Properly managed, the process of migrating email from Exchange to Office 365 is straightforward, however it is also complex and if undertaken by a team without experience, there are plenty of things that can go wrong.
The key aspect of a successful Office 365 Email Migration is proper planning.
As with any major IT project, there is no such thing as a standard process, and having a full understanding of the nuances of an individual business’ email set up is essential in creating a roadmap to structure the project.
Some of the most common issues faced during the Office 365 Email Migration process are due to stability issues with the existing Exchange environment. Small issues that are normally worked around in the day to day usage of email can become major stumbling blocks in delivering the project.

The sheer volume of data that needs to be processed in migrating from Exchange to Office 365 can be a major issue in some organisations. Particularly where there is a slow internet connection. In some cases, the total volume of data will run to several Terabytes, which can cause slow down for other staff as the information is transferred.
Another common issue with migrating from legacy email systems to Office 365 Email is that there will usually be some downtime.
Bespoke software that has been added to Exchange in order to provide additional functionality can create problems, as the same functionality may not be available in Office 365 – identifying these types of issue is essential as part of the planning so that arrangements can be made.
It Pays to Use an Expert for Office 365 Email Migration
The level of planning required to manage a successful Office 365 Email Migration project means that an experienced professional is required. Your internal IT team may not understand the common pitfalls, or have a full insight into the required processes or optimisations that are possible.
Rather than simply “winging it”, speak to a member of the Valto team – we’ll be happy to help you through the planning and execution of upgrading your email to Office 365.