Comprehensive Guide to Migrating from Exchange to Office 365

You may need to migrate your email management system from your Exchange Server to Office 365 in the wake of embracing cloud-based infrastructure. This also lets you avail of multiple benefits such as reduced operational costs, better accessibility, enhanced scalability, etc. 

Nevertheless, successfully executing this migration task requires perspicacious planning, a foolproof strategy, and flawless implementation. In no case should it hamper your ongoing business operations. Admins serve this migration task with the help of Exchange Admin Center (EAC). 

Migrating Mailboxes from Exchange Server to Office 365

Two prominent methods to migrate mailboxes from Exchange to Office 365 through the Exchange Admin Center are:

• Imports and exports in Exchange Server
• Export directly to Office 365

Let’s discuss these methods in detail

Imports and exports in Exchange Server

This method requires you to export your mailboxes in the Exchange Server to a Personal Storage Table or PST file and then import the PST file into Office 365. This method is suitable if you have a limited number of mailboxes. 

• You can use the PowerShell cmdlet New-MailboxExportRequest to export mailboxes to PST

Transfer PST file directly to Office 365

To transfer PST file directly to Office 365, any of the two methods would be suitable:

Network Upload

Here are the steps to import multiple PST files to Office 365 or Microsoft 365 mailboxes.

• Get a temporary Azure storage location to upload the PST file.
• Copy shared access signature (SAS) URL, which grants limited access rights to Azure Storage
• Download the AzCopy tool to upload PST files to Office 365
• Check out the list of PST files uploaded to Office 365
• Create a CSV file for PST import mapping
• Next, create a PST import job in Office 365 in the Import service
• Filter and Import the data contained in the PST file

Drive Shipping

This method requires you to copy the files to a hard drive and then ship them to Microsoft Exchange. The steps are as follows:

• Download the Azure Import/Export tool.
• Copy your PST files to the bitlocker-encrypted hard drive by using WAImportExport.exe
• Next, create a PST import mapping file in CSV format
• Create a job for PST import by logging in to the Microsoft Compliance Portal
• Ship your hard drive to Microsoft
• After Microsoft gets your hard drive, initiate the PST import job

Export Mailboxes directly to Office 365

If the number of mailboxes exceeds the usual count, you can export them directly to Microsoft 365 from Exchange. Methods like Cutover, Staged, or Hybrid migration would be helpful to execute this job. 

1. Cutover Migration 

This method migrates all mailboxes (under 2,000) at once in a short span with the help of the Exchange Admin Center (EAC). Best suited for Small & Medium Businesses (SMBs), it works in Exchange 2003, 2007, 2010, and 2013. The method involves shifting all the users simultaneously through careful planning and least obstruction. Here are the steps:

1. Verify yourself as the domain owner
2. Connect your email system to Office 365
3. Create your cutover migration batch by migrating your on-premises mailboxes to Office 365
4. Use the Exchange Admin Center to start the cutover migration batch that you just created
5. Point your MX record (DNS record of email system) directly to Office 365
6. After routing your emails to Office 365, delete the cutover migration batch.
7. Assign licenses to the migrated Office 365 users by activating their user accounts

This method allows you to migrate around 2000 mailboxes at once. But it consumes considerable time to execute the complete migration. Microsoft suggests migrating around 150 at a time for quick execution. For a detailed process, you may visit the dedicated Microsoft page.
  

2. Staged Migration

If you have Exchange 2003 or 2007, and your mailboxes exceed 2000, staged migration is a reasonable method. It allows you to migrate user mailboxes to Office 365 in batches. Here are the steps:

• Verify that you own the on-premises domain by using the domain wizard.
• Create on-premises users in your Office 365 with the help of directory synchronization
• Create a migration batch by using a comma-separated value (CSV) file, which consists of the mailbox users you wish to migrate to Office 365. Please note that the CSV file can accommodate a maximum of 2000 rows only. If you want to migrate additional mailboxes, create more CSV files accordingly.
  
  

The CSV file for a staged migration supports the below-mentioned three attributes: EmailAddress, Password, and ForceChangePassword. Here is an example: 

EmailAddress,Password,ForceChangePassword

millerp@contoso.com,Pa$$w0rd,False

tonyn@contoso.com,Pa$$w0rd,False

brian@contoso.com,Pa$$w0rd,False

• Establish a connection between your email system and Office 365
• You are all set to migrate your mailboxes

For detailed information on migrating to Office 365 through the stage migration method, you may browse through the Microsoft website.

3. Hybrid Migration

This method requires you to use an integrated Exchange Server and Office 365 environment. This method can maintain both the online and on-premises mailboxes and slowly migrate the users and mailboxes to Office 365. 

You can opt for this method if you have Exchange 2010 and your mailboxes are in the range of 150-2000 or wish to migrate in small batches over time. It will also work for Exchange 2013 and later versions. Three types of hybrid migrations exist and to execute any of these methods, you can run the Office 365 mail migration advisor.   

• Full hybrid migration: Suitable for large organizations that need to migrate thousands of mailboxes.
  
  
• Minimal hybrid migration: Good for medium-sized companies that wish to migrate a few hundred to around 2000 mailboxes within around two months.
  
  
• Express migration: This method will be suitable for smaller organizations that wish to complete their migrations within two weeks.

All these hybrid migration types need synchronization of Active Directory with Office 365.

Challenges with Manual Migration

The migration methods are effective but accompany several limitations, such as:

• Complex methods, difficult to understand by an inexperienced person
• Time-consuming method, causing significant downtime
• The person needs adept technical acumen and expertise
• Possibility of errors and limited automation capabilities
• Ineffective for large-scale migrations (more than 2000 mailboxes)
• Threats of security breaches while managing multiple mailbox accounts
• Loss of data is quite a possibility
• Limited automation capabilities as compared to advanced migration tools

Capitalizing on these shortcomings, a third-party EDB to PST converter will be a best alternative for migration. Let’s discuss more about performing imports and exports in Exchange Server through EMS and EAC. We will also learn to migrate directly to Office 365 through Stellar Converter for EDB.

Migrating to Office 365 using Stellar Converter for EDB

Apart from Imports and exports in Exchange Server or exporting mailboxes directly to Office 365, you may opt for an EDB to PST converter tool. Stellar Converter for EDB will be an ideal application to serve this purpose with success.

The tool is also instrumental in exporting Exchange mailboxes to PST and then you can import them into Office 365. The good thing is you do not need any additional permission to perform the migration. Having a valid Office 365 account will be enough. You can also use this tool to directly migrate your mailboxes to Office 365. 

Prominent features of Stellar Converter for EDB

This third-party tool simplifies migration from Exchange to Office 365 by eliminating the probable associated risks. You can extract all the data from the Exchange mailbox including emails, contacts, attachments, and offline EDB files, and export it to Office 365. Here are some of the main benefits of using it.

• Extracts all the email data from the EDB file and converts it to PST
• Converted Unicode EDB files to PST
• Offline EDB file export to Office 365 or Live Exchange Server
• Allows you to save converted mailbox data to RTF, DF, MSG, EML, and HTML formats
• Helps you preview the mailbox before conversion
• Can migrate mailboxes from Exchange Server 2019, 2016, and older versions to Office 365

Steps to Migrate Exchange Data to Office 365

Here are the easy migration steps with the help of this EDB to PST converter.

• Download and install Stellar Converter for EDB from the official Stellar website.
• Launch the software and select Offline EDB from the main screen
• Select the EDB file from its exact location or click Find to locate it automatically on our system
• Click Next
• On the left side, mailboxes and the contained items extracted from the EDB file show up in tree-view list
• Click any item to preview its contents on the right side of the screen
• Select a particular file or folder to save it
• In the Output format, choose Export to Office 365
• Provide your Office 365 account credentials in the dialog box and click OK.
• Map the user with the mailbox exported and click OK.
• This will start migrating the mailbox from Exchange Server to Office 365

Conclusion

You may have to migrate your mailbox from Exchange to Microsoft 365 or Office 365 due to multiple reasons. In any case, you can migrate through imports and exports in Exchange Server, i.e., by exporting the Exchange data to PST and then importing the PST file into Office 365. 

You may also opt to export Mailboxes directly to Office 365 through various methods like Cutover Migration, Staged Migration, or Hybrid Migration. These methods however pose several challenges such as intricate techniques, the need for high-end technical expertise, data loss possibility, excessive time-lapse, etc. 

An EDB to PST converter such as Stellar Converter for EDB can address these issues easily. You can buy a preferred version of this popular third-party tool from Stellar at a reasonable cost.