Different types of migration in Office 365
Businesses always seek different ways to enhance their productivity and efficiency. To achieve this, businesses migrate their data towards cloud-based services like Microsoft 365 for better features and collaboration. In this regard, the first step is to select the O365 migration types as needed.
Hence, the blog will provide a detailed guide on different types of migration in Office 365. It will help you better comprehend them and equip you to choose the most appropriate migration types as per your organization's requirements. So, move on to the blog without any further delay.
What are the different migration types in Office 365?
There are four major types of migration in Office 365, such as:
- Staged migration
- Cutover migration
- Hybrid migration
- IMAP migration
Now, let's discuss each of them in detail in the upcoming section.
Staged migration
In staged migration, Office 365 data is transferred in batches. All your mailboxes and existing users of Exchange 2003 or 2007 will be transferred to Exchange Online.
It is one of the best options for medium-sized organizations with 2000 mailboxes that are currently using on-premises Exchange 2003 or 2007. However, this method is not available for organizations that are using Exchange 2010 or 2013.
In staged migration, mailboxes transfer in batches over a defined period. It utilizes the Directory Synchronization tool, which clones accounts from the on-premises Active Directory database. When the process is completed, all the mailboxes will be available in Office 365.
Cutover migration
A cutover migration is the instantaneous data transfer from an on-premises Exchange Server to Office 365. All the data resources, such as mailboxes, contacts, and distribution groups, are migrated at once. In this migration type, users won't be able to select specific objects for migration, and after the completion of data migration, all the users will have an Office 365 account.
The cutover migration is best suited for organizations currently utilizing Exchange Server 2003, 2007, 2010, or 2013 and having mailboxes less than 2000. As per Microsoft's recommendation, it is appropriate for companies with less than 150 users because it takes time to migrate so many accounts.
Hybrid migration
Hybrid deployment allows users to integrate Office 365 with their on-premises Exchange servers and existing directory services. It assists in synchronizing and managing users' accounts for both environments.
In hybrid migration, users can easily move mailboxes in and out of Exchange Online at their convenience. It provides the flexibility to choose which mailboxes to store on-premises and which to migrate to Office 365. In addition, you can synchronize passwords and create a single sign-on to make the login process easier for both environments.
If you are planning to utilize hybrid migration, you will need more than 2000 mailboxes and an Exchange Server 2010 or later version. If these criteria are not fulfilled, you must install an on-premises Exchange 2013 or Exchange 2010 Service Pack 3 (SP3) server to deploy hybrid connectivity in your organization.
IMAP migration
An IMAP migration differs entirely from the above migration types in Microsoft 365. In this migration type, mailbox data of Gmail or email services that support IMAP will be migrated to Office 365. However, it only transfers emails to the destination account. All the other items, including calendars, tasks, and contacts, need to be migrated manually by the users.
Each user must create a mailbox before initiating the email migration procedure. IMAP migrations have restrictions of 50000 total mailboxes and 5000000 items. Once the migration procedure is completed, the recently received mail at the original mailbox can't be migrated.
Why is opting for an automated solution advisable instead of a native solution?
Although native solutions offer different O365 migration types for users’ convenience. However, they come with several limitations, such as being time-consuming and difficult to execute for non-technical users. Therefore, the best approach will be utilizing automated solutions like Recoveryfix Migration for Microsoft 365.
The Microsoft 365 migration software can transfer components, including Groups, mailboxes, Archive mailboxes, Public folders, and Shared mailboxes, with a few simple clicks. On top of that, the software provides complete control through its advanced filters to carry out the entire migration with precision and accuracy.
Sum up
The blog has covered a detailed guide on different types of migration in Office 365. Here, you have learned about the migration types in Office 365 and their utilization according to the organization's size. However, all these migration types in Microsoft 365 seem challenging for users to execute. Therefore, getting assistance from the recommended solution will be helpful. It can streamline the entire migration process and make it convenient for non-technical users. Besides that, it can help you to avoid Microsoft 365 migration stuck on syncing error.