Ryan and I’ve talked about loads of issues since we took over because the editors of Good Knowledge Collective just a few years in the past. One factor that we didn’t discuss as a lot about is why a Microsoft 365 Migration is necessary for organizations that depend on information to information choices. It’s possible you’ll already discover that many analytics conversations concentrate on instruments whereas overlooking how folks truly entry and share info. It is not uncommon for groups to retailer information in a number of locations with no clear construction for collaboration. There are rising expectations for leaders to show uncooked information into perception with out slowing each day work.
It’s possible you’ll be working a data-driven enterprise that produces stories however nonetheless struggles with visibility throughout groups. It’s this rigidity between information quantity and information readability that frames this dialogue. Hold studying to study extra.
Why Knowledge-Pushed Companies Take a look at Microsoft 365 Migration
A report from EdgeDelta reveals that almost all companies analyze solely 37% to 40% of their information, regardless that 97.2% of corporations put money into massive information options. It’s possible you’ll acknowledge this sample in your personal group, the place dashboards exist however solutions nonetheless really feel incomplete. There are limits to what analytics can ship when info is scattered.
It’s possible you’ll assume that heavy funding naturally results in higher perception, however the numbers recommend in any other case. It’s typically the case that entry and group matter as a lot as assortment.
Neil of the Cognopia Academy stories that simply 32% of companies have a knowledge technique at the moment. It’s possible you’ll be working with no formal technique whereas nonetheless anticipating constant reporting throughout departments. It’s troublesome to take care of confidence in numbers when priorities and possession are unclear. There are actual penalties when information targets are left undefined.
You might also see how collaboration instruments have an effect on how rapidly groups reply to questions. It’s simpler to construct shared understanding when information, conversations, and metrics dwell in linked techniques.
It’s possible you’ll take care of model conflicts, duplicated information, or delays attributable to guide sharing. There are dangers tied to that fragmentation, particularly when choices depend on well timed info.
Shelley Bougnague of Cloudficient writes that information migration failure charges drop by 73% with correct planning. It’s possible you’ll discover reassurance in figuring out that preparation reduces disruption and rework. It’s planning, not pace, that usually determines whether or not a migration helps long-term information use.
It’s possible you’ll be eager about progress and future reporting wants relatively than short-term fixes. It’s this forward-looking view that usually leads data-driven companies to reassess their platforms.
Microsoft introduced the tip of assist for Trade 2016 and 2019 on October 14, 2025. The implication of this declaration is that these Trade Servers will nonetheless operate, however not obtain any safety updates, hotfixes and cumulative updates shifting ahead. After listening to this information, many organizations are in a quandary. Presently, they’ve two choices—change to Microsoft 365 (cloud model of Trade) or improve to Trade Server SE (the on-premise model of Trade).
As a result of Microsoft 365 is a totally cloud-based resolution, it gives a good way to maintain servers and demanding enterprise info safe. It additionally reduces the executive burden on Trade Admins as this cloud-based platform is managed by Microsoft. Nonetheless, migrating from on-premises Trade to Microsoft 365 includes many complicated steps and thorough preparation, which we are going to focus on on this article.
Key Preparation Steps for Profitable Microsoft 365 Migration
Beneath are some key preparatory steps for Microsoft 365 migration:
1. Assess Your Present Trade Setting
You may consider your on-premise Trade setting by following the steps beneath:
- Analyze present license assignments one-by-one. Establish consumer mailbox measurement and have necessities. Primarily based on this info, you’ll be able to provision new licenses (Primary, Customary, Premium for companies and E3, E5, F3 for enterprises) with required mailbox space for storing and options that the migrated customers are possible to make use of. You too can mix totally different licenses to handle consumer wants. For example, the costly E3 and E5 licenses that supply over 1 TB of storage could be allotted to energy customers and the cheaper F3 license with solely 2GB of storage could be assigned to frontline staff with low mailbox storage necessities.
- Make an inventory of all of the settings of your on-premise Trade setting. Write down mail circulation guidelines, compliance insurance policies, and retention. When you find yourself carried out with migration, apply these settings to the brand new Microsoft 365 setting. It will be certain that your work operations can resume with the identical settings. For example, after having utilized mail circulation guidelines to dam sure messages which are unsafe in on-premise Trade, an Trade admins must create equal mail circulation guidelines in Microsoft 365. It will be certain that unsafe messages nonetheless stay blocked in Microsoft 365.
- Earlier than starting migration, make an inventory of consumer, shared and useful resource mailboxes. After that, analyze this listing to gauge which mailboxes must be migrated, merged, archived, or deactivated/deleted.
2. Validate Community Readiness
Earlier than Microsoft 365 migration can start, an Trade admin ought to take a look at the present community bandwidth:
For testing community readiness, it is very important observe the steps beneath:
- Ensure that your community is prepared for Microsoft 365 migration by assessing the variety of purchasers that can be on the brand new tenant and which options/companies they are going to be utilizing
- Create a pilot group that’s various and carefully resembles the precise consumer base that you’ve. After that, you should use community connectivity take a look at device to check the connectivity after migrating that pilot group to Microsoft 365. Utilizing these outcomes, you may get a good suggestion in regards to the community bandwidth requirement of all the group.
- Configure community components similar to firewalls, proxies, and safety gateways appropriately to make sure the passage of visitors via Microsoft 365 endpoints with none delay or restriction
3. Put together Microsoft’s Azure AD for Migration
You will need to synchronize on-premise Energetic Listing (AD) to Azure Energetic Listing (now known as Entra ID) for sustaining constant consumer identities between native and cloud environments. Correct synchronization is important for averting authentication points. Comply with the steps supplied in this hyperlink to organize Microsoft’s Azure AD for migration.
4. Plan Communication and Help
Efficient communication and assist planning could make migration to Microsoft 365 easy and fruitful for all the group. Beneath are the steps you’ll be able to observe to plan and talk assist:
- Present details about migration timelines to the end-users. Additionally maintain them abreast of anticipated service interruptions, in order that they plan their mail communication accordingly.
- Present complete Microsoft 365 coaching forward of migration to customers who can be migrated to the cloud setting. It will assist them use the brand new options effortlessly after migration.
- Create a sturdy assist plan that gives well timed assist to finish customers. The assist can troubleshoot widespread post-migration points, similar to login issues, e-mail configuration, or doc entry, which can improve consumer expertise after migration.
Stellar Migrator for Trade migrates mailboxes from on-premise Trade Servers to Microsoft 365 whereas preserving folder construction, and metadata. Utilizing this software program, you’ll be able to carry out each identical area and cross area migrations with none want for complicated PowerShell scripting. Other than these important benefits, the device additionally gives the next advantages throughout Microsoft 365 migration:
- Actual-time dashboards for full visibility throughout migration: Native migration strategies present restricted visibility throughout migration, which prevents Microsoft admins from addressing migration points as they occur. However that’s not the case with migration instruments like Stellar Migrator for Trade. It’s outfitted with job progress dashboard and mailbox progress dashboard for monitoring migration progress, monitor errors, and confirm completion in real-time.
- Cut back migration time by mapping mailboxes robotically: The device lets you robotically map mailboxes. It does that by evaluating e-mail addresses between the supply and goal servers. This characteristic of Stellar Migrator for Trade reduces the time spent by Trade admins on migration. If automated matching isn’t potential, the device lets you manually map the mailboxes to make sure right mapping.
- No downtime and entry to important enterprise emails: You may run a migration job on a Stay Trade Server utilizing the Stellar Migrator device with out incurring any downtime. Whereas the migration job is in-progress, the on-premise server could obtain new important enterprise emails or new calendar entries. You may switch all these new mailbox objects from the already migrated mailboxes by working delta migration. It will transfer information between servers by working an clever scan, figuring out already moved objects and transferring solely the brand new objects.
Conclusion
It’s possible you’ll now see {that a} Microsoft 365 Migration is much less about expertise traits and extra about how information is dealt with day after day. It’s the construction round information that usually decides whether or not perception is trusted.
It’s possible you’ll resolve that migration planning is a chance to rethink entry, possession, and collaboration round information. There are long-term advantages for organizations that need their information to tell motion relatively than sit unused.
A profitable Microsoft 365 migration calls for strategic planning earlier than starting the migration course of. Any misstep or oversight whereas following the native Microsoft course of could cause downtime.
In distinction, Trade Migration device similar to Stellar Migrator for Trade open up a easy and shorter migration path. The device migrates mailboxes saved in on-premise Trade Server to Microsoft 365 and does it whereas preserving folder construction and metadata with none want for complicated PowerShell scripting. It permits for automated mailbox mapping, information filtering and delta or incremental migration. These options expedite migration with minimal consumer enter. Consequently, Trade admins scale back migration time and decrease the danger of administrative errors and downtime.
