Moving business email to a new provider involves more than creating new mailboxes. Existing messages must be preserved, DNS changes need to be planned and users should experience as little interruption as possible.
What is email migration?
Email migration is the process of moving mailboxes and messages from one email infrastructure to another.
1. Inventory existing accounts
Prepare a list of employee mailboxes, departmental addresses, aliases and mailbox sizes.
2. Create accounts on the new platform
Creating users before DNS changes are made allows the new system to be prepared in advance.
3. Transfer historical email
In IMAP-based environments, existing messages can often be copied to the new system while preserving folders.
4. Plan DNS changes
MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records must be updated for the new service. Keeping old and new systems available during a short transition period can reduce disruption.
5. Update user devices
Outlook, mobile devices and other mail applications must be configured with the new server settings.
6. Test delivery
After migration, test incoming and outgoing email with several external providers.
Conclusion
A successful business email migration requires planning across mailbox data, DNS configuration and user devices.