Migrate Exchange 2016 public folders to Office 365

Migrating Exchange 2016 public folders to Office 365 is a crucial step for organizations seeking to overcome challenges like limited scalability, complex management, and permission issues that often arise in on-premises setups. Office 365 provides a cloud-based solution that simplifies administration, increases performance, and enhances data security. It also resolves common issues in hybrid environments where Exchange 2016 coexists with older versions, improving overall system reliability.

EdbMails Exchange Migration software offers a high-performance solution for migrating Exchange 2016 public folders to Office 365. It removes the need for manual PowerShell scripting, efficiently migrating both small and large public folders without size restrictions, while ensuring that all folder hierarchy and permissions are preserved for a seamless transition.

EdbMails supports incremental migration, allowing you to transfer only newly added or modified data in subsequent migration operations, optimizing bandwidth and time efficiency. Additionally, it enables parallel mailbox migrations, facilitating the simultaneous migration of multiple mailboxes, thereby speeding up the entire process. The intuitive interface ensures that organizations can complete migrations in just a few steps, with zero downtime and no impact on user mailboxes.

EdbMails supports migration across any Exchange servers including legacy servers such as Exchange 2010, 2007 as well as newer versions Exchange 2019, 2016 and 2013. EdbMails features automatic mapping of public folders and advanced filtering options. These capabilities ensure seamless public folders connections and selective item transfers, delivering a smooth migration experience.

1. Exchange 2016 public folder migration to Office 365 planning

   Before initiating the migration of public folders from Exchange 2016 to Office 365, it is imperative to evaluate the migration requirements and prerequisites. The following checklist will assist in identifying and preparing your environment accordingly.

   1. Assess whether your current migration environment is Hybrid or non-Hybrid.
   2. Evaluate the size and quantity of the public folders you intend to migrate.
   3. Set up public folders in Office 365 and ensure they are mail-enabled
   4. Decide if you prefer to migrate all at once or in multiple phases.
   5. Verify your internet connection speed and network setup.
   6. Determine whether you will transfer public folders to public folders, primary mailboxes, or shared mailboxes on the destination server.

     Check out the prerequisites for migrating Public folders to Office 365.

2. Exchange 2016 public folder to Office 365 pre-migration activities

   • Step 1: Assign admin permission to the public folders on the source server

       Steps to assign admin permissions to all the public folders on the source Exchange server

   • Step 2: Create public folders on the target Office 365 server

     Ensure to create Public folders on the target Office 365 servers and assign the admin permissions.

       Create Office 365 Public folder and assign admin permissions

      If your mailboxes are in a Hybrid environment, it is not possible to migrate the Public folders directly to Office 365. Refer to this workaround solution to migrate Public folders in a hybrid environment.

   • Step 3: Add a custom domain to Office 365 (Optional)

     If you have a custom email domain from your hosting provider to which you want to migrate and receive emails, you must add and verify the domain on Office 365.

      Steps to add custom domain to Office 365

   • Step 4: Install cumulative updates (CU) on Exchange server 2016

     For migrating Exchange server 2016 to Office 365, it is required that you have latest cumulative updates (CU4 or later) installed on the source server (2016)

     Note: For migrating Public folders to Office 365 with EdbMails, you do not require PowerShell scripts. The following steps describe the public migration method by using EdbMails graphical user interface (GUI).

3. Steps to migrate Exchange 2016 public folders to Office 365 using EdbMails

   • Step 1: Download and install EdbMails software

     • Download and set up EdbMails on any computer running on Windows OS and can be connected to your source Exchange server.

         System requirements to migrate Exchange 2016 public folders to Office 365.

       

     • Launch the EdbMails software and click ‘log-in’ with your email id and password or you can use 'Start Your Free Trial'.

       

     • Select ‘Live Exchange migration’ option.

       

     • Select 'Live Exchange to Office 365 Migration'

       

     • You can either keep the default job name or click the ‘New Job’ button to change the job name.

       

   • Step 2: Connect to source Exchange 2016 server

     • To set up a new connection to the source Exchange server, click ‘Add New Connection’. If you want to use a previously established connection, select it from the list and click ‘Connect to Existing’.

       

     • ️Select the ‘Connect to Public folders’ option and click the ‘Next’ button

         Various methods to connect to Exchange servers

       

     • Enter the Exchange 2016 server details and hit the ‘Login’ button

       

     • Select one of the methods to load the Public folders.

       

   • Step 3: Select Exchange 2016 server public folders

     • After successfully logging in to the source Exchange 2016 server, EdbMails displays all the public folders and subfolders in a tree view. You can select the required public folders or choose to migrate all the public folders.
     • Then, click 'Migrate to Office 365' to establish a connection with the target server.

       

     • If this is your initial migration using EdbMails, the process will be classified as a full migration. For any subsequent migrations from the same source to the target, the process will be considered incremental migration.

   • Step 4: Connect to target Office 365 server

     • To create a new connection to the target Exchange server, click ‘Add New Connection’. To reconnect to an existing one, select it from the list and click ‘Connect to Existing’.

       

     • Choose ‘Connect to Public Folder’ as your connection method, then click the ‘Continue’ and login on Microsoft Sign in page.

       

     • Choose one of the authentication methods and click the ‘Login’ button.

       

     • Authenticate on Microsoft sign-in page.

       

     • Select one of the methods to load the public folders and click ‘Next’.

       

   • Step 5: Exchange 2016 to Office 365 public folder mapping

     • EdbMails simplifies the mapping of public folders between the Exchange 2016 server and Office 365 automatically.

       

   • Step 6: Start Exchange 2016 public folder migration to Office 365

       Click the ‘Settings’ button to customize the migration. You can apply a date filter to migrate items within a specific date range or filter by subject, attachments, sender, recipient, CC, BCC, and read/unread status. You can also exclude standard and custom folders.

       Click the ‘Start Migration’ button to begin the process.

     

     • You can monitor the migration progress through the progress bar, and pause or resume the operation as needed, once the migration is complete, click the ‘View Log’ button to access the migration report.

       

4. Exchange 2016 public folder migration to Office 365 troubleshooting

     See the Exchange migration troubleshooting guide along with the Public folder troubleshooting resources for possible solutions to migration errors. For additional information on EdbMails Exchange migration, navigate to the frequently asked questions

     Solution for Public folders migration failure due to insufficient permissions.

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Additional resources:

• EdbMails Exchange migration software
• Exchange Public folder to Office 365 migration
• Exchange Public folder to Exchange migration
• Exchange 2010 to 2016 Public folder
• Exchange 2013 Public folder to Office 365
• Exchange Public Folder to Shared Mailbox