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Migrate Hosted Exchange to Office 365

Migrating from Hosted Exchange providers such as Intermedia, Rackspace, or GoDaddy to Office 365 has become a common step for organizations looking to adopt cloud-based solutions. Office 365 provides scalable infrastructure, improved collaboration, strong security, and access from anywhere, making it a practical choice for modern workplaces. However, migration from a Hosted Exchange environment to Office 365 can involve technical complexities and requires proper planning to ensure a smooth migration.

EdbMails Exchange Migration software simplifies the entire process by supporting multiple migration types, including mailboxes, public folders, and archive mailboxes. It securely migrates emails, calendars, contacts, tasks, and other mailbox data while maintaining complete data integrity and ensuring zero downtime throughout the migration process.

EdbMails simplifies the entire migration process with an automated approach, making it easy even for first-time users to handle mailbox migration without complexity. It includes useful features such as incremental migration to prevent duplicates and advanced filtering options that help perform selective migration based on specific requirements. Whether you need to migrate a few mailboxes or manage a large-scale migration, EdbMails ensures a smooth and reliable migration from Hosted Exchange Server to Office 365.

Hosted Exchange to Office 365 Migration Prerequisites
- Step 1: Set the impersonation role to the admin user on the source server
  If you are using global admin account to connect to source Hosted Exchange server, then set the Application Impersonation permissions to list and migrate other user mailboxes
- Step 2: Create mailboxes on the target Office 365 server
  Before you migrate Hosted Exchange to Office 365, ensure that you create mailboxes for users in your organization and assign suitable licenses to them.
  1. Add users and assign licenses to Office 365 users
  2. Assign Microsoft 365 licenses to user accounts
  If you plan to migrate Public folders to Office 365, ensure that you create and configure the Public folders on the target server.
  Steps to create Office 365 Public folder and assign admin permissions
- Step 3: Add a custom domain to Office 365 (Optional)
  If you have a custom email domain from your hosting provider to which you want to migrate and receive emails, you must add and verify the domain on Office 365.
  Steps to add custom domain to Office 365
- Step 4: Configure Office 365 to send and receive large messages
  Increase the message size limit on Office 365 to 150 MB. This option enables you to bypass message size limitations during the migration.
Steps to Migrate Hosted Exchange to Office 365
- Step 1: Download and install EdbMails software
  - Download and install EdbMails on any computer.
    System requirements for Hosted Exchange to Office 365 migration
  - Open the EdbMails application on your computer.
  - Sign in with your registered email ID and password, then click ‘Login’. If you are a new user, select ‘Start Your Free Trial’ to continue with the trial version.
    Note: The trial version includes all key features and supports migration of up to 30 items per folder. To perform unlimited migration, purchase an Exchange Migration license from the official EdbMails website.
    Click here to view Exchange Migration pricing details.
    After purchasing the license, close the application and launch it again. Then log in using the same email ID and password used during the purchase to activate the license successfully.
  - Select 'Live Exchange migration' option.
  - Select 'Live Exchange to Office 365 Migration' option.
  - You can either keep the default job name or click 'New Job' to change it.
- Step 2: Connect to the source Hosted Exchange server
  - To establish a new connection to the source Hosted Exchange server, click ‘Add New Connection’. To reuse a previous connection, select it from the list and click ‘Connect to Existing’.
  - Choose ‘Connect to Hosted Exchange Server’ to set up a connection with your Hosted Exchange environment. This option is ideal if your email service runs on a Hosted Exchange Server or when you need to migrate a single mailbox.
  - Select ‘Connect to Primary / Shared Mailboxes’, then click ‘Next’ to continue.
  - Select the appropriate option to perform ‘Multiple user migration’ or ‘Single User migration’.
    Different options to connect to Hosted Exchange server
  - Choose ‘Connect Using Autodiscover Email’ and enter your email address and password if Autodiscover is enabled on your Hosted Exchange server. If Autodiscover is not available, select ‘Default Connection’ and connect using the server’s domain name or IP address.
  - Enter the source Exchange server details, including the IP address (Domain name), Exchange version, username, and password.
  - Click the ‘Login’ button to proceed.
  - After signing in to your target Office 365 server, select the preferred method to load the mailboxes.
  - EdbMails provides an automatic option to load mailboxes, making the setup quick and simple. Due to Microsoft API limitations, this method displays up to 100 mailboxes at a time.
  - For large environments or when specific mailboxes need to be included, choose the ‘Load Mailboxes using .CSV file’ option. This method enables manual selection and offers complete control over the mailbox loading process.
  - Select ‘Load Mailboxes Automatically’ and click ‘Next’ to continue.
- Step 3: Select the hosted Exchange server mailboxes
  - Choose the mailboxes you wish to migrate to the target Office 365 server.
- Step 4: Connect to target Office 365 server
  - To set up a new connection with your target Office 365 account, click ‘Add New Connection’. If you've connected before, just pick it from the list and click ‘Connect to Existing’ to continue.
  - Select the required connection options and click the ‘Next’ button.
  - Ensure you have a Global Admin account with an active mailbox to enable auto registration of the EdbMails application in your Entra ID (Azure Active Directory).
  - If you choose the Manual Registration option, you can sign in using either a Global Admin account or a user account that has full access permissions.
  - Select ‘Auto Registration’ to establish the connection with Office 365, then click the ‘Login’ button to proceed.
  - Authenticate on Microsoft sign-in page.
  - Choose a method to load the mailboxes. You can also upload a CSV file containing the mailbox details, then click ‘Next’ to proceed.
- Step 5: Hosted Exchange to Office 365 mailboxes mapping
  - Choose the required mailbox mapping option.
  - EdbMails automatically creates mailboxes on your target Office 365 server and assigns the necessary licenses.
    Learn more about the automatic mailbox creation process on the target Office 365 server.
  - EdbMails automatically maps mailboxes from the source Hosted Exchange server to the target Office 365 mailboxes. You can also map them manually or use a CSV file for mailbox mapping.
- Step 6: Start to Migrate from Hosted Exchange to Office 365
  - Click the 'Start Migration’ button to initiate the migration process.
  - You can track the migration progress using the progress bar. Once the process is complete, EdbMails will display a confirmation message. Click ‘View Logs’ to review the detailed migration report.
Hosted Exchange to Office 365 Post-migration Tasks
- Step 1: Update Office 365 MX records in your DNS
  Update your MX records in your DNS to start receiving messages on Office 365. This switch ensures smooth email operation with your newly migrated server. Additionally, set up the Autodiscover record for the Outlook connectivity to the migrated mailboxes.
- Step 2: Create Outlook Profiles for the new domain users
  If Outlook encounters connectivity hiccups with Office 365, create fresh Outlook profiles for each user in your domain. This action will help troubleshoot and establish proper connections.
Troubleshooting Guide to Migrate Hosted Exchange to Office 365
For potential solutions to migration errors, refer to the Exchange migration troubleshooting guide. For further information regarding EdbMails Exchange/ Hosted Exchange migration, visit the Frequently Asked Questions.

Benefits of EdbMails to Migrate from Hosted Exchange to Office 365

Concurrent Mailbox Migration: EdbMails supports simultaneous transfer of multiple mailboxes, leveraging multi-threading to maximize throughput and maintain zero downtime.
Incremental Migration: EdbMails supports the delta migration approach, transferring only new and modified items during subsequent operations.
Broad Compatibility: EdbMails supports migration from both on-premises and Hosted Exchange servers, including Exchange Server versions 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, and 2007 - ensuring reliable compatibility across various environments.
User-friendly Interface: EdbMails features a straightforward GUI that allows users to initiate and manage migrations without needing any PowerShell commands or scripting skills.
Comprehensive Migration Capabilities: EdbMails supports the migration of Exchange / Hosted Exchange Public folders, Shared mailboxes, and in-place archives to Office 365, ensuring all essential data is migrated effectively.
Cost-effective Solution: EdbMails offers an affordable way to migrate from Hosted Exchange to Office 365, offering powerful features at a competitive price without compromising on quality.
Automatic Mailbox Mapping: EdbMails automates mailbox mapping, making it easy to match source Hosted Exchange mailboxes with their corresponding Office 365 targets—significantly reducing manual setup time.
Secure Authentication: EdbMails implements OAuth 2.0 for secure authentication during hosted Exchange to Office 365 migration, ensuring that sensitive data remains protected throughout the entire process.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Does EdbMails support incremental (delta) migration during Hosted Exchange to Office 365 Migration ?
Yes. EdbMails supports incremental migration. It transfers only new or modified items during subsequent migration runs, avoiding duplicates and optimizing bandwidth.
Can I migrate shared mailboxes and public folders using EdbMails?
Yes. EdbMails migrates public folders and shared mailboxes. It also supports the migration of mailboxes, archive mailboxes, permissions, and the complete folder structure.
Can I continue using the source mailboxes after migration?
Yes. EdbMails does not delete or modify data on the source server during migration, you can continue using source mailboxes.
What happens if the migration is interrupted (for example due to connectivity issues)?
If the migration is interrupted due to connectivity issues, EdbMails Exchange Migration Tool automatically resumes the process from where it stopped once the connection is restored. The tool uses an incremental migration mechanism, ensuring that already-migrated items are not duplicated, and no data is lost. This allows you to restart the migration safely at any time without affecting the integrity or structure of the mailbox or public folder data.