Overview
Once you domain is provisioned, users added and the testing of the setup from your office and the integration with your other applications is done, it is time to decide on the data migration strategy. The sections below suggest ways to migrate critical data.
A. Migrating Passwords
1. Authentication is done via a central directory
If you existing system is configured to authenticate with a central directory server on AD, you should configure your SkyConnect domain to authenticate with your AD. The users can then continue to use the same passwords on SkyConnect.
2. Authentication is a part of the mailing solution
If the authentication information such as the user passwords is part of the existing mailing setup, then you have two options depending on whether you have access to the user passwords.
Option 1: If you have access to the user passwords (either you have a record or can extract the information from the mail server), then you can set the user passwords of all the users on SkyConnect.
Option 2: In case you do not have access to user passwords, then you should intimate the users to use the forgot pass application on the login page of the web client on SkyConnect. Users can authenticate themselves via an OTP sent to their registered mobile number or alternate email id to reset their passwords on the SkyConnect domain.
For the forgot pass application to work, you will have to update each user's alternate email id or mobile phone number.
B. Migrating Email Data
There are two considerations for Email Data migration
Email application continuity for end users: The requirement is that on switching to the new email system, end users should have ready access to their old mail while the new mail are delivered to the new account.
Compliance: When migrating to a new email system, your organization needs to ensure that all the email from the older system are available after the old system is discontinued.
1. Migrating email data to ensure email application continuity for end users
The migration strategy depends on whether the users are using desktop email clients or web client of the old system.
a. End users have configured desktop email clients with the old email server using the POP protocol
If users have configured POP, then they will have all the mail on their desktops. Since the mails are POPed they will continue to reside on the user’s desktop after the current email system is discontinued.
These users should be instructed to configure additional POP accounts with the SkyConnect credentials on their desktops. Post migration, new mail will be received in these accounts and new mail should also be sent using these accounts.
Alternatively, post go live they should be instructed to reconfigure their accounts with the new POP and SMTP servers and passwords.
b. End users have configured desktop email clients with the old email server using the IMAP protocol
Option 1: If users have configured IMAP, then they will have all the mail on their desktops.
These users should be instructed to configure additional IMAP accounts with the SkyConnect credentials on their desktops. Post migration, new mail will be received in these accounts and new mail should also be sent using these accounts.
Since on discontinuation of the old system, the original accounts will become empty, users should also be instructed to create local archives on the desktop.
Option 2: You can populate the end user mailboxes on SkyConnect using the Historical Data Upload application from Mithi. For this you would need authenticated IMAP access to end user accounts.
c. End users are using the web client of the current system
Option 1: Configure desktop clients (like Thunderbird / Outlook) with POP/IMAP and download the user data from the server to the desktop. If POP is used, the users will have the backup of only their Inboxes on their desktops for quick reference. If IMAP is used, all folders will be available, but an additional step to [create a local archive] will have to be executed.
Option 2: You can populate the end user mailboxes on SkyConnect using the historical data upload application from Mithi. For this you would need authenticated IMAP access to end user accounts.
For example, if the switch over is done on a Friday evening, then post go live you can reset the passwords of all the users on the older system and configure jobs to sync mail for the last week from the older system to SkyConnect. These jobs will run over the weekend and when the users login to the SkyConnect accounts, they will see the mail of the last few days in their mailboxes.
d. Creating local archives in a desktop client
Outlook
Archive items manually
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/archive-items-manually-ecf54f37-14d7-4ee3-a830-46a5c33274f6
Archive older items automatically
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/archive-older-items-automatically-25f44f07-9b80-4107-841c-41dc38296667
Thunderbird
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/archived-messages
2. Migrating email data to maintain application continuity for end users & satisfy compliance needs of organization.
If legacy email data from the current email system is uploaded to Vaultastic, then you can satisfy both the continuity and compliance needs. Data will be safeguarded in Vaultastic and end users can be trained to log into their Vaultastic accounts and use the self service portal to search for older mail.
The recommended steps for doing so are as follows:
Enable live mail archiving from the existing email system to Vaultastic. This will ensure that all mail transacted from the date of configuration are archived to Vaultastic and are available to the end users through the self service portal.
Post the switch over to SkyConnect, upload all the email data prior to the date of enabling live mail archiving using the historical data upload application to Vaultastic.
3. Migrating Filters, Signatures and Vacation replies
Post go live, if the users use the web client, they will have to set their filters, signatures and vacation replies using the settings application of the web client.
C. Migrating Contact Information
1. Personal Address Books
End users using desktop email clients will continue to have access to their personal address books saved on the desktop clients.
End users who were using the web client on the earlier system should be instructed to export personal address books from the earlier system and import to SkyConnect using the web client.
2. Global Address Books
The Global Address Book is automatically populated when users are added to the domain. This address book is visible to all the web client users of SkyConnect.
For desktop and mobile users, the global address book on SkyConnect has to be configured in the clients.
D. Migrating Calendar Data
For desktop and mobile users, the new calendar server has to be configured in the clients. Prior to change, they should export their calendars from the earlier system and import to SkyConnect.
Similarly, end users using the web client on the older system should be instructed to export calendar data from the client and import to SkyConnect using the web client.