Migrating Your Email from Microsoft Exchange to Office365
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Continuing with this month's theme of Telcion's Microsoft services, today we're answering questions about migrating your email from Microsoft Exchange to Office365.
Let’s start with a quick history lesson on email. Email really started taking off when the internet took shape in the mid-90s. That’s when it became mainstream. By the late 90s Microsoft had created an email system called Exchange. This platform eventually became the predominant email platform for most businesses.
What is the difference between Outlook and Exchange?
Microsoft Exchange required an on-premise, dedicated server to provide email features to every user. The size of the server was dependent on how many mailboxes were required. And of course you had to buy a license for each user that needed a mailbox. As cloud computing became more common, Microsoft introduced Office365 (O365) – a cloud-based platform that included all the Microsoft desktop apps, including email. This is a cloud-only platform and provides the same email features and functionality as Microsoft Exchange. The beauty of this service is that it doesn’t require an on-premise server of any kind. Nor does it require someone to manage it, patch it, or upgrade it every 2-4 years. It also doesn’t rely solely on your local internet connection. You can access it from any device, any time, anywhere.
How much does it cost to migrate to O365?
It is so compelling that most businesses are making the choice to migrate to this platform. And, you still have to buy a monthly subscription for each user, ranging from a few dollars to over $20 depending on what features of the O365 package you are buying.
What does O365 migration mean?
Since most people don’t want to start their email over from scratch, your mailbox, calendar, contacts, etc. need to be migrated over to O365. A migration project includes the configuration of the cloud system, and then the orderly scheduling of mailbox migration. This is done in a way that minimizes downtime (the time when you won’t have access to your email). When it’s complete, your mailbox is located in the cloud and your desktop and mobile devices are re-configured to access the cloud service. In most cases, you’ll continue to use Outlook as your desktop email client, and on your mobile device, you can use the Outlook app. You can also use other apps on your mobile devices, as you see fit. However, we have found the Outlook app to be pretty robust.
How long does it take to migrate to O365?
Migration can often be completed in several hours, depending on how many mailboxes and the average size of each mailbox. If your users hoard their email and have large email boxes, that will take longer to transfer over. We often encourage IT administrators to use this opportunity to have their users do some purging and mailbox cleanup. If you haven’t migrated to O365 yet, but are interested in doing so, schedule a call with one of our business consultants! They'll work with you to determine the best overall solution to get you migrated to the cloud.
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