Know Different types of Exchange Migration to Office 365 Methods

The need for Exchange to Office 365 migration can be influenced by many factors like number of mailboxes to be migrated, On-premises Exchange Server version, long-term migration, budget available to spend on the project and more.

Depending upon the requirements, we will discuss about manual as well as alternative Exchange Migration to Office 365 methods.

Manual Methods for Exchange Migration to Office 365

Express Migration : This type of migration is generally suitable for exporting mailboxes having not more than 2000 files and begins with EAC (Exchange Admin Center). Since migrating 2000 files may take longer time to complete, users can try with 150 files migration in single go.

Staged Migration : This type of migration is suitable when the number of files to be migrated from Exchange to Office 365 are more than 2000 in numbers. This migration is generally performed on Exchange 2007 and 2003 versions.

Hybrid Migration : This type of migration is usually done when user needs to transfer both on-premises and online mailboxes, thus called hybrid migration.

Hybrid Migration Method - Step by Step Process

Follow this step by step process to perform hybrid migration from Exchange to Office 365 :

Enable Mailbox Replication Proxy Service (MRSProxy Service) on Client Access Servers :

Before initializing migration process, users first need to make migration endpoints. These end points contains all the crucial information like login credentials, connection settings of source Exchange Server etc. Now follow the below mentioned steps to enable Mailbox Replication Proxy Service :

• Go to Exchange Admin Center to Servers>> Virtual Directories
• Now select Client Access Server>> Choose ESW virtual directory>> click edit
• Finally, tick on the checkbox to enable MRSProxy and click Save

Your first step towards Exchange to Office 365 hybrid migration is complete. Now follow the next process for

Exchange 2013 to Exchange Online Migration

Office 365 tab of Exchange Admin Center provides option to move mailboxes from On-premises Exchange Server to Exchange Online (and vice-versa). Since, we are migrating from Exchange to O365, therefore, we will discuss the steps to migrate Exchange On-premises mailboxes to Office 365 :

• Open Exchange Admin Center and go to Office 365
• Under Recipients, Click Add>> Migrate to Exchange Online>> Migration
• Under Select a Migration Type Page, Choose Remote move migration and click Next.
• You will now be redirected to the Select the Users page. Then Click Add. If you want to migrate to O365, then you also get the option to choose on-premises Exchange. Click Add, then Ok and then then Next.
• Now enter the On-premises administrator credentials and ensure that you On-premises Exchange Server (FDQN) is on the "Confirm the migration" endpoint page. Now hit Next.
• Now create a migration batch by providing required details, in the Move configuration page. Then, click Next.
• At Start the batch page, select one recipient that will receive the report. Then, select the automatically complete the migration batch Box. Click New.

The above mentioned steps provides complete procedure for Exchange to O365 migration. As you can see, the entire process is very lengthy, as it involves a lot of steps, making it complex too. Due to all the technicalities involved, the steps are difficult for a novice user to follow. Therefore, it is not a recommended solution for everyone. So what is the solution now?

Exchange Migrator - Alternative Exchange Migration to Office 365 Methods

To help users easily migrate their Exchange mailboxes to Office 365, using a professional utility is suggested. Exchange Migrator is one such application that provides one of the best and simple Exchange migration to Office 365 methods for both technical and non-technical users. Its simple GUI makes it easy for everyone to use it effortlessly and efficiently. The tool enables users to move their mailboxes from On-premises and Hosted Exchange Servers to Office 365, another Exchange Server, PST and default Outlook profile on a local system. The software is capable of migrating complete Exchange data to O365, including emails, contacts, calendars, notes, tasks, journals etc.

Let us know the stpes to migrate Exchange to Office 365

• First download the software on Windows Server
• Once launched, Click on Add button and enter your Exchange Server Login details
• Choose Office 365 as desired destination location
• Select desired Migration Type for each mailbox : Mailbox, Archive Mailbox, Public Folders
• Enter your Office 365 login details and click on Connect button
• Now choose required folders from the left screen of the software. Apply required date/item filters, and other options. Click Next
• The software will now start migrating Exchange mailboxes to Office 365 and completes with the message "Conversion completed".

Conclusion

In the above blog post, we have discussed both manual and automated Exchange to Office 365 methods. You can choose any of the method and get instant solution to your problems. Though manual method is free but it is quite complex for non-technical users. Therefore, if you are looking for some easy method, then you must use professional tool. The suggested Exchange Migrator is also available as a free demo edition that allows to convert first 20 items per Exchange folder to Office 365.

Read this article to export email from SmarterMail to Outlook that will completely help to solve how to export SmarterMail to Outlook in simple steps.