Office 365 Migrations

Moving essential systems to Microsoft 365 can be a great way to optimize your business. The process can take a bit of time, however, so it’s important to make sure you’re prepared for an easy and smooth transition. Fortunately, Microsoft 365 is fairly easy to migrate to. Learn how to optimize your company’s Microsoft 365 migrations.

Consider the Value

Internal infrastructure tends to take up more of your budget than expected, which is why so many companies are moving to the cloud. When you host Microsoft Exchange services yourself, you’ll need servers, a data center and network equipment. Just the base cost for all that can be substantial, but installing it and keeping it running smoothly takes considerable effort as well.

Even with cloud computing using Microsoft 365, you still have to pay for licensing. Depending on the structure, number and demand of your employees, the licensing fees could end up costing you more than hosting the data privately. Remember that reducing capital expenses for operational expenses isn’t always cheaper.

Find the Right Identity Model

Finding the right identity model is key to ensuring that your migration efforts and implementation are successful. Your identity model is essentially the way in which users — your workers — will be able to access the business’s Microsoft 365 environment. Few things are more frustrating than getting bombarded with questions from your employees about how new upgrades work. That’s why you need to pick a singular identity model beforehand and let your workers know how it’ll function.

There are four primary identity models:

• Cloud only: No infrastructure is required, but you’ll find a disparity between authentication on-premises and in the cloud.
• Password hash synchronization: This model syncs authentication information at regular intervals. It requires manual input to sync between intervals.
• Pass-through authentication: All authentication efforts in this model take place on-site where you have greater control. It will take more resources, though, to function.
• Active Directory Federation Services: With this system, you’ll find numerous handy features, but it requires quite a bit of server power on the premises.

Determine How You’re Going to Migrate

With an identity in place, it’s time to determine how you’re going to go about the migration logistically. The primary factor here is how many users will access the system. While a gradual migration is OK, you have to consider how all your users will eventually move over to the new system.

Similar to identity models, there are four different methods for moving to Microsoft 365:

• Cutover: This method moves all data in a single effort. It’s similar to a straight flip-of-a-switch kind of transfer. The downsides are that it will take a massive amount of network traffic and it doesn’t work well for more than 150 users.
• Staged: Only Exchange versions before 2010 can work with staged transfers, but they work well for gradual relocation of mailboxes for up to 2,000 users.
• Hybrid: This is the modern form of staged migrations. If you have the latest tech, you can enjoy numerous features and easy experience for users.
• IMAP: A migration using the IMAP process is really only for migrating email to Exchange systems from non-Exchange systems.

Outsource Migration Efforts

Managing these migration efforts on your own can be overwhelming, but it’s easy to find help. One of the best strategies to optimize your Microsoft 365 migrations is to let IT professionals like ECW Computers take care of it. We can oversee the migration while you sit back and focus on growing your business. Contact us today to learn more!