailboxes ready for the switch over.
5. Sending out the new Microsoft 365 Mailbox details to staff in preparation of the switchover

 

Migration Weekend

Migrations are best done over the weekend to minimise disruption and also lock the old mailboxes.

1. First task is complete the domain name migration over to Microsoft 365 so all emails now go into the new mailboxes and they become the live system
2. Once mail is flowing it is then time to migrate the emails from the old system to the new one. This can be done various ways, but server to server is the preferred method. If that is not possible other methods can be used to migrate the information
3. Next is moving the data from the central location to Sharepoint. This can be from a File Server, Nas Drive, Google Drive, DropBox, etc. Depending on the amount of data and the location will determine how long it will take to migrate
4. Once that is all going nicely its time to make sure contacts and calendars are moved. If migrating from Google Workspace then this is done automatically. All other systems would need to be done separately.

 

Post Migration

After a Migration there are still several tasks that need to be completed to make sure everything is working as it should do.

1. Setting up the staff with their new mailboxes and the added security with MFA (Multi Factor Authentication)
2. Adding Sharepoint to the users computers so they can access the company information
3. Showing users how Sharepoint works and some of the quirks in file name conventions.
4. Setup the backups for Microsoft 365 to protect the clients data.

 

Myths

So the internet is a wonderful place and is full of myths and misconceptions regarding most things. Microsoft 365 and migrations in general have myths around them.

1. Contacts and Calendars are automatically migrated – No only Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 can do that as long as you use the official migration wizard
2. Microsoft Backups up my data – NO Microsoft does NOT back up your data and they recommend that you use a 3rd party company to do this.

 

If after you get to the bottom of this and you are still interested in discussing the possibility of moving from your current provider to Microsoft 365 please contact us