Hybrid Microsoft 365 Migration — Exchange Server to Exchange Online

IT Partner’s Hybrid Microsoft 365 Migration from your own Exchange Server is a migration and coexistence service for organizations that need integration between an on-premises Exchange organization and Microsoft 365 Exchange Online. The hybrid deployment can be used either as a migration method or as a longer-term operating state, because it connects on-premises Exchange with Exchange Online for identity synchronization, mail flow, mailbox access, and collaboration features.

The service includes analysis of the current on-premises Exchange solution, preparation of Exchange and Active Directory for synchronization, user and password synchronization, user informational letters, mailbox migration, migration-related break-fix support, and a project closeout report. These deliverables are designed to support moving mailboxes to Exchange Online while maintaining the required hybrid integration between the on-premises environment and Microsoft 365.

Customer team training, desktop software settings, and documentation beyond the project closeout report are not included in the standard service. More extensive documentation and training may be available as additional services, but they are outside the stated scope of the base migration engagement.

The listed price for the service is $800 plus $25 per mailbox. The service SKU is ITPWW120MIGOT, and the final cost depends on the number of mailboxes included in the migration.

The listed duration for IT Partner’s Hybrid Microsoft 365 Migration from your own Exchange Server is 2 weeks. The implementation plan may vary depending on the customer’s needs, environment readiness, mailbox count, DNS access, and any issues found during the pre-migration health check.

You must have a Microsoft 365 tenant with Exchange Online licenses, access to your email domain DNS zone, and a full installation of Exchange 2010, Exchange 2013, or Exchange 2016 in your environment with a valid UCC SSL certificate. These prerequisites are required because the hybrid deployment depends on a working on-premises Exchange environment, licensed Exchange Online mailboxes, and DNS changes for mail routing.

The stated prerequisites require a full installation of Exchange 2010, Exchange 2013, or Exchange 2016 with a valid UCC SSL certificate. The source topology example describes Exchange 2016, but the listed prerequisite explicitly includes Exchange 2010, 2013, and 2016.

The engagement typically includes a kickoff meeting, a pre-migration source system health check, user creation or Entra ID Connect configuration, migration planning, email migration start and validation, MX record change, final email migration, and post-migration tasks. The plan may vary depending on the environment and customer needs, so exact sequencing should be confirmed with IT Partner during planning.

IT Partner deploys and configures the required Entra ID Connect server and uses Entra ID Connect password synchronization. This allows users to sign in with the same username and password for their on-premises network account and Microsoft 365 account, which the source describes as single sign-on for the hybrid topology.

Yes, the hybrid topology is designed so on-premises mailboxes and Exchange Online mailboxes use the same email address domain. This is important because users can be moved to Exchange Online without requiring a new email domain for cloud mailboxes.

The source hybrid topology includes centralized mail transport, where outbound mail is delivered to the Internet by the on-premises organization and the on-premises environment controls messaging transport while relaying for Exchange Online. The implementation plan also includes changing the MX record to the new Microsoft 365 tenant, so the final inbound and outbound mail flow design should be confirmed with IT Partner during migration planning.

Yes, one of the success criteria is that users can access Exchange Online from desktop PCs, mobile phones, and tablets from any place, any time. However, configuring workstations and mobile devices is listed as the client’s responsibility, so IT Partner’s standard scope does not include desktop software settings or device configuration.

Yes, mailbox migration is included in the service deliverables. A successful outcome includes mailbox data being migrated to Exchange Online and being accessible to users.

Exchange Online Protection being configured and working is listed as a success criterion for the engagement. The service also expects mail to be sent and received using Exchange Online and necessary transport rules to be created and working.

The described hybrid topology supports shared calendar free/busy information between on-premises and Exchange Online users, organization relationships for cross-premises message tracking, MailTips, and message search, and the same URL for mailbox connections for both on-premises and Exchange Online users. These features are part of the hybrid integration between the on-premises Exchange organization and Microsoft 365 Exchange Online.

IT Partner is responsible for analyzing the current on-premises Exchange solution, preparing Exchange and Active Directory for synchronization, setting up user and password synchronization, providing informational letters for users, migrating mailboxes, and providing break-fix support related to migration issues. IT Partner also provides a project closeout report with final project status, acceptance criteria matching, outstanding issues if any, and final budget.

The client must coordinate internal resources and staff schedules, provide a dedicated point of contact, provide access to required physical and virtual systems, perform required internal and external DNS changes, and configure workstations and mobile devices. The client is also responsible for coordinating outside vendors, configuring network equipment such as firewalls and load balancers, identifying high-risk users, and reviewing and approving deliverables in a timely manner.

The client is responsible for helping identify high-risk users, including top executives, VIP users, users with mailboxes of 50 GB or larger, and users with deleted folders of 30 GB or larger. This identification helps migration planning because larger or more business-critical mailboxes may require special scheduling or attention.

The service description does not specify a fixed downtime window or guarantee no downtime. Because the engagement includes migration planning, mail migration checks, MX record changes, and final migration tasks, the expected user impact should be reviewed with IT Partner based on the customer’s Exchange environment and migration schedule.

IT Partner provides break-fix support related to migration issues and performs post-migration tasks as part of the implementation plan. The engagement also ends with a project closeout report that documents final project status, acceptance criteria matching, outstanding issues if any, and the final budget.

Unified Messaging features cannot be used in a hybrid solution in conjunction with Microsoft 365 according to the service limitations. If Unified Messaging is present in the customer’s infrastructure, additional settings may be required depending on the solution in use, so this should be reviewed with IT Partner before migration.