PST to Office 365 Migration: Manual Methods vs Automated Solution

 

Businesses or organizations widely use Microsoft 365 for email communication and cloud-based productivity. Sometimes they need to switch from Outlook desktop to Microsoft 365, this is a common task to migrate old Outlook PST files to Office 365 mailboxes.

PST file is the primary data of Microsoft Outlook which contains emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, notes, and other mailbox data. Transferring this data to a cloud based Office 365 mailbox manually is possible but it can be a complex and time taken process when there is a huge amount of data.

With this guide, we'll understand common manual approaches for PST to Office 365 migration and also discuss an easy solution using third-party PST to Office 365 Migration tool.

What is PST to Office 365 Migration?

A PST (Personal Storage Table) file is used by Microsoft Outlook to store emails, contacts, calendars, and other mailbox data locally on your computer. When organizations move to Office 365 (Microsoft 365), they often need to upload this old PST data into their new cloud mailboxes so nothing is lost.

This process is called PST to Office 365 migration, and it can be done in a few different ways.

Why Migrate PST Files to Office 365?

Many users keep their old emails and other Outlook data in PST files. After moving to Microsoft 365, they may want to import this information into their cloud mailbox.

Some common reasons for PST migration include:

• Moving from Outlook desktop to Microsoft 365

• Accessing old emails from anywhere

• Moving archived emails to the cloud

• Migrating data for multiple users

• Keeping important email data in one place

• Reducing dependence on local PST files

The right migration method depends on the amount of data, number of PST files, technical knowledge, and migration requirements.

Manual Methods to Migrate PST to Office 365

Network Upload is a Microsoft-supported method for importing PST files into Microsoft 365. It is generally useful when an administrator needs to upload multiple PST files.

The basic process involves preparing the PST files, uploading them to Microsoft's temporary Azure storage location, creating an import mapping file, and starting the import process.

Process A: Assign a role to admin.

1. Login into Microsoft Office 365 admin panel.

2. Go to the Exchange tab.

3. Click on Roles >> Admin roles then search "Organization Management" and click on them.

4. Go to the Permissions and check the "Mailbox Import Export" and "Mail Recipients" option. 

5. Now go to the Assign tab then click on Add and search Admin ID or user who perform Mailbox Import Export and Mail Recipients role.

Process B: Create a Job

1. Go to Microsoft Purview into the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

2. Click on the “Solutions” tab and select Data Lifecycle Management.

3. Select “Import” then New import job and here enter Job name and click on Next.

4. Allow Upload your data and click on Next button.

5. Here copy the SAS URL by clicking on Show network upload SAS URL and save them into your notepad.

6. Click on Download Azure Azcopy link to download the Azure tool and click on Next.

7. Once the tool is downloaded then copy the file path and save them into your Notepad.

8. Make a path like (azcopy.exe copy "<Source location of PST file>" "<SAS URL>").

9. Now open Command Prompt into your system. 

10. First run the azure tool file path (which saves you in your notepad)  with the "cd" command.

11. Next run this command (azcopy.exe copy "<Source location of PST file>" "<SAS URL>").

12. Wait until the process is completed.

Process C: Creating a Mapping File

1. Download the mapping file by clicking on this link - (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=544717)

2. Recreate this CSV file according to your PST file.

3. Again go to the Microsoft Purview and tick both check boxes. Click on Next.

4. Here upload the CSV file then click on Validate and Next.

5. Check the progress by clicking on the Refresh button. 

6. Select created Job name then click on Import to Office 365 and select "No, I want to Import everything" option. Click on Next and Submit button.

7. Again, check the status.

Limitations:

• This method requires several steps and technical knowledge.

• Complicated for beginners and non-tech users.

Automated solution to Import PST to Office 365 mailbox

For simpler approaches, you can use automated PST to Office 365 Migration which is a more convenient solution for every user. MailsDaddy PST to Office 365 Migration tool is designed to help users to migrate multiple Outlook PST files directly to Office 365 at once. It is an ideal choice for business or organizations who want to move from old outlook PST files to a cloud-based environment. 

Key benefits of PST to Office 365 Migration Software.

• The tool migrates multiple PST files to O365 instead of  processing every PST file individually.

• Maintains the original folder structure during the migration.

• Import selected folders or data instead of all data.

• Migrate PST data such as emails, contacts, calendars, attachments, and other data directly to Office 365.

• Handle large and any size of PST file without file size limitation.

• Compatible with any version of Microsoft Outlook PST files.

Conclusion:

Migrating PST files to Office 365 does not have to be complicated, but the right approach depends on the size and complexity of the migration. Microsoft's Network Upload method is a useful option for administrators who want to perform a server-side PST import. Outlook-based migration can also work for smaller, individual migrations. 

However, when dealing with huge data, use reliable third-party tools like MailsDaddy PST to Office 365 Migration. It provides an easier solution to migrate bulk PST data to O365 while maintaining data integrity.

Read: How to Import EML files to Outlook PST?