Office 365 Shared mailbox to Exchange migration with EdbMails

Many organizations use shared mailboxes over regular mailboxes due to their collaborative nature. Shared mailboxes provide multiple users to access emails, manage the team communications and workflow without requiring an individual user license. This is very cost-effective and practical particularly in the case of a department such as customer service or sales, where a unified mailbox is critical for efficiency.

However, when it comes to migration of shared mailboxes from Office 365 to Exchange server, a lot of organizations go with third-party tools such as EdbMails. The manual migration may be too complicated for an organization can lead to downtime, data loss, or incomplete transfers, so EdbMails is the most trusted solution.

EdbMails comes with an user-friendly interface and automation, making it so much easier and accurate to transfer all data without the involvement of any administrative efforts. Its efficient capabilities makes migration easy with its efficient features so data can remain accurate. This is why businesses choose EdbMails for the safe and reliable migration of their data.

1. Why are users choosing Office 365 Shared mailbox to Exchange migration?

   With business changing and the demand for communication growing, migrating from Office 365 shared mailboxes to Exchange has become a good decision for many companies. Here are a number of the key reasons for the migration:

   1. Enhanced control and security

      Exchange servers include better security using strong encryption and granular permissions, this will suit companies with security-focused policies. The security provided through Office 365 shared mailboxes may not provide adequate control. Thus it is necessary to migrate to Exchange.

   2. Seamless integration with enterprise solutions

      Exchange Server is integrated with enterprise applications like collaboration tools, and Microsoft 365 apps providing one platform for communication. On migrating to an Exchange Server, organizations will find email infrastructure aligned with all other critical application.

   3. Scalability and performance

      The increase in organization size is accompanied by the increase in its communications requirements. Exchange server is available in scalable ways which Office 365 shared mailboxes do not. Migrating into Exchange offers freedom in terms of large mailbox sizes and large numbers of users, without reducing the performance level.

   4. Regulatory compliance

      Businesses that have the need to be compliant with regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA would benefit from the data retention, audit log, and eDiscovery tools provided by Exchange. While both solutions are adequate, shared mailboxes in Office 365 generally lack the tools for large-scale compliance management.

   5. Increased productivity with advanced features

      Exchange server includes features that enhance the ability to manage email. Such as rules, custom retention policies and automated workflow. These features are capable of boosting productivity by automating repetitive tasks.

   6. Cost optimization

      Exchange will involve purchasing extra licenses, however, saves you money in the long run by streamlining. Office 365 shared mailboxes tend to create more inefficiency when having multiple accounts and licenses. With Exchange, businesses can streamline their communication infrastructure while reducing overall operational costs.

      Migrating from Office 365 shared mailboxes to exchange with EdbMails will help the organization gain more control over security and performance. Additional benefits such as regulatory compliance, productivity, businesses are increasingly making this strategic move.

   Migrating from Office 365 shared mailboxes to Exchange using EdbMails provides organizations with greater control, security, and performance. With the added benefits of regulatory compliance and enhanced productivity, it's no wonder that businesses are increasingly making this strategic move.

2. What are the challenges of Shared mailbox to Exchange migration?

   1. Data loss: A critical problem with a migration process is losing key emails and documents from shared mailboxes, it must be handled well with safe backs and minimal disruption from the transfer phase to avoid data loss.
   2. Data corruption: During migration errors or interruption can lead to corruption of data within mailboxes.
   3. Duplication of data: Without filters the duplicate data can be generated resulting in redundant and confusing information.
   4. Migration speed: Large mailboxes are likely to take a longer time to migrate, slowing down your business operations.
   5. Troubleshooting: Unexpected syncing issues or permission problems may arise and will need to be resolved.
   6. Data retention and deletion: Improper management of data retention policies may lead to the accidental loss or deletion of data.
   7. User permissions management: Setting and maintaining correct user permissions across post-migration can be complicated.

3. Professional software for Office 365 Shared mailbox to Exchange migration

   Office 365 shared mailbox migration to Exchange server can be a challenging job for the most of the organization but EdbMails Office 365 migration software simplifies the migration with its unique and efficient features. The tool effectively helps in seamlessly migrating the data and it transfers the emails, contacts, calendars, tasks and more without the loss of data. The software is efficient in addressing the migration issues like loss of data, corrupted and duplicated data, offering a secure and reliable solution. EdbMails ensures a complete migration of all required data and preservation of communication and collaboration environment. Avoids all data loss or inconsistency issues for your organization.

   EdbMails provides advanced features which assist in increasing efficiency in the Office 365 Shared mailbox to Exchange migration. EdbMails support incremental migration of items, thus saving time and resources in moving only new or updated items. When concurrent migration is used, more than one mailbox can be migrated at the same time reducing the total migration time, especially during large migration processes. With EdbMails you also gain zero data loss and zero downtime with users having the ability to keep working without any interruptions to the e mail. With its user-friendly design, the source and target servers can easily be configured, and auto-mapping removes the errors & saves time. Both together made EdbMails perfect software solution for an organization desiring to switch from Office 365 shared mailbox to Exchange migration.

4. Planning a migration from Office 365 Shared mailbox to Exchange

   • Ensure that you enable the shared mailboxes and make them available in Office 365 admin center.
   • Create and enable shared mailboxes on the Exchange server
   • Determine whether you want to migrate the source Shared mailboxes to the target primary or Shared mailboxes.
   • Determine whether you want to move everything at once or in stages.
   • Check your internet connection speed and network configuration.
   • Communicate the migration plan and the changes to your end users.
   • Perform a test Office 365 migration before you start the actual one.

5. Pre-migration activities for Shared mailbox to Exchange migration

   • Step 1: Check that you meet the following requirements on Office 365

     • Ensure that you have a global admin account with a mailbox for Auto Registration of EdbMails application on your Entra ID (Azure Active Directory). However, you can use either a global admin account or any user account with full access rights in the Manual Registration method.
     • Ensure that you meet the network and bandwidth requirements for the migration.
     • See performance factors and best practices for Office 365 Shared mailbox to Exchange migration.

        Enable shared mailboxes on source Office 365 server.

   • Step 2: Check that your system meets the Exchange server setup requirements.

     The following links will help you to know about the network, hardware and operating system requirements for the Exchange server you want to install and migrate to.

     Note: Exchange 2010 has reached the end of support on October 13, 2020 and Exchange 2013 will reach the end of support on April 11, 2023. Therefore it is highly recommended that you migrate your mail data and Shared mailboxes to Exchange 2016 and 2019.

     1. Network and directory requirement for Exchange 2019
     2. Network and directory requirement for Exchange 2016
     3. Hardware Requirements for Exchange 2019
     4. Hardware Requirements for Exchange 2016
     5. Supported operating systems for Exchange 2019
     6. Supported operating systems for Exchange 2016

   • Step 3: Prepare your target system with the following prerequisites

     Complete the following prerequisites for Active Directory, Windows Mailbox server, and Windows Edge Transport servers before installing the Exchange server.

     1. Exchange 2019 prerequisites for preparing Active Directory (AD)
     2. Windows Server prerequisites for Exchange 2019
     3. Exchange 2016 prerequisites for preparing Active Directory (AD)
     4. Windows Server prerequisites for Exchange 2016

   • Step 4: Setup Exchange server for migration

     Given below is a list of key points for installing and preparing the Exchange server for migration. If you have already installed and set up your Exchange server, skip to point 4 in this step.

     1. Prepare AD and domains

        • Before installing Exchange Server, you need to prepare your Active Directory forest and its domains for the new version of Exchange.
        • If you have a separate team to manage the Active Directory schema, you need to first extend the active directory schema, else proceed to the next step to prepare the Active Directory.
        • If you have multiple domains you need to additionally prepare the Active Directory domains.
     2. Install Exchange server on your computer

        Before installing the Exchange server, ensure that you meet the server system requirements and prerequisites as outlined previously. Next, follow the link to install Exchange 2016 or install Exchange 2019 from the setup wizard.

     3. Prepare a clean Exchange target environment

        • Configure a Send connector to send mail outside the Exchange organization.
        • By default, Exchange automatically creates receive connectors for inbound mail flow when the mailbox server is installed. If you need to configure receive connectors, follow the steps in the link.
        • Add accepted domains to allow recipients to send and receive email from another domain.
        • Configure the default email address policy to add the accepted domain to every recipient in the organization.
        • Configure external URLs (domains) on the virtual directories in the Client Access (frontend) services on the Mailbox server to allow clients to connect to your server from the internet (outside the organization’s network).
        • Configure internal URLs on the virtual directories in the Client Access (frontend) services on the Mailbox server to allow clients to connect to your server from the internal network.
        • Configure SSL certificates from a third-party certificate authority for services such as Outlook Anywhere and Exchange ActiveSync.
        • Verify the Exchange server installation by running the command Get-ExchangeServer on the Exchange Management Shell (EMS).

     4. Create mailboxes and Public folders on the Exchange server

        • Before you migrate, ensure that you have mailboxes on the Exchange server and have assigned suitable licenses to them. Ensure that you also have the Shared mailbox enabled.

            See how to create mailboxes in Exchange server

     5. Assign management roles to the admin account
        • If you are using a global admin account to connect to the Exchange server, ensure that impersonation rights are set.

            See the steps to set impersonation rights on Exchange server.

     6. Configure the throttling and message-size limits
        • To create custom throttling policies and set maximum message size limits on the target Exchange server, follow the steps provided in the links below.

            Custom EWS throttling settings on Exchange server

            Change message size limits on Exchange

6. Steps to migrate from Shared mailbox to Exchange using EdbMails

   • Step 1: Download and install EdbMails application

     • Download and install the EdbMails application on your computer running on Windows OS. Ensure you can connect to the target Exchange server computer.
     • Start the application and enter the required details and click the ‘Login’ button or click the ‘Start Your Free Trial’ button to continue.
     • Know more details on System requirements for Office 365 to Exchange migration.

       

     • Select the ‘Office 365 Migration’ option.

       

     • Select ‘Office 365 to Live Exchange Migration’ option

       

     • You can either keep the default job name or click the 'New Job' button to rename it to one of your choice.

       

   • Step 2: Connect to the source Office 365 server

     • Click the 'Add New Connection' button to establish a new connection to the source Office 365. If you want to use an existing connection, simply select it from the connection list and click the 'Connect to Existing' button to proceed.

       

     • Select the required connection options and click the 'Next' button to continue.

       

     • Choose one of the methods for secure OAuth 2.0 based modern authentication

       

        Connect to Office 365 server using secure modern authentication

     • Sign in on the Microsoft page for authentication.

       

     • After successfully connecting to your Office 365 server, select an option to load the shared mailboxes. Alternatively, you can also load the mailboxes using a CSV file.

       

   • Step 3: Select source Office 365 shared mailboxes

     • Select the Shared mailboxes and folders from the left pane of the main migration window.
     • Click ‘Next’ to set up the connection with the target Exchange server.

       

   • Step 4: Connect to the target Exchange server

     • Click the 'Add New Connection' button to create a new connection to the target Exchange server. If you prefer using an existing connection, select it from the connection list and click the 'Connect to Existing' button to proceed.

        Different options to connect to Exchange server in EdbMails

        Using EdbMails, you can migrate mailboxes, public folders, and archive mailboxes from Microsoft 365 to target Exchange server.

       

     • Choose the desired connection options and click the 'Next' button to proceed.

       

     • Enter your target Exchange server details and then click the ‘Login’ button to proceed.

       

     • Once you've successfully logged in to your, select the required option for loading the target Exchange server mailboxes.

       

   • Step 5: Map source and target mailboxes

     • Select the appropriate option for mapping your mailboxes
     • If you install EdbMails on your target Exchange server, you can choose to automatically create mailboxes on the target Exchange server.

         Click here to know more about automatic mailbox creation.

       

     • EdbMails automatically maps shared mailboxes between the source Office 365 server and the target Exchange server. However, if needed, you can also manually map the shared mailboxes between the source and target servers.

       

   • Step 6: Start Office 365 Shared mailbox to Exchange migration

     • After mapping the mailboxes, click the ‘Start Migration’ button to initiate the migration process.

       

     • You can track the progress of the Office 365 Shared mailbox to Exchange migration in real-time, with the ability to pause and resume the process as required. Once the migration is complete, a confirmation message will appear. Furthermore, you can verify the migrated folders and mailbox items using EdbMails' detailed text-based migration report.

       

7. Office 365 Shared mailbox to Exchange post-migration tasks

   • Step 1: Update the MX records to point to the Exchange server

     When receiving emails in Exchange it is necessary to update the MX record for emails to be delivered to the new server that has been migrated. The Autodiscover record also needs to be changed so Outlook is able to find the new mailboxes.

   • Step 2: Create a new Outlook profile for users in the new domain

     • Ensure you have the latest Outlook version installed to avoid compatibility issues.
     • Configure the Outlook profile for each user in your domain if Outlook has problems connecting to Office 365 mailboxes.
     • Configure the new server settings, such as server address, username, and password in Outlook.
     • Test email flow to confirm that users can send and receive emails.

   • Step 3: Remove the old Office 365 subscription plan

     After the migration is successful and you have verified the data, remove the Office 365 subscription plan from the source and any domains associated if you no longer plan to use it.

8. Office 365 Shared mailbox to Exchange migration troubleshooting

     See the troubleshooting solutions for Office 365 and Exchange migration. For more information related to EdbMails Office 365 migration, see frequently asked questions.

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Additional resources:

• Office 365 to Exchange Migration
• Office 365 Migration with same Domain
• Office 365 Group Migration
• Selective Mailbox Migration
• Office 365 migration methods
• Office 365 migration checklist
• Migrate Shared mailbox to Office 365