In order to reduce the costs associated with running their own email server in-house, we were tasked with recommending a cloud-based solution and transition all 60 email users over to it. Whilst we have had significant success moving other clients to Google G-Suite (formerly Google Apps for Work), collaboration with the client pointed to Microsoft’s Office 365 being a more suitable solution in this particular case.

The client had been using MDaemon email server on their own server for many years and had built up some very large mailboxes. This historical data would need to continue to be accessible, after the move to Office 365.

The user base is split between office based users, with laptop or desktop Windows PCs and site-based users with iPhones and iPads. The office based users were allocated an Office 365 Business Premium license (giving them an email mailbox and allowing them to run the desktop versions of the Office suite) and the site users were given an Office 365 Business Essentials license (giving them an email mailbox and access to the online versions of the Office suite or applications).

Transition to the new Office 365 email servers happened over a weekend. Users arrived into work on Monday morning able to access their main email folders on Office 365, with historical folders still accessible on the old email server. Over the following days, current project folders were moved to Office 365 and archive folders were exported to allow continued access without overfilling the Office 365 mailboxes.

5 Months later and there has been a significant drop in requests for help with email problems. Not only is the client saving money by renting mailboxes, rather than buying and maintaining their own server hardware and software, but they also do not need as much consultancy time.