Intermedia Migration to Office 365 – Complete Guide

• 16 November 2025
• Office 365 Migration
• Written by Justin Greaves

• Introduction
• Why Migrate from Intermedia to Office 365/ Microsoft 365?
• Key Benefits of Moving to Office 365 from Intermedia
• Prerequisites Before Starting Intermedia to Office 365 Migration
• How to Migrate Intermedia to Office 365?
• Step-by-Step Guide for Intermedia Exchange to Office 365 Migration
• Limitations of Manual Intermedia to Office 365 Migration
• Cost of Intermedia to Office 365 Migration
• Apps4Rent Can Help with Intermedia to Office 365 Migration

Intermedia is a well-known provider of cloud-based communication and collaboration solutions that cater to businesses of all sizes. Their offerings include email hosting, unified communications, and other cloud-based services to enhance productivity and streamline organizational communication. However, as technology evolves, many businesses consider the benefits of Intermedia to Office 365 migration.

Microsoft 365 is a comprehensive suite of cloud-based productivity tools and services, including popular applications like Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This migration offers several advantages, including access to a broader suite of productivity tools, enhanced security features, and familiarity with Microsoft’s ecosystem. In this blog, we will explore the benefits of transitioning from Intermedia to Office 365, shedding light on why many organizations opt for this migration.

Why Migrate from Intermedia to Office 365?

Enhance your business’s potential with a smooth Intermedia migration to Office 365. Experience the benefits of a comprehensive Office suite, an expanded application ecosystem, and unmatched storage capacity, positioning your organization for future success.

• Comprehensive Office Suite: Office 365 offers a complete suite of productivity tools, including Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and more, making it highly compatible with various business needs.
• Enhanced Storage: Office 365 provides ample storage capacity, surpassing email hosting applications like Intermedia. This ensures that users have sufficient space for their emails and files, reducing the need for frequent storage management.
• Expanded Application Ecosystem: Users can enjoy a wide array of Microsoft applications, such as OneDrive, SharePoint, MS Teams, and many others, fostering collaboration and enhancing work efficiency.
• Seamless Integration: Office 365 integrates smoothly with various Microsoft services and applications, streamlining workflows and simplifying business processes.
• Security and Compliance: Office 365 offers robust security features and compliance tools, helping organizations maintain data integrity and protect sensitive information.
• Regular Updates: Office 365 receives frequent updates and improvements, ensuring that users can always access the latest features and security enhancements.
• Excellent Support: Microsoft provides extensive support and resources for Office 365, including documentation, training, and customer support, ensuring that users can resolve any issues quickly.

  

Key Benefits of Moving to Office 365 from Intermedia

Migrating from Intermedia to Office 365 is more than a platform switch. It is a strategic upgrade that strengthens productivity, security, and flexibility across the organization. Businesses that migrate email from Intermedia to Office 365 gain advantages that go far beyond basic email hosting.

• Improved User Experience and Productivity: With a consistent and familiar Microsoft Office environment available across all devices, employees adapt quickly and work more efficiently. Collaboration improves through Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive, which support real-time co-authoring, secure file sharing, and streamlined workflows within the Microsoft ecosystem.
• Scalability and Flexibility: Office 365 allows organizations to scale user licenses and services up or down as business needs change. Subscription plans include cloud storage and essential apps, giving IT teams greater control over resources. The platform also supports hybrid work by enabling remote access and mobility, ensuring teams stay connected wherever they are.
• Robust Security and Compliance Framework: Office 365 includes enterprise-grade security measures such as multi-factor authentication and Advanced Threat Protection to safeguard against cyberthreats. Data loss prevention policies help protect emails and documents from accidental exposure, while compliance with standards like GDPR and HIPAA supports organizations in regulated industries.
• Centralized Management and Administration: The unified admin console simplifies management of users, devices, and policies across the organization. Automated updates reduce IT overhead, and integration with Azure Active Directory delivers advanced identity and access management to strengthen overall security.
• Enhanced Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery: Microsoft’s global network of data centers provides high availability and reliable uptime for essential business communications. Built-in archiving, retention, and recovery features protect critical data, while cloud backups and redundancy minimize risks during outages or disruptions.
• Extended Ecosystem and Integration Opportunities: Office 365 integrates seamlessly with third-party applications and line-of-business tools through Microsoft Graph and connectors, and similar approaches can be applied for scenarios like Commvault to Microsoft Office 365 migration. Organizations also benefit from the Power Platform, including Power BI and Power Automate, which enable analytics, reporting, and workflow automation. Regular updates and new features from Microsoft ensure the platform continues to evolve with business needs.

Prerequisites Before Starting Intermedia to Office 365 Migration

Before you migrate from Intermedia to Office 365, certain preparations are necessary to ensure a smooth transition. Addressing these prerequisites helps avoid errors, protects data, and simplifies the process when you migrate email from Intermedia to Office 365.

• Assess Current Environment: Take inventory of mailboxes, calendars, contacts, public folders, and overall data volume. Identify any non-email dependencies tied to Intermedia.
• Prepare Microsoft 365 Tenant: Confirm subscription and licenses for all users, verify your domain, and configure Exchange Online with security policies such as MFA and conditional access.
• Set Up User Accounts and Permissions: Create a migration account in Intermedia with full administrative rights, enable ActiveSync, and review mailbox permissions that could impact the migration.
• Check Network and Connectivity: Ensure stable internet with adequate bandwidth, open required firewall ports, whitelist Microsoft 365 IPs, and test connectivity between Intermedia and Microsoft 365.
• Plan Backup and Protection: Take a complete backup of mailbox data and define rollback options to safeguard against issues during the Intermedia migration to Office 365.
• Manage User Communication: Inform employees about timelines, downtime, and new features in Microsoft 365. Provide training resources and assign support contacts.
• Select Migration Method: Choose the most suitable approach—cutover, staged, IMAP, or third-party tools—based on mailbox size and complexity, and prepare the required migration endpoints.

Completing these steps in advance creates a reliable foundation for the project and ensures minimal disruption when you migrate Intermedia Exchange to Office 365.

How to Migrate Intermedia to Office 365?

Migrating from Intermedia to Office 365 might sound like a big step; however, we’ve simplified the process for you into two straightforward steps that your admin can easily handle:

• Intermedia Configuration Settings
• Set Up Office 365 Accounts for Users

Intermedia Configuring Settings

You’ll need to set the stage before you embark on your migration journey. Just like any other migration process, moving from Intermedia to Office 365 requires some initial preparations:

1. Create a User Account: Create a new account in your Intermedia Admin Control Panel. This account will play a crucial role in the migration process, so ensure it has full access to all items, including those valuable public folders.
2. Enable Exchange and ActiveSync: In your new user account, enable Exchange and ActiveSync. This will ensure a smooth transition of your data to Office 365.

With these essential settings in place, you’re ready to move on to the next phase of your migration.

Set up Office 365 Accounts for Users

1. Login to Office 365 Exchange Admin Center: First, you need to access your Office 365 Exchange Admin Center. Use your admin credentials to log in.
2. Create a Migration Endpoint: Now, let’s set up the bridge between your Intermedia server and Office 365. To do this, create a migration endpoint. If you plan to go with a staged or cutover migration, use the “Outlook Anywhere” option. However, if IMAP migration better suits your needs, go for it.
3. Test the Connection: Before you dive into the migration process, it’s always a good idea to ensure everything is working as it should. Use an email address other than the one you’re migrating (your newly created Office 365 account) with full privilege access to test the connection between Office 365 and the Intermedia server.
4. Add Full-Privilege Account Credentials: To create the migration endpoint, you must input the domain username and password for the full-privilege account. This ensures that Office 365 can communicate effectively with your Intermedia server during migration.
5. Name Your Migration Endpoint: Once the server addresses are auto-populated, it’s time to give your migration endpoint a name. This will be the connection point name between Intermedia and Office 365.
6. Start the Migration Batch: You’re almost there with everything set up and your Exchange mailboxes ready. Start the migration batch when you’re fully prepared. The migration batch will begin moving your email data from Intermedia to Office 365.

Step-by-Step Guide for Intermedia Exchange to Office 365 Migration

Migrating from Intermedia Exchange to Office 365 can be simplified by following a structured process. Below is a clear step-by-step approach to ensure a smooth and error-free Intermedia migration to Office 365.

1. Create Migration User on Intermedia

   Set up a dedicated migration account in Intermedia with full mailbox and public folder access. Make sure Exchange Web Services (EWS) and ActiveSync protocols are enabled, and securely document the credentials for migration.

2. Set Up Office 365 Tenant and Verify Domain

   Log in to your Microsoft 365 tenant with admin rights, add and verify your custom domain, and configure DNS settings for domain ownership. Assign Office 365 licenses to users and adjust mailbox policies as needed.

3. Configure Source and Destination Settings

   In the Microsoft 365 Exchange Admin Center, create a migration endpoint to connect with the Intermedia server. Provide server details and credentials, test connectivity, and map user mailboxes for migration batches.

4. Run Trial Migration and Validate Data

   Start with a small test batch to migrate email from Intermedia to Office 365. Monitor progress, resolve errors, and verify that emails, contacts, and calendars are migrated properly. Gather user feedback before moving forward.

5. Change MX Records and Start Full Migration

   On the cutover date, update DNS MX records to route all new emails to Office 365. Launch the full migration batch for all users, track progress, and promptly address any issues to minimize downtime.

Post-Migration Tasks After Moving from Intermedia to Office 365

Completing the migration does not mean the process is finished. A few post-migration activities are essential to ensure data integrity, proper functionality, and user adoption after moving from Intermedia to Office 365. Organizations planning more complex transitions, such as a tenant-to-tenant migration in Office 365, can apply similar verification and post-migration checks to ensure data integrity and user readiness.

1. Verifying Mailbox Data and Attachments

   Confirm that all mailbox items, attachments, calendars, and contacts migrated correctly by comparing mailbox data between Intermedia and Office 365.

2. Testing Outlook and Mobile Client Configurations

   Ensure Outlook and mobile clients are reconfigured to connect with Office 365 mailboxes. Address any synchronization or connection issues quickly.

3. User Training and Adoption

   Provide guidance and training sessions on Microsoft 365 features to help employees adapt to the new environment and maximize productivity after they migrate from Intermedia to Office 365.

Limitations of Manual Intermedia to Office 365 Migration

• Limited Support: The Exchange Admin Center offers a reliable method for migrating email from Intermedia to Office 365. However, it needs to efficiently move other crucial items, such as contacts and calendars.
• Complexity: Users often need help migrating items beyond just email, making the process more complex and challenging.
• Dependency on Migration Tools: To overcome the limitations of the Exchange Admin Center, users may need to rely on third-party migration tools, incurring additional costs and complexities.
• Expertise Required: Successfully migrating more than just mailbox items can be complex, requiring knowledge and experience in migration, which many users may need more.
• Outsourcing Necessity: To ensure a smooth transition, outsource the migration task to migration experts, which can be costly and add another layer of complexity to the process.

Cost of Intermedia to Office 365 Migration

The cost of an Intermedia to Office 365 migration depends on several factors, from licensing to internal resources and potential service fees. Microsoft 365 subscription plans vary by tier, and businesses need to consider which licenses match the requirements of users being migrated. Compared to existing Intermedia subscriptions, some organizations may need higher-tier plans or additional add-ons to accommodate advanced features and collaboration tools.

While built-in Microsoft migration tools are generally included with Office 365, some migrations may require third-party migration services or professional assistance, such as Apps4Rent’s Office 365 migration services. These services can be billed per mailbox, per gigabyte of data, or as flat-rate fees, and should be factored into overall migration costs.

Internal resource investment is another consideration. IT teams may spend significant time planning, executing, and troubleshooting the migration, and there could be productivity impacts during the transition. Training users on the new environment and providing post-migration support also contribute to the overall cost.

To manage costs effectively, plan migration phases to spread expenses, carefully evaluate user license needs to avoid over-licensing, and consider bundled services or working with a Microsoft CSP partner. At Apps4Rent, we make this transition easier by offering free Office 365 migration support to our customers, ensuring that businesses can migrate Intermedia Exchange to Office 365 smoothly while optimizing costs and minimizing downtime.

Apps4Rent Can Help with Intermedia to Office 365 Migration

Intermedia competes well with Office 365, offering strong support and essential security features. However, limited third-party integrations and higher add-on package costs prompt some clients to migrate to Office 365.

Apps4Rent is a Microsoft Solutions Partner for Modern Work and a Tier-1 CSP for Office 365, having migrated over millions of mailboxes since 2003. Even if your migration is complicated, get in touch with our experts for a free discussion. Our world-class Support is available 24/7 via phone, chat, and email. Contact us now!

Final Thoughts on Intermedia to Office 365 Migration

Moving from Intermedia to Office 365 brings tangible improvements to how teams communicate, collaborate, and manage data. Microsoft 365 provides a familiar environment across devices, strong security features, and tools like Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive that make sharing and co-authoring easier than ever. Organizations gain flexibility with licensing and cloud storage, plus reliable business continuity through Microsoft’s global infrastructure.

After migration, the focus shifts to ensuring everything works as intended. Verifying mailbox data, checking client configurations, and helping teams adjust to new workflows are essential steps to maintain productivity. With the right preparation and follow-up, businesses can fully leverage the capabilities of Office 365 and make day-to-day operations smoother, more connected, and more secure.

Frequently Asked Questions on Intermedia to Office 365 Migration

1. How to migrate from Intermedia to Office 365?

   You can migrate email from Intermedia to Office 365 by setting up a dedicated migration account, configuring your Office 365 tenant, creating migration endpoints, and running batch migrations to move mailboxes, contacts, and calendars.

2. How to migrate to Office 365 step by step?

   Start by creating a migration user in Intermedia, verifying your Office 365 domain, configuring source and destination settings, running a trial migration, updating MX records, and then performing the full migration. Post-migration tasks include verifying data and client configurations.

3. How much does it cost to migrate to Microsoft 365?

   Costs vary based on licensing, mailbox volume, migration tools, and internal resources. While built-in Microsoft tools are often included, third-party tools or professional services may add fees. Apps4Rent offers free Office 365 migration support to customers.

4. Which migration tool is best for Intermedia to Office 365?

   For most organizations, Microsoft’s native migration tools work well for Intermedia migration to Office 365, but large or complex environments may benefit from third-party tools for added control and efficiency.

5. Is there downtime during the Intermedia to Office 365 migration?

   Minimal downtime is expected if the migration is planned carefully. Test batches and proper scheduling can help ensure a smooth transition with little disruption to users.