Essential Office 365 Migration Checklist – Steps for a Smooth Transition!

Overview - Ready to migrate to Microsoft Office 365? Our step-by-step Office 365 migration checklist will guide you through the entire process to initiate the transition hassle-free & quickly. So, join us to implement the best practices wisely to ensure a successful migration.

Moving to Office 365 can be a game-changer for your business, which helps to improve collaboration, better security, & suite of robust tools. To help you navigate this transition smoothly, we’ve explained Office 365 migration best practices. Here we will make you well-prepared to make the move with confidence and ease! 

Know the Merits of having an Office 365 Migration Project Plan

Here are some potential benefits of using an Office 365 migration checklist for a successful transition:

Many organizations are opting for Office 365 over any other cloud solution because of its user-friendly interface, robust infrastructure & flexibility. When two organizations merge or execute an acquisition, both firms must use Office 365 to move data from one account to another. Since data transferring is a daunting procedure, it is imperative to use a migration checklist.

A migration checklist can help a user remember what he has to perform before and after migration to make the operation a success.

Now, Understand the Office 365 Migration Checklist – Your Roadmap to Success!

Here we will cover everything from Microsoft Office 365 migration requirements to the significance of a strong post-migration plan. Let’s start with:

Microsoft Office 365 Pre-Migration Checklist-

Before initiating the transition, we need proper prerequisites to bypass Office 365 migration challenges. Listed are the points to follow:

1. Prepare End Users Ahead Of Time

• Planning and preparation begin with effective communication among organization members.
• Before beginning the migration project, each user should have comprehensive knowledge of the migration strategy, how it will be implemented, and what the implications and changes inside the organization will be as a result of this move.
• On migration day, several checks and inspections must, and resource management is another essential factor for pre-migration checks.
• The strategy should be shared among the members on a general basis to get feedback from a variety of minds, and the admin should produce a solid Office 365 migration checklist that is devoid of contradictions after the brainstorming.
• For successful migration planning, you can utilize Microsoft’s checklist. You can add to or alter this checklist to meet your needs.

2. Prepare On-premises Inventory

The next pre-migration task is to prepare the inventory for the on-premises Exchange.

Before you migrate, you should have the following information:

• Names of user mailboxes (shared resources) and their sizes, as well as email addresses, should be available before the transfer.
• Client settings, storage locations, and client versions (browser, operating system, Office programs).
• Setup of the network (DNS hosts, proxy and firewall configuration, internal switches, internet connectivity, intranet sites, and available bandwidth).
• Virtual conferences, instant messenger, connected application systems, DNS records that have been set, and so on.

3. Inspect the Present Environment

Several Office 365 migration checklist and inspections must factor be performed on the current on-premises Exchange environment:

• Methods for creating or synchronizing accounts.
• User accounts require licenses.
• Backups and backup procedures are required, as is the network
• Capacity and appropriateness for transfer.
• End-users must get basic training.
• User account authentication requirements.
• Upgrade requirements for antivirus, firewall, and routers.

4. Prepare the Data to be Migrated

Prepare the Data to be Migrated some things to look for are:

• Active Directory is up to date.
• Accounts that haven’t been used in a while are removed.
• The UPNs of the source and target environments are identical.
• Within the proxy addresses property, email addresses are acceptable.
• In the future, archiving facilities (offline or online) will be necessary.
• Prerequisites for compliance

5. Set up an Office 365 account

• This is the final stage in the Office 365 migration checklist. Set up your Office 365 accounts with the following factors in mind.

• Purchase an Office 365 subscription and license.
• Validate domain names.
• Configure – security permissions, apps to be used, Office 365 directory synchronization (optional), and single sign-on (optional).
• Carry out the test migration.

Now, since all of the steps on the pre-migration checklist have been performed, the user can head on to perform the migration process using manual or automated methods. After the migration procedure has been finished successfully, it is now time to fulfill the post-migration requirements.

Here’s the Microsoft Office 365 Post-Migration Checklist

After completing the task, one has to do some post-migration tasks to address Outlook contacts missing after migration to Office 365 types of errors –

1. Perform Email Redirection and Caching

Check the Outlook profile folders again and confirm that the status for each folder is “This Folder Is Up To Date.”

2. Assign Licenses to Migrated Mailboxes

Migrated to an Office 365 account must be awarded licenses or they will be deactivated after 30 days if no licenses are assigned. As a result, for long-term usage, it is best to allocate licenses to mailboxes as soon as feasible.

3. Create Auto Discover DNS Records

Autodiscover DNS Records Users will be able to link their user mailboxes to Outlook email clients as well as other mobile clients as a result of this.

4. Decommission the Source Environment

• First, check that the mailboxes have been successfully transferred to your Office 365 account.
• Also, licenses have been assigned, and everything is operating properly.
• Now, you may decommission the old on-premises Exchange Server.

However, it is recommended that you decommission it only when no future synchronization with the source is planned and permanent Office 365 Tenant to Tenant migration to the target has been completed.

Author’s Suggestion

Migrating from one Office 365 account to another is not a cakewalk. However, in this case, if the user has an Office 365 migration checklist to follow before and after the task then it proves to be a huge help to them. Despite that, opting for a reliable solution for this transition is equally important, so consider that technique that ensures minimal disruptions during the operation. Additionally, it is not recommended to execute this migration manually, because several challenges are posed by manual methods. So, try to get the advantage of the automated solutions.