Microsoft Office 365 Migration Project Plan- A Road Map For Successful Migration

Quick Summary: Every successful project needs a proper strategy so does Office 365 migration. So, this article is going to explain Microsoft Office 365 migration project plan in detail.

Microsoft has millions of happy Office 365 users who use this platform for their day-to-day business operations. And, the numbers are growing day by day since organizations are deciding to work with the new cloud technology.

However, in situations like mergers and acquisitions(M&A activity), the IT infrastructure plan needs to be modified and the migration process becomes an essential part.  If your organization is going through an M&A activity then this is the article for you. 

You must know that Office 365 migration is a very tedious job. So, you will need a full-proof plan to execute a seamless migration.

This blog will discuss the ins and outs of migration needs that will help you successfully move all your important data to Office 365.

Let’s have an in-depth analysis.

What Are The Key Elements Of The Office 365 Migration Plan Checklist?

Every project is incomplete without planning. And, it is only beneficial to have a proper strategy before executing the actual migration to mitigate probable challenges.

The second element is to prepare a pre-migration checklist to ensure that you have all the necessary equipment you need so that you can be ready for the process.

Then, comes the important component i.e selecting the suitable migration method for your organizational needs. Ensuring you have the correct support to handle your sensitive data is crucial.

Last but not least, implement the post-migration checklist.

So, you must have figured out that the MS Office 365 migration will be carried out in four steps. That is planning, pre-migration checklist, selecting appropriate method, and post-migration checklist.

Now, let’s discuss them one by one to have deeper knowledge.

Step #1 of Microsoft Office 365 Migration Project Plan: Set Goals and Objectives with Proper Planning

When you migrate an enterprise organization to Office 365, it’s critical to plan thoroughly. Such as;

• The necessary steps you want to follow for the migration
• When and how you are gonna complete these steps to make it a success
• The users who are involved in carrying out the steps

Having a well-planned strategy can help you identify the key objectives of your migration project. Besides, you can always refer back to it if you feel like something is missing out.

Above all, a full-proof strategy helps in nullifying the possible challenges of Office 365 migration.

Note that, planning includes;

• Deciding the time when you want to perform the process.
• Dedicating an estimated time frame for completion of the project.
• Scheduling team meetings with the concerned persons to keep track of every single event.

Once you are fully prepared with the planning, proceed toward the next phase of the migration.

Step #2 of The Migration Checklist is To Prepare a Pre-migration Checklist

There are a lot of things you need to consider while preparing for the migration. And for that, you have to make a list & make sure it contains the following points.

Circulate Clear Communication: You are going to implement an important task such as data migration which involves moving emails, documents, etc. That’s why, you should inform the staff about the project scope, time span, and what could they expect from the migration.

Know and Examine Your Current Environment: This involves,

• List out the number of servers and active users are there
• Examine the method for creating accounts
• No. of licenses that you require for the user accounts
• Network capacity is suitable for migration or needs improvement
• Whether training sessions are required for end-users or not
• Need of Firewall, antivirus, setting authentication, router upgrade, etc. for the migration.

Analyze On-premise Inventory: When you distribute the basic elements and prepare the inventory, it becomes easier to carry out the migration. So,

• Make a list of all the names of user mailboxes as well as shared resources with size and email addresses for the migration
• Make sure to identify the desired storage locations, browser, OS versions, and configurations.
• Don’t forget to check for the internet connectivity, DNS hosts, proxy and firewall set up, available bandwidth, DNS record configurations, etc

Define List of Data to be Migrated: Now, you will need to prepare the data for migration. And, this Office 365 migration plan checklist includes;

• Updating the active directory(if necessary)
• Discard all the unnecessary and unused user accounts that are no longer needed
• Match the UPN of the source and destination so that you can carry out a successful migration
• Consider that both offline and online archive facilities are needed in the future

Configure Office 365 Accounts: Finally, get ready all the Office 365 accounts by making sure that,

• You have enough Office 365 licenses and subscriptions. Otherwise, purchase accordingly
• You have verified all the domain names
• Last but not least, don’t forget to compile all the security permissions, applications for use, etc.

When you make sure that you are all set and ready to move your data to the destination, move toward the next step of the Office 365 migration plan checklist.

Step #3 of Microsoft Office 365 Migration Project Plan: Choosing the Right Method for Data Migration

You know when you have the right support, even a complex task becomes easier. 

So, you have to be smart while selecting the method for the data migration. Because there are numerous approaches available. Such as Cutover, Staged, IMAP, and Hybrid migration. 

The above migration procedures are manual in nature and are supported by Microsoft itself. 

But, the thing is they all have a set of limitations and can act as road blockers in completing the migration process.

Since your sensitive emails and other important files are involved in the process, it is crucial to choose a tried and tested software.

This is why many IT experts suggest opting for the automated solution, i.e. Migrator Wizard Office 365 Migration Tool. Through which you can quickly and securely migrate your emails, contacts, events, documents, etc without any data loss.

Also, at the end of migration, you will have peace of mind for successfully completing the procedure.

Hence, be practical and begin your Office 365 data migration with the right option.

Once the data migration is complete, refer to the next phase of the Microsoft Office 365 Migration Project Plan.

Stage #4 of The Checklist Is To Have a Great Finish With The Post-migration Consideration

Last but least, carrying out this step is as important as other steps. Make sure to tick off the below checklist:

• Redirect the email accounts of users to Office 365 and confirm the status of each folder. And, make sure it shows as The folder is Up to date.
• You must assign licenses to the mailboxes that are migrated within 30 days. Otherwise, it will deactivate automatically.
• To easily connect your mailboxes to Outlook email clients, you must ensure to configure Autodiscover DNS records in Office 365.
• After ensuring the fact that you are not going to need the source environment in the future, you can decommission it.

Wrapping Up

MS O365 is booming in the corporate world, and many organizations are switching their workload to this cloud-based platform. However, to successfully conduct the process, one should have a solid Microsoft Office 365 migration project plan.

Thus, here we’ve discussed the various stages of data migration and also provided the best tool that will act as a helping hand in your migration journey.

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