Best Practices for Evaluating Migration Tools
May 7, 2012
Contributed Article. Author: Greg Jones, Manager of Solutions Architecture at Quest Software
Best Practices for Evaluating Migration Tools
When you are moving to Microsoft’s Office 365 cloud offering, choosing the right migration tool to help you get there is very important. It’s a good idea to evaluate third-party migration products that provide the extended functionality, support, and the capabilities necessary to ensure success.
Every organization might not require help from a third-party vendor, but, it’s a best practice to calculate the benefits a migration partner might bring to your project and compare them to the needs of your organization. I must caution you, however, to choose your vendors wisely, and be absolutely sure you’re getting the functionality you need.
The most important step is to understand what your requirements really are. Make a list of your migration requirements in the areas of performance, support/services, reporting, and project management. The major areas of evaluation should be:
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*Performance
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· Does the tool provide coexistence if directory synchronization is a key part of your Office 365 migration?
· How many sessions can realistically be run concurrently and what throughput can you get for each session?
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*Support and Services
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· How will you be supported if any issues arise during the migration and you need assistance?
· Does the vendor offer 24 x 7 support (because migrations frequently happen during the evening or on weekends) and is the support available globally for larger organizations?
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Reporting
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· Can you get status reports from the tool to keep your management apprised of the migration project status?
· Does the tool provide detailed logging of errors so administrators can react to failures and problems with minimal end-user impact?
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Project Management
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· Does the tool provide pre-migration reports so you can be sure you are migrating only what needs to be migrated?
· Can you schedule your migration project for off-peak times?
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*Performance and the support you receive from the vendor are the two most important things to evaluate when it comes to a migration solution.
Selecting a migration solution to assist with your Office 365 migration can be fairly straightforward as long as you understand what your organization requires. Remember that the solutions out there – including Microsoft’s own – differ in many ways. No matter what vendor you are evaluating, be sure you’ve thoroughly reviewed each potential vendor’s offerings. Take advantage of trials and pilots so you can see exactly how each potential solution works, and to get an idea of the level of support you will receive during your migration project.
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About the Author
Greg Jones is the Manager of Solutions Arrchitecture and is responsible for supporting Quest Software solutions for migrating from Office 365 to on-premises Exchange, Google, Notes or GroupWise.