Migrate Exchange to Office 365: Hybrid, Cutover, Staged Migration

[JennySamuel]

Exchange mailboxes cannot be imported directly into an Office 365 account so users have to choose a manual or direct method to migrate Exchange data to the Office 365 cloud.

In a manual process, users have several options by which you can migrate Exchange on-premises to Office 365 or Microsoft 365.

Cutover Migration

Staged Migration

Hybrid Migration (Full & Minimal)

All three have their advantages and disadvantages for moving Exchange data to an Office 365 mailbox. But at the same time they follow a long path to move exact match data to Office 365 from Exchange.

E.g. in Minimal Hybrid Migration: For Exchange to Office 365 migration

Step 1: Verify you own the domain

Step 2: Start express migration

Step 3: Create users in Microsoft 365 using Run directory

Step 4: Valid Microsoft 365 or Office 365 license

Step 5: Start migrating mailbox

Step 6: Update DNS records

All these 6 steps are technically complicated for a novice user. On the other hand, if you opt for a third-party tool like MailsDaddy Exchange to Office 365 Migration Tool, you can easily migrate Exchange mailbox to Office 365 mailbox in 5 easy clicks.

You can use its free demo version for the first try and move the first 50 items from each mailbox from Exchange to Office 365.