Cutover Exchange Online Migration from IMAP — Email Move to Microsoft 365

This service migrates users, email data, and email folders from an IMAP-supported email system to Microsoft 365 / Exchange Online. IT Partner also analyzes the current mail system, prepares Exchange Online users and mailboxes, assigns licenses, transfers mailbox data, helps configure DNS if access is provided, verifies the migration, provides user informational messages, and delivers a project closeout report.

This service supports migration from email systems that provide IMAP access, such as Gmail, Exchange, Outlook.com, and other IMAP-compatible platforms. The migration method depends on IMAP availability, because IMAP is the protocol used to access and transfer mailbox mail and folder data.

The IMAP migration moves email messages and email folders into Microsoft 365 / Exchange Online. Contacts, calendar items, tasks, and other non-mail items are not migrated through IMAP, because those items cannot be accessed by the IMAP protocol.

The listed service duration is 1 week. The exact project flow may vary depending on the source system, mailbox readiness, DNS access, licensing, user coordination, and any issues found during verification.

This migration is currently listed as Free (Microsoft Sponsored). Confirm eligibility for the Microsoft-sponsored offer and the final scope with IT Partner before the engagement begins — any work outside the stated scope is quoted in writing before work begins — you pay after you approve delivery.

You need a destination Microsoft 365 tenant with Exchange Online licenses available, admin access to your email domain DNS zone, and a source IMAP system with either admin access or access to individual user mailboxes. These prerequisites matter because IT Partner must create or prepare mailboxes, transfer data from the source system, and update mail routing during cutover.

The engagement typically starts with a kickoff meeting and analysis of the current mail system, followed by user creation or Microsoft Entra Connect configuration, Exchange Online preparation, and the start of email migration. IT Partner then verifies migrated data, changes the MX record to the Microsoft 365 tenant, performs the final email migration, and fixes migration-related issues if any are found.

The stated objective is to move all mailboxes to Microsoft 365 without downtime or data loss and with minimal user disruption. Because a cutover includes DNS and mail-flow changes, the actual business impact depends on readiness, timing, DNS access, and user/device configuration, so specific timing should be coordinated with IT Partner during planning.

Mail flow is moved to Exchange Online by changing the MX record to the new Microsoft 365 tenant during the cutover. IT Partner creates the necessary transport rules and verifies that mail can be sent and received through Exchange Online; DNS changes are made by IT Partner when the client provides DNS access, otherwise the client performs the required DNS updates.

DNS zone configuration is included if the client provides access to DNS management. If the client does not provide DNS access, the client is responsible for performing internal and external DNS changes as required, based on the migration plan.

The client is responsible for coordinating staff and schedules, providing a dedicated point of contact, granting required system and service access, configuring network equipment, workstations, and mobile devices, and performing DNS changes if required. The client also helps identify high-risk users, such as executives, VIP users, users with mailboxes of 50 GB or larger, or users with deleted folders of 30 GB or larger.

Customer team training, migration of corporate documents to SharePoint Online, desktop software settings, and documentation beyond the project closeout report are not included in the base service. Some excluded items, such as training, SharePoint document migration, or more extensive documentation, may be available as additional services.