Member Article

IT managers: Guide to migrating to Office 365

Once thought of as the next IT buzzword, few could argue that the cloud is now anything less than a permanent fixture in business life. As acceptance of the cloud grew, so too did the ways in which corporate giants like Microsoft adapted their offerings to meet the demand. And with significant competition in the cloud space from tech giants like Google, Microsoft’s cloud offering, Office 365, has had to evolve with the ever-increasing needs of its users. So what exactly is Office 365 – and how can it boost the productivity of your business?

Why 365?

With more than six million Microsoft users throughout the world, most of whom are still likely to be using the traditional, more costly and resource-dependent licensing model, migrating to a cloud-based version of the Office suite seems an attractive proposition. After all, securely accessing emails, files and instant messages from any location with Wi-Fi is the Holy Grail for most organisations.

There are increasingly practical reasons to make the switch too – with Microsoft recently announcing that support will soon end for Windows Server 2003, despite 61% of businesses still using this older version. As reasons go, that’s a pretty good excuse to plan your new migration strategy.

What’s more, with added benefits like Skype for Business and SharePoint, Microsoft is really making an effort to respond to the needs of workforces with new and improved features. But migrating to Office 365 isn’t quite as simple as flicking a switch – there are a number of factors to consider so you don’t end up with your head in the clouds.

Defeat disruptions

One of the main benefits of migrating to Office 365 is that it allows employees to access all of their usual applications – like Outlook and Excel – from any location. This makes home working a lot more efficient and can even save on office costs, especially if employees only need to be onsite for specific meetings or conferences.

Email-on-the-go is critical in today’s business environment, which makes Office 365 seem the perfect solution. However, the flip side of this is that as the primary method of communication, not migrating emails to 365 properly can have a devastating impact on productivity, even if emails are only down for a short time. And because most migrations won’t happen overnight, having a plan in place to keep that disruption to a minimum is vital.

A positive Outlook

One of the first questions an IT manager will be asked about the migration will inevitably be: “Will I still be able to access my old emails?” It’s an important transition, especially as our inboxes now house much of the information we need to be able to conduct business. Archived and existing emails need to be migrated as efficiently as possible – but there are a number of boxes to tick before you begin.

Email routing is just one factor to consider, as it has important implications for the way attachments are handled – causing a knock-on effect for delivery times and storage on the network. As well as archived emails, users’ Outlook profiles will also have to be migrated to ensure consistency in user experience – not forgetting users’ calendar and task reminders, as well as address books.

Compliance obligations need to be checked too – especially for archived emails. Older emails are generally migrated to local PST files so that users can access them within Outlook, but this then means that the content is not archived in a central location. Depending on the type of organisation, this can present a compliance and security issue, so ensure any obligations are thoroughly checked before commencing any migrations.

Also, at a base level, Office 365 does not work with versions of Office issued before 2007 – so outdated users will first need to be migrated to a more up-to-date version. If this seems like a lot to handle, especially for enterprise organisations, it might be beneficial to partner with a company who will provide full account management and advice throughout the migration process.

SharePoint migration

Whilst migrating emails is important, additional features such as SharePoint also need to be considered. For example, not all of the features of SharePoint will be available on 365 – so any gaps need to be filled. Files can be migrated manually, although this poses a risk of data being lost.

A better approach might be to employ a hybrid system – which works by running both on premise and Office 365 at the same time. This allows any new sites to be created in Office 365 instead of on premise. If you opt for the hybrid approach it’s imperative that the right licence is purchased to cover all the bases.

Secure systems

Security is another important issue in the migration process. Since most organisations will have an anti-spam or firewall system in place, this will need to be migrated to protect the integrity of sensitive data and also ensure that the spam filters aren’t fighting against the new system.

An understanding of firewalls, proxy devices and CAS servers is a distinct benefit too. Depending on the amount of data, a migration to Office 365 can take a matter of hours, but if you also need to battle against the guidelines of your organisation’s security team, it can end up taking days.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that some organisations and public sector institutions are bound by regulatory obligations which means they cannot use providers whose data centres are housed outside of the country – which would mean that all email and other capabilities have to be maintained in house and Office 365 is not suitable.

Boosted bandwidth

Office 365 is designed to migrate quickly, but essentially this boils down to the bandwidth capabilities of an organisation. Microsoft tries to combat this with a bandwidth performance test – but if your connection isn’t up to scratch migrating to Office 365 could quickly become a real headache.

There are ways to address this though, one of which involves “staging” the mail migration. This means that an initial sweep copies emails over to Office 365 over a few days or weeks, before a subsequent mail sweeps copies over any new messages. A final sweep then migrates the most recent messages and cuts the mailbox over.

Third party tools can often aid with processes such as these, which also allow for the installation on multiple migration consoles as needed to increase scalability. Again, if you’re unsure it’s prudent to partner with a provider who can guide you through the process.

Reach for the Skype

Of course, as fast as communications change in our personal life, so too do they in the business world. Using Skype for business purposes has become ever more popular, and has resulted in Microsoft adding it into some of its 365 packages. Although not a true VoIP replacement, Skype does offer instant messenger, presence and videoconferencing. Computers and phones must be of a certain standard to be able to cope with Skype to Skype calling – so check with your provider before making any arrangements.

Blissful coexistence

Inevitably, there is going to be some cross over with the incumbent system prior to full migration. Especially so for large organisations, a decision needs to be made on if and how coexistence between Office 365 and legacy email applications will be managed. For example, will users who straddle the border of both systems and able to share a common directory or share users’ free or busy statuses? It’s a bit of a logistical puzzle, which is why it’s important to have planned ahead as much as possible to ensure that the full migration takes place smoothly and quickly.

Conclusion

The benefits of Office 365 are plain to see – flexibility, increased productivity and lower licence costs. However, the migration to a cloud based platform is not something that can be done at the click of a mouse. Migration can also require a fairly deep-rooted understanding of Exchange, Office 365, archives, security, DNS, storage, firewalls, proxies and networking (to name but a few). Any shortfall in this knowledge can cause migration to come to a grinding halt, often ending up in an outside source needing to unravel what was done previously and re-do what perhaps should have happened in the first instance.

Cloud-based applications are supposed to cut costs and increase efficiency, so don’t fall into the trap of cutting corners to save on the initial outlay – it’s the perfect recipe to end up paying more in the long run. If you’re unsure, chat to your connectivity provider to assess all of the options and make sure your organisation is ready for the move.

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This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Timico .