First you need to create a migration endpoint. Go to the Exchange admin center in the Office 365 Admin portal. Now you are finally ready to begin moving mailbox data. Two methods are discussed in this article, because some folks have trouble getting their migration batches working, and may need to fall back on the “manual” PST export/import procedure. If you do these things first, you will avoid many issues and be able to recover in case of unforeseen problems. Review the steps in advance and communicate the plan to stakeholders / end users.
Have a good backup before making any changes–for Active Directory as well as Exchange.Also: so many pitfalls can be avoided by taking the following precautions: If you haven’t already, go ahead and sign up for an Office 365 account online and verify your domain. Create new Outlook profiles, import data & settings.Add SMTP relay connector (if applicable).Changes to on-premises Active Directory and Exchange.Complete your Office 365 Setup and cut-over DNS.Finalize the migration batch & activate the mailboxes.Create a migration batch in Exchange Online OR.Here are the steps to complete a cutover migration: Still, for various reasons, many people will end up choosing the cutover method, so I want to detail the process here. Finally, in case you run into issues setting it up, there is a fail-safe method you can use (export/import PST), which I will also share in this article.
If you are coming from older versions such as SBS 2008 or Exchange 2007, note that it is indeed possible to add a free hybrid server to complete the Remote Move migration. If you are coming from SBS 2011 or Exchange 2010, then definitely go that route. My preferred method for migrating Email to Office 365 is to use the Remote Move (aka “Hybrid”) method.