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Office 365 Migration Project Plan
Microsoft Office 365 is an enterprise cloud-based productivity suite. It’s designed to help teams and organizations store, sync, collaborate, and share documents across devices and locations. The platform has many benefits for businesses large and small — including cost savings, more robust collaboration features, and better security than traditional software applications. But before you jump into using Office 365 for your business, it’s important to think about how you’re going to migrate data from your existing business applications over to Microsoft’s cloud service. Braver’s IT Support in Boston and IT Support in Rhode Island offer exhaustive resources for local businesses embarking on Office 365 migration.
The first step to a successful migration is identifying what’s ready to go. In this case, we’re talking about the files and data that you want to move from your old system over to Office 365. Once you’ve identified what needs migrating, it’s time to report on how far along with that process you are.
What does this look like? It depends on your organization’s preferences for reporting tools and metrics. You can choose from a variety of third-party applications that provide easy-to-use dashboards for monitoring migration progress across multiple projects or organizations at once – even if they’re using different platforms or different cloud services.
6 Tips for a Smooth Office 365 Migration
Focus on the big picture
Before you begin planning your migration, it’s important to understand why it’s worth the effort.
- You’ll spend less time on migration tasks and more time engaged in the real work of running your business.
- The quality of your migration will be higher—and so will the quality of your data.
- Your users will be able to get started with Office 365 faster once they’re migrated, which means they can focus on using the tools and services that matter most to them right away.
- Migrations keep you up-to-date with Microsoft’s latest innovations in Office 365, such as improvements to SharePoint Online and Yammer Groups integration with Teams Chat (formerly Skype for Business).
Collect updated information on each user
Remember that your Office 365 migration is a one-time event. Achieving success will require that you perform all of the necessary steps to ensure a smooth transition for all users. To do this, it’s important to have accurate and up-to-date details on each user in one place. You can use a tool like Office 365 Management Suite to bring together all of this information so that it’s available when needed during the migration process.
Map interdependencies between mailboxes and calendars
You need to map delegation and other interdependencies between mailboxes and calendars. For example, if a user has access to someone else’s calendar, you need to make sure that you update their permissions as well. Or if a mailbox has been delegated, then you need to confirm who has been given access.
You should also double-check who owns what by looking at the owners of shared mailboxes; they may not be aware of how many people have access to their shared mailbox.
Fix all data mismatches
One of the most important steps in a successful Office 365 migration is to ensure that you have the correct data. Here are some tips on how to go about doing this:
- Identify where mismatches exist. If there are data mismatches, you’ll want to know what they are and where they exist. Use Excel or another spreadsheet application to create a list of all the domains and users that need attention, along with any other pertinent information such as email addresses or phone numbers. You can also use Azure AD Connect Health for additional insight into your directory objects and user accounts, including their status within Azure Active Directory (Azure AD). Once you’ve made a list, it’s time for step two…
Use data to plan your migration
With the help of migration experts at Braver with IT Consulting Rhode Island and Boston, you will have all of the data at your fingertips to forecast when and how each object will be migrated. You can also use this information to identify what is ready for migration, what isn’t, and everything in between. Let’s look at some examples:
- You can use data to identify objects that need special attention before they are migrated. For example, you may want to schedule some time with users who work in an environment that has many third-party applications installed on network drives versus those who access only Microsoft Office 365 apps through their web browsers. In this case, users who aren’t familiar with how they’ll access these applications after their move would benefit from some extra help getting started on their new system after the migration is complete.
- The same goes for any other change management tasks you plan on performing during or after your move—collecting feedback from clients about how they feel about the new system; updating service level agreements; training employees on new processes or tools; etc.—you’ll have plenty of time now that there aren’t any scheduled events blocking progress because everyone knows what’s next!
Alert end-users in advance
As the migration begins, it’s important to let end-users know what they can expect. Make sure that they understand the process and how long it will take. You should also keep them informed as progress is made on their behalf.
It’s also critical to ensure that your users are prepared for any issues that may arise during the migration process or after it has been completed. This includes providing information about what steps should be taken in case something does go wrong, whether with email access or other issues related to Office 365 migration tools such as Migrator for Microsoft Exchange (MFM).
The key to success is planning, and we hope these tips have helped you get started. If you’re still unsure, contact us for Microsoft Business Solutions and more information about our services or to schedule a consultation with one of our Microsoft-Certified Experts. We can also help you with other Office 365 migration tasks such as email management, security compliance reviews, and more.
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