When one thinks about Email migration, one frets about interruption of services, loss of data and so on. And of course, all the uncertainty that surrounds the whole process. Well, we have some sage advice that will help you breeze through these problems.
Let’s first look at the basic steps you need to take:
Get Everyone on the Same Page
Inform all your employees when the Office 365 email migration will happen, and include them in every change. This could be updating the Outlook profile, or converting public folders to SharePoint. Avoid confusion and help everyone to prepare for change with a notification.
Be Cautious
Back up all the important data that you don’t want to lose under any circumstances, and get everyone else to do it too. Just in case data loss occurs.
Check your Connectivity
Make sure your internet connection is of a high quality and you have sufficient bandwidth so that your connection is not lost and service interrupted during the migration process.
Messaging Content
Every email system has several attributes like phone services, distribution lists, invoicing, fax service connections, and more. It is vital that you document and back them up.
Read Also Office 365 Migration: Checklist to Avoid Post-Migration Chaos
Find the Ideal Partner
Now we come to the most important aspect – finding the right professional to outsource the task of email migration. An experienced partner will help you in preparing your internet connection and data prior to the migration, ensure the migration happens smoothly, and also provide training services so that you and your employees can use the new system without hassle. Finding a professional team that is trustworthy and reliable can help you save time and money, and have peace, as you are less likely to lose data and have service interruption.
Why is it Important to find the Right Company or Team to Outsource your Email Migration?
Migrating to Office 365 involves numerous processes, and can be quite complex. There are several factors that make up the basis of operational efficacy, and these have to be kept ready, and just might hamper the transition process.
Let’s now look at the hurdles, or challenges to Office 365 migration, and how they can be overcome.
1. Creating Hybrid Solutions
Some organizations prefer to move everyone to Office 365 from existing on-premises apps; now this doesn’t pose too many challenges. It is when companies want to keep some of their legacy on-premises apps, and move some to Office 365, that problems crop up. This is most commonly seen when companies have employees who work in the office, at a desk, and remote employees as well. Obviously, such companies need a hybrid solution.
Solution
At Flatworld Edge, we suggest implementing a unified login with Active Directory Federation Services so that the benefits of both systems can be enjoyed.
2. Quality of Active Directory
To ensure smooth migration to Office 365, it is vital that the on-premises Active Directory and Office Active Directory are perfectly synchronized – and all the more if your company requires a hybrid solution. It is essential to have quality Active Directory while configuring single sign on via Active Directory Federation Services or Microsoft Azure Active Directory Connect. Unfortunately, this part is often ignored. As a result, there may be a large number of user accounts that aren’t even active, data quality may be bad, and there could be inconsistent UPNs.
Solution:
Our team makes an exhaustive inspection of your Active Directory before starting the migration process, and carry out cleaning up of the Directory if we find duplicate values. We also verify that all users who are allocated service offerings have an exclusive and legitimate email address. Optimal use is made of the global address list by ascertaining that the attribute information is precise.
3. Transition Difficulty
Certain organizational task areas are likely to be tough to migrate, and make users uncomfortable. Take the case of an Excel sheet that is linked; when the link points to legacy systems that are not SharePoint, it will simply not update. Legacy systems also don’t use inheritance and such concepts, and hence permission models are different as compared to SharePoint Online.
Solution:
Our team offers realistic projections for customers, and we provide detailed reports. This includes file name, location of the file source, location of SharePoint Online, and so on – as this helps to reduce confusion among users.
4. Bad Network Quality
Poor bandwidth is a major hiccup when it comes to migrating to Office 365, and the entire process can become convoluted; especially so if you have tons of data. Not only that, the problems may continue post migration, and deliver poor customer experience. It can significantly slow down page and file loading, and you may experience lag in online meetings using Skype Business.
Solution:
At FlatworldEDGE, we leverage migration tools to resolve this issue, and they bypass mailbox data a few times before the final crossover. This way, we can ensure that your data is imported several times before it actually moves into a mail. Your email is Office 365 ready once the final switch is done.
5. User Adoption
Change is inevitable, but uncomfortable too. Switching over to radically different systems may not be welcomed by your employees, and even customers. There is likely to be a learning curve, till they get used to the new system and are familiar and comfortable enough to make proper use of it.
Solution:
It is our policy to communicate with all the stakeholders at the outset, to ensure proper and quick user adoption. Through HR, Marketing, and internal communication systems, we touch base with the end users, and prepare them for the process. We also educate them about the benefits of Office 365, and give them the requisite info at the correct stage of migration.
6. Security Risks
Not everyone will be happy about sharing a multi-tenant server with thousands of other companies – regardless of assurances from cloud providers. Sharing critical business information in the cloud brings about hesitancy and becomes an obstacle in switching over for many companies.
Solution
To pre-empt this issue, we involve the stakeholders at the earliest stage and assure them that the entire responsibility of data security rests with Microsoft, and also answer all their queries, with the help of Office Trust Center.
More information about Microsoft Office 365 below Video
7. Unified email
It might be difficult for users to transition to Office 365 since it requires them to let go of all the other email platforms they might have used. What’s more, email attachments have their limits of 25MB.
Solution
Introducing file-sharing programs will make it easier for the employees to send large files across. It will assist in managing the shift and also avoid a potential backlash.
8. Less Bandwidth
Another Office 365 migration challenge is less bandwidth, a common issue faced by small and medium enterprises. Email migration solutions require a lot of bandwidth and data, which can be irksome.
Solution
Migration Tools can overcome many Office 365 migration problems. These tools assist users in moving data in parts. Once the import into Office 365 is complete, you can switch easily.
Who We Are and What Makes us an Experts
Flatworld EDGE is a software development company that has over a decade of experience developing mobile apps, customized software, Power BI, Data Science, and infrastructure. We commit ourselves to transform businesses by reinventing business models with advanced technology and platforms.
Our skills and our expertise have helped us become an MS-certified partner. With over 350 developers in 45 countries, we have delivered over 600 projects to over 300 satisfied customers.
Prev
