{"id":14350,"date":"2019-09-03T19:05:43","date_gmt":"2019-09-03T19:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.o365cloudexperts.com\/blog\/?p=14350"},"modified":"2025-12-30T10:47:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T10:47:12","slug":"migrate-exchange-to-office-365-using-cutover-migration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.o365cloudexperts.com\/blog\/migrate-exchange-to-office-365-using-cutover-migration\/","title":{"rendered":"Migrate Exchange to Office 365 Using Cutover Migration"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you are planning for an email migration to Office 365, there are many things to consider before you actually migrate to Office 365<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Migration here refers to the moving of your company\u2019s user mailboxes and all the information contained therein from your target servers to the cloud; for example, you can migrate emails and mailboxes from your on-premises physical servers to Office 365, which is based in the cloud.<\/p>\n

Effective email migration is crucial to the success of any company because it allows them to continue working with minimal disruptions as they shift to cloud-based servers.<\/p>\n

Office 365 offers multiple ways to migrate your users\u2019 mailboxes depending on your current email system. Migrations generally can be of three types including:<\/p>\n

Cutover Migration \u2013<\/strong> where all the users\u2019 mailboxes are migrated at once<\/p>\n

Staged Migration \u2013<\/strong> where users\u2019 mailboxes are migrated in batches<\/p>\n

Hybrid Migration \u2013<\/strong> where the company prefers to maintain both physical, on-premise email servers as well as cloud-based mailboxes while it migrates the users to Office 365.<\/p>\n

Hybrid migrations<\/a> can be further classified into three sub-types including Full Hybrid Migration, Minimal Hybrid Migration, and Express Hybrid Migration. In all three cases, Active Directory is synchronized with Office 365 to move users\u2019 mailboxes to the cloud.<\/p>\n

To choose the best approach for your organization, it\u2019s essential to understand the key differences between staged vs hybrid vs cutover migration in Office 365<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In this article, we will discuss how you can migrate your mailboxes to Office 365 from Exchange using the Cutover Migration system.<\/p>\n

When is an Office 365 Cutover Migration Advisable?<\/h2>\n

If your company has on-premises servers that are less than 2,000 mailboxes, you can possibly opt for cutover migration. Consult an Office 365 expert before you select your migration type.<\/p>\n

If your company is currently using on-premises servers that run Microsoft Exchange Server and you would like to perform a cutover migration to Office 365 manually, you can read this article to gain an understanding of the various steps involved to complete the Exchange migration to O365 successfully.<\/p>\n

Office 365 Migration Stages<\/h2>\n

Migrating your mailboxes to Office 365 through cutover migration, like any other migration method, takes place in three stages:<\/p>\n

Pre-migration<\/strong><\/p>\n

During the pre-migration phase, there is a lot of analysis and study of your infrastructure for the actual migration. You prepare your organization\u2019s users for the process.<\/p>\n

Migration<\/strong><\/p>\n

The migration phase is when the shifting of mailboxes, public folder migrations, and related user information to O365 takes place. This may take days or even weeks, depending on the complexity of your Exchange mailboxes and intricacies of your infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Post-migration<\/strong><\/p>\n

The post-migration phase includes steps like decommissioning the on-premises email servers to finalize your shift to the cloud. The meticulous verification of everything migrated between source and target also takes place.<\/p>\n

Migrating to Office 365 from Exchange Server is a relatively lengthy and tedious process; before you begin, ensure you have a backup of all the data; this goes for both the on-premises Active Directory (AD) items as well as your Exchange Server data.<\/p>\n

O365 Cutover Migration: Pre-Migration<\/h2>\n

Before you can begin the migration to O365, you must prepare your current on-premises server for the process with a few steps listed below.<\/p>\n

1. Complete the configuration of Outlook Web Access (OWA) on Exchange Server<\/strong><\/p>\n

Office 365 uses Outlook Web Access (OWA) for connecting to your on-premises Exchange Server. If you are running Exchange Server 2016 or later, Outlook Web Access (OWA) is automatically configured so you don\u2019t need to do anything additionally. However, if you are using earlier versions such as Exchange 2007, you need to manually complete the email configuration with the Office 365 migration process to connect to your on-premises server.<\/p>\n

2. Add your Outlook Web Access (OWA) configuration to an SSL certificate<\/strong><\/p>\n

Secure your Outlook Web Access (OWA) configuration with an SSL certificate as Office 365 requires it to perform the cutover migration. So, add OWA and Autodiscover Services to the SSL certificates depending on whether you run older versions of Exchange.<\/p>\n

3. Test your connection to Exchange Server with OWA<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once you have secured your OWA configuration with an SSL certificate based on your version of Exchange Server, run OWA outside your company\u2019s network and check if you are able to connect to your company\u2019s Exchange Server.<\/p>\n

4. Assign migration permissions<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you are the migration administrator, you must ensure that your account has the \u201cFullAccess\u201d permission for every on-premises mailbox which you intend to migrate to O365. Otherwise, your account must have the \u201cReceive As\u201d permission for the on-premises mailbox database where the company\u2019s user mailboxes are stored.<\/p>\n

5. Disable on-premises Unified Messaging (UM)<\/strong><\/p>\n

If any of the mailboxes on your on-premises email Exchange Server has unified messaging enabled, disable it. You can enable it back later when the users have been migrated to the Office 365 cloud.<\/p>\n

6. Create security groups in Office 365<\/strong><\/p>\n

The email migration service cannot identify whether a certain Active Directory group within the on-premises Exchange Server is a security group or not. Therefore, it cannot directly migrate a group located in the on-premises server to Office 365 and give them security rights automatically once the migration process has been completed. So, if you want security groups in your O365 cloud after the migration, you will need to complete this procedure manually. To do that, simply go to Office 365 and provision an empty email-enabled security group prior to beginning the cutover migration. You can move users\u2019 accounts to this later.<\/p>\n

Once your above tasks are done, you need to move ahead with Office 365 migration tasks.<\/p>\n

O365 Cutover Migration: Migration Tasks<\/h3>\n

1. Verify your ownership of an on-premises domain<\/strong><\/p>\n

First, you need to prove that you own your Exchange domain from which you are migrating to Office 365. To do that, follow the steps below:<\/p>\n