Office 365 Migration to Office 365: Crucial FAQs Answered

What is an Office 365 Tenant?

An Office 365 suite attached to a particular domain is known as an Office 365 tenancy. Tenants are formed when Office 365 is set up. A tenant stores the information of Office apps like Yammer, OneDrive, and SharePoint and helps transfer data between apps inside the tenant. Such data includes Exchange Data, i.e., information related to emails, and Active Directory data related to the domain management system.

What Steps Are Required for Preparing the Domain For 365 to 365 Migration?

An Office 365 to office 365 migration same domain may be required in some cases. In others, it may be needed for different domains. Organizations need to undertake the following steps either way, after which migrations can be done with Powerscript tools or using a third-party tool. The steps required for preparing the domain include:

• Ensure Availability of Space: The target tenant’s Office 365 should have sufficient capacity to take data from the source. New Licenses may need to be obtained.
• Open Administrator: Source and target tenants need to open administrator accounts. In some cases, specific tools for migration may require new admin accounts to be created.
• Create Mailboxes and Groups: The target tenant needs to create mailboxes for users, resources, and distribution groups.
• AD consolidation: Active Directory Domain Services, also called AD DS, can be necessary. The source and target domains must then be synchronized.

Once you’re done with the above steps, the next step is to verify the target tenant domain. Domain should be in use for only one target tenant. Then, you must add a source domain in the admin center and create DNS TXT records.

What Does the Scheduling Process Entail?

Scheduling involves three main steps:

• Generate Mailbox List: This step involves generating a user mailbox list and making a CSV file to facilitate the mapping process.
• Note TTL Lowest Value: The lowest TTL value (Time To Live) on the MX records should be noted.
• Disable Directory Sync: This step is to be done for the source tenant.

Are There Any Additional Steps Required for Facilitating the Migration?

Yes, here are some additional steps you need to take before you can finally migrate.

• Change MX Record: The Primary MX record should be changed to an unreachable value. This step will stop the flow of emails to the source tenant. The lowest value of the MX record you noted earlier should help with this process.
• Ensure Deletion: All objects in the primary domain of the source tenant should be erased before the transfer of the mailbox to the target tenant.
• Verify Source Tenant: The source tenant should be verified at least one hour after the previous activities.
• Activate Users: New users should be activated in the target domain and licenses assigned.
• Ensure Correct Primary Email: The Primary Email here should be the source domain.

Office 365 to Office 365 Migration Guide: What are Cutover Migration and Staged Migration?

The two most common Office 365 to Office 365 migration methods are cutover migration and staged migration.

1. Cutover Migration: Cutover migration can be started after MX records point to the new system. It is used when users are less than 2000, although an ideal number suggested by Microsoft is 150. The entire organization is switched at once. Some benefits include:
   • Fast and Simple
   • Users can use the new system without delay
   • Emails received in the target messaging system.
2. Staged Migration: It is helpful for migrations involving a considerable amount of data with more than a thousand people.
   • Flexible and avoids restrictive deadlines due to time before final cutover.
   • Doesn’t disrupt end users when complex migrations are performed.
   • Performed in batches as necessary.

Final Words

Using an Office 365 to Office 365 migration tool can help admins perform hassle-free office 365 migration to office 365 migrations. These tools can let admins migrate server mailboxes simultaneously and enhance productivity by offering filters for selective information and managing unlimited user mailboxes. They are highly recommended for transferring office subscriptions, merging tenants, transferring mailboxes to other accounts, and shifting domains.