Introduction
Have you considered making the jump to Office 365? Have you done some research and concluded that it might be a headache? Need someone to point you in the proper direction so you don’t miss anything? So, if you meet any of the above conditions and are serious about making the switch, take a cup of coffee because I’m going to make your choice a whole lot simpler!
With the rising popularity of cloud computing, more companies are turning to Office 365 for its cloud-based communication, collaboration, and productivity features. Several techniques for migrating email, calendar, and contact data from your current messaging environment to Microsoft 365 or Office 365 are supported by Microsoft 365.
In this software review, we’ll look at the best Office 365 migration software, its features, migration steps, pricing plans that give your Office 365 migrations a complete shape.
Office 365 Migration: Organizational Requirements
The biggest difficulty with migrating from Office 365 to Office 365 is that the migrating domain(s) can only reside in one O365 tenant at a time. This means that before you can add the domain to tenant B, you must remove or rename all mails, user accounts, O365 Groups, and other items in tenant A. You can add the domain to tenant B and recreate the accounts after the O365 platform detects it isn’t affiliated with any tenant. The most important reason to use a reputed migration solution like EdbMails is because if you migrate incorrectly using the manual methods, you may lose access to email until everything is re-configured.
What are the different Office 365 migration scenarios?
Most of the users want to migrate mailboxes from one tenant to another, as well as from their on-premises system to the Hosted Exchange server. An Office 365 migration software on the other hand, need to handle a wide range of migration scenarios, including:
- Exchange 2019 migration, 2016, 2013, 2010, and 2007 migration from one Microsoft 365 (Office 365) tenant to another
- Small Business Server 2011, 2008, and 2003 conversion for Microsoft 365 Hosted Exchange to Microsoft 365 (2010 and latest)
- Migration of Public Folders and Shared Mailboxes
- Office 365 Public folder to Shared mailboxes
- Migration from an Office 365 or Exchange public folder to a shared mailbox and vice versa.
- Export Office 365 mailbox’s contents to Outlook PST format etc
It’s worth noting that EdbMails supports all of the aforementioned migration scenarios in one place. It enables end users to perform any migration of their choice by simply connecting to their respective mailboxes. Let us first understand some of the limitations of manual migration methods before we review and discuss the migration procedures.
Limitations of Migrating using Microsoft’s Native Tools
Though native tools facilitate Office 365 migration, they limit key features and enforce a lot of restrictions on migration execution. The following are some of the challenges associated when migrating to native tools:
- You should be proficient with Powershell scripts. Acquiring programming skills is no big deal. However, it may take a long time or perhaps result in data loss if you don’t have prior expertise or thorough knowledge.
- With mailbox migrations of much more than 150 mailboxes, cutover migration is not suggested.
- For transferring email selectively, there are no filter options with the manual methods. If a user has recently migrated, they will need to migrate their entire mailbox again, which may be cumbersome.
- Users who would like to migrate from an older version of Exchange must first update to the most recent version before switching.
- Native solutions are also known to have network and data loss issues. A migration process that has been interrupted in the middle due to network issues cannot be resumed.
- Transferring large mailboxes, public folders, archive mailboxes, or emails with huge attachments to Office 365 is tough. There will be a downtime during the migration of public folders, during which they will be unavailable to anybody.
- When transferring archive mailboxes, there are a few things to keep in mind and loose ends to tie which may not be very intuitive.
Compelling need of Automated Office 365 Migrator
As we have seen many limitations of the native tools for Office 365 migration, this turns organizations’ decision to look way forward for consistent and specialized third party tools. Mergers, acquisitions, user experience, email account consolidation, security and other factors may influence an organization’s decision to transfer its emails to a new client using a third party automated Office 365 migrator.
EdbMails Office 365 Migrator Software: Best Solution
Migrating data to Office 365 (Microsoft 365) is a difficult task and therefore, any migration tool must be capable of performing complex tasks. However, we ensured that EdbMails Office 365 Migration does those procedures in the background seamlessly, allowing you to set everything up in the most intuitive and simple manner possible.
You won’t need to use PowerShell or any other manual changes if you use EdbMails Office 365 Migration solution for your migration needs. Easy-to-use configuration wizards are used to set up the migrating tasks. The software application takes care of most duties for you, such as automatic mailbox matching and automatic creation of target Office 365 users and mailboxes, so you can enjoy a simple and seamless experience.
Office 365 Migration the EdbMails way
- First Step: Getting the Software
The initial step is to download and install the EdbMails Office 365 migration software, which requires only a few minutes. What we liked about EdbMails is that it does not tax your system by consuming excessive resources. As a result, EdbMails is a very lightweight tool.
You’ll be taken to a new screen where you may log in or try out the ‘Free Trial’ version. If you log in with a license plan, you won’t need a license key because the license is tied to your email address. To start the free trial, you don’t need any of the details.
On the next screen, you can perform a variety of recovery and migration tasks. Of course, the free trial version allows you to try out all of these features for free. You have full access to the software with the licensed version. Because we’re dealing with Office 365 Migration, choose the appropriate option from the drop-down.
- Second Step: Source Office 365 Account connection
The Source and the destination servers connection can be made in two ways. The classic method is the first, whereas the Modern authentication method is the second. Select Secure OAuth 2.0 Modern authentication and the ‘Automatic Registration’ option. Proceed to the next window after you have made your choices.
The following screen prompts you to select your connection methods. After selecting the ‘Connect to Mailbox’ option, I clicked the ‘Continue’ button.
On the Microsoft Authentication page, fill in the relevant information and sign in using the on-screen option.
You have three options for loading mailboxes on the next screen: Automatic, CSV, or From a Previously Stored list. After selecting the right option, click the ‘Continue’ button.
- Third Step: Selecting the Mailboxes and Mail Items
Select the mailboxes/folders for migration in the right pane once the mailboxes have been imported into the main user window. You can migrate your data in two ways: Full or incremental. A First migration is always the full migration. The subsequent migrations are incremental if you migrate the items from the same computer to the same target server. You can realize the incremental migration functionality on another computer by copying your metadata folder from the original PC where EdbMails was installed. By pressing the ‘Exclude Folders’ button, you can exclude common folders like Conversation History and Junk, also standard folders. You can also move mailbox and folder permissions, rules, Global Address Lists, and other items.
You can check mailbox usage statistics by selecting the ‘Get Details’ button, and you can apply filters to migrate specific mail items based on Date, To address, From address, Attachment name, and other criteria by clicking the ‘Settings’ button. Choose from exporting to PST, migrating to another Office 365 tenancy, or sending to a live Exchange server.
- Fourth Step: Target Office 365 Account connection
Select a connection method for the destination server. As with the source server connection, you have both Classic and Modern authentication techniques. After selecting the Modern approach with Automatic registration, click ‘Log in.’
You must now select a connection method and log in with the credentials provided in the Microsoft Authenticate window. Then select a method for loading mailboxes from the options Automatic, CSV, and saved list. The Automatic option loads all the mailboxes in real time.
Verify the mailboxes; if any are missing, a CSV file can be used to fill in the missing entries.
- Fifth Step: Mailbox Mapping and Migration Start
EdbMails allows automatic mailbox mapping between the source and target servers. This method reduces the amount of time and effort necessary during the procedure. Here, I chose to map the mailboxes automatically. You can, however, select the other options if you want to map the mailboxes manually or from a previously migrated process.
Verify the mapping operation and ensure that the Action is set to Migrate in the top left corner of the window.
As the final stage of the migration, a migration window appears that gives you real-time information about the migration’s progress. After the entire Office 365 migration process is complete, click on the View Log’ button, to see a detailed migration log report, the folders and mail items that have been migrated and so on.
EdbMails Experience in Office 365 Migration
EdbMails migration is swift and reliable when compared to most other competing software tools. It is easy to use, and you have access to all of your options. EdbMails stands out due to its round-the-clock customer service and lowest pricing plans, as previously indicated. The licenses are also lifetime, with free software upgrades and updates included.
EdbMails Office 365 Migration Tool Parameters
- User Interface and Simplicity
EdbMails is a simple-to-use programme with a graphical user interface. The tool’s setup and function are self-explanatory, with thorough instructions guiding you through each step. You can use it to carry out migration, export, and backup activities without any technical knowledge or sophisticated PowerShell scripts. You can refer to the screenshots and video tutorial before performing the procedures to ensure that you understand all of the processes. There are plenty of knowledge base articles, user manual pages, and FAQs to aid you if you really need to refer back to something or have a specific technical query.
- Software Loading Time and Performance
EdbMails Office 365 migration is completely scalable to suit your requirements. Anyone can purchase mailbox licenses based on the usage, and its multithreading feature enables it to migrate 50 percent faster than competing solutions. Its high accuracy comes from the fact that it keeps an exact copy of all the contents of the source mailbox on the target without modifying or losing data. It’s a high-performance migration tool because of its incremental migration feature and different filter settings.
- Data Security and Integrity
Without the use of third-party apps or intermediates, EdbMails ensures exceptional security. The software is installed in its entirety in the environment where the migration will occur, and even your PC’s metadata is protected with military-grade AES-256. It follows Microsoft’s protocol and uses the ADAL-based OAuth 2.0 modern login approach to authenticate your Office 365 accounts. It also has multi-factor authentication, ensuring that no data is lost during the transfer.
- Throttling and Migration Management
Due to the numerous hurdles, many users put off or procrastinate their Office 365 migration plan. EdbMails can quickly and automatically deal with Office 365 throttling, thus it’s there to help you with all of your issues. Migrations are faster than those of most competitors thanks to its multithreading capabilities. Another feature of EdbMails that I noticed is its migration continuity. If you lose internet connections during migrating, the programme will automatically begin migration from where it left off as soon as you regain connection.
- Speed and Accuracy
A 64-bit laptop PC with an Intel i5 Core CPU running at 2.50GHz, 4GB RAM, and the Windows 10 operating system served as our EdbMails testbed. For our internet connection, we used a T1 line. The download and installation of the software went without any issues. We started the Office 365 migration with a trial Microsoft Office 365 account after the installation. EdbMails lays out all of the options in a logical and step-by-step manner, making it easy to follow along without missing anything. You have the option to choose the Modern login technique or the Classic login method right away. We used the Modern login technique, which authenticates you by redirecting you to the official Office 365 login page. We were able to move a 2GB mailbox in 40-50 minutes.
- Feature-Richness and Options
EdbMails is an excellent tool with its feature richness for migrating Office 365 mailboxes to another Office 365 tenant, as well as Exchange 2019, 2016, or 2013. Office 365 mailboxes can also be exported to PST format.
- Migrate mailboxes without risking the source server or encountering data loss.
- A simple graphical panel (GUI) allows you to control every aspect of the transfer.
- Emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, notes, and journals can all be transferred without difficulty.
- Final Log files confirm that migrations have been completed and contain full information on the items that have been migrated.
- Using the Server connection wizard, you can easily prepare migrations and automatically match the source and target mailboxes.
- Incremental migration without duplicating data on subsequent migrations.
- EdbMails offers to filter out emails from Standard folders, Junk E-mail, Conversation History and so on.
- Customer Support, Guide and Help Options
One of the best aspects of EdbMails is its 24/7 customer support and assistance. If you’re experiencing problems moving to Office 365 or need clarification on a specific issue, you can contact them via live chat, phone, or email. The technical support team goes over and beyond to help customers and users with their queries. The software is easy to use, has intuitive settings, and comes with a guided tour to get you started right away on the path to Office 365 migration success. There’s also a remote assistance option. We contacted their customer service to seek a free live product demo, and their representatives were courteous and accommodating in providing us with all of the information we required and making the session as informative as possible.
- Pricing and Software Affordability
It’s pleasant and cost-saving to find EdbMails pricing for Office 365 migration to be reasonable for complex migration projects. They offer an exceptional price along with customization options tailored to your specific requirements. You can see the pricing per mailbox depending on the number of source mailboxes on their website. The cost of 100 mailboxes is $200. Another aspect to note is that you can save money if you go with more mailboxes. The licenses that have not yet been used can be used at any point in the future. A combination of Exchange and Office 365 mailboxes is also available which is called the Bundle Offer. The pricing for 100 Exchange and Office 365 mailboxes is only $360, which is very reasonable when compared to other similar software.
- Reliability and Suitability for the task
Any migration solution must be reliable and suitable for the task. EdbMails can accomplish flawless migrations with no data loss when it comes to reliability. In addition, the data migrated to the target is a mirror image of the source maintaining perfect data consistency. EdbMails software perfectly handles large size mailbox migration and attachments. We put it to the test using a 1GB mailbox, and it took less than an hour to migrate using a typical T1 internet connection.
Ending Words: EdbMails Office 365 migrator
When it comes to transitioning to Office 365, the EdbMails Office 365 Migrator consistently delivers its promises. When I was doing EdbMails product testing, I discovered that mailboxes could be effectively transferred between Office 365 and Exchange Server versions. EdbMails software for Exchange mailbox migration can also be utilized to migrate from Exchange 2010 to Office 365 in one step. During the entire procedure, which included connecting to On-premises and Office 365 servers, mapping mailboxes, and migrating mailboxes from the old environment, there was no downtime or difficulties. The migration was completed with simple steps making it straightforward for enterprises looking to complete Office 365 Migration projects quickly.
If you’re looking for Company wide Microsoft Office 365 email signatures and disclaimers, we recommend another excellent solution. Sigsync allows you to manage all of your signatures from a single, centralized dashboard. You can immediately add tenants, designate global or specific Admins, and use the gallery of predefined templates to add signatures to your emails. Sigsync also gives you the option of adding signatures to all or specific users, recipients, encrypted emails, out-of-office replies, and so on. Email signatures allow you to promote your brand and social media channels, market your product, and receive real-time customer feedback. If you want to learn more, click on the link provided above.
