May 17, 2024 1:22:50 PM EDT | Blog Office 365 Migration: Where to Start?

Learn how to successfully migrate to Office 365 with expert tips on licensing, planning, data age, and technical considerations. Get the support you need from SPHERE for a smooth transition.

Migrating a large company of 20,000 employees from an on-premise setup to Office 365 in the cloud is a significant IT undertaking. The big question is: Where to start?

Understanding Licensing Options

Return on investment (ROI) is crucial and might even be the primary reason for the migration. Does the organization need an E1, E3, or an E5 license? Are there alternatives like an F1 license? Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to mix and match various licensing models to achieve maximum efficiency and reduce overall costs. The answer to all these questions is “Yes”.

Do Your Homework

To keep migration costs in line with expectations and budgets, it’s essential to understand the ins and outs of various licensing options. Substantial savings can be achieved by applying individual licenses to users based on their specific roles rather than the organization’s overall goals.

Set a Solid Foundation

Just as builders recommend starting a home with a solid foundation, a data migration requires a proper construct to ensure future cloud projects are successful. Moving large corporate IT infrastructures with multiple platforms, hundreds of data feeds, and various applications to Office 365 is no different. This is especially true for home-grown legacy applications created and supported by people who may no longer be with the company.

Understand Licensing and Related Pitfalls

The planning phase, including understanding potential licensing pitfalls, is as important as the security aspects and execution of the project. There are numerous upfront costs and decisions to be made before migrating any on-premise data to the cloud. Some challenges are obvious, while others are not. The chosen model ultimately depends on the type of business or vertical the organization operates in.

Licensing is relatively simple for smaller companies where employees have similar roles and functions. For larger companies, significant savings can be realized by planning and reviewing different licensing scenarios and their overall costs. For example, someone in charge of physical security or office management doesn’t need a costly E3 license with features irrelevant to their role.

Data Age, Access, and Permissions

Understanding the age of the data to be migrated is crucial, especially concerning corporate retention policies. There is little sense in moving data that should have been deleted or archived. Knowing the age of data in file systems, SharePoint, and Public Folders is critical. Additionally, understanding permissions, access, and data ownership is vital for moving corporate data into Office 365.

Technical and Infrastructure Considerations

When beginning the journey to Office 365, consider technical and infrastructure issues. Large organizations often lag in updating their Windows versions for servers (R2) and desktops. The potential need for upgrades to avoid unsupported versions adds another cost to consider.

How SPHERE Can Help

For organizations struggling with these basic questions, SPHERE has the knowledge and expertise around Office 365 to provide answers and support. SPHERE offers the services, software, and workflows necessary to enable complex IT organizations to communicate with their user base, ensure proper licensing for employees, and migrate properly permissioned data to Office 365.

Key Steps for a Successful Migration

  1. Assess Licensing Needs: Evaluate the various licensing options (E1, E3, E5, F1) to determine the most cost-effective mix for different user roles.
  2. Plan the Migration: Develop a detailed plan that includes understanding the age, permissions, and ownership of data to be migrated.
  3. Set Up a Solid Foundation: Ensure the proper infrastructure is in place to support the migration and future cloud projects.
  4. Address Technical Issues: Identify and resolve any technical and infrastructure issues, such as outdated server and desktop versions.
  5. Engage with Experts: Work with experts like SPHERE to navigate the complexities of Office 365 migration.

By following these steps, organizations can ensure a smooth and cost-effective migration to Office 365, laying the groundwork for future success in the cloud.

Ready to migrate to O365? Speak with an O365 expert today!

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Rosario Mastrogiacomo

Written By: Rosario Mastrogiacomo

Rosario Mastrogiacomo is the Vice President of Engineering for SPHERE, where he focuses on solving complex security and infrastructure problems involving the processing and analysis of large data sets to find creative and out-of-box thinking solutions. Rosario has been working as a technology leader for over 25 years at financial organizations such as Neuberger Berman, Lehman Brothers, and Barclays. He has held various senior leadership positions including Global Head of Core Software Engineering, Head of Mac Platform Engineering, Global Head of Windows Engineering, and Windows Support Manager. Rosario has built and managed several teams within these positions, some with multi-million-dollar budgets. For the last eight years at SPHERE, Rosario has built the team and methodologies for the development of SPHEREboard. Rosario holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Baruch College (CUNY).