Mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures are multiplying like zombie hordes, and the pressure is on to complete migrations so companies can get on with the business of doing business. But even when you’re equipped with the right tool, like MigrationWiz, a migration project can turn into a nightmare if you skip important planning and pre-migration steps.

Save the Jump Scares for the Movies

Here are 7 tips for a smooth migration:

1. Take it one step at a time: Migrate one workload at a time

Most businesses are moving more than just email from tenant-to-tenant. Public folders, archives, and documents are all coming over, too. Focusing on one workload at a time can help simplify the migration process, ensure all data is transitioned seamlessly, and help you identify errors post-migration.

2. Untangle webs: Identify dependencies

Today’s infrastructure is intricately woven to enhance collaboration and productivity. Expect integrations between email servers, CRMs, cloud directories, and other applications. When migrating to another tenant, you’ll want a plan to address interdependencies in order to meet the expectations of users in their new environment post-migration.

3. Consider security: Keep compliance and security top of mind

Keeping up with compliance requirements and fending off cyber-attacks is frightening enough on a day-to-day basis. Part of migration planning is making sure you’re addressing every potential compliance issue – including those that are industry-specific – and using a tool with the highest levels of security, like MigrationWiz.

4. Clear the cobwebs: Deal with archives and legacy systems

A planned tenant-to-tenant migration is a good opportunity for businesses to clean out archives, decommission legacy systems, and generally clean up infrastructure. Review the company’s document retention policies to identify which data must be preserved and what should be deleted. Cleaning up before the migration saves time and money, and can significantly reduce storage costs moving forward.

5. Don’t venture alone: Select the right cloud provider

If there’s one thing we’ve all learned from scary situations, things work out better with someone you trust by your side. Different cloud providers offer different benefits. Before you implement your migration, consider what makes sense for the business. You’ll want to factor in longevity, scalability, cost, integrations, location, latency, and security. Not all clouds are alike, so evaluating your provider is an important part of the process. And in some cases, a hybrid environment might be the answer, giving the organization more control and better value.

6. Be prepared: Plan, test, and plan some more

Everything is less scary when you’ve got a plan. Your migration plan should involve all stakeholders, considering the needs of the organization and end-users. You’ll want to define what, when, and how data will be moved, and develop communications that set expectations and help people throughout the process. Part of a thorough plan also includes testing to identify and adjust for any errors before the cut-over day.

7. Just when you think you’ve slain the monster: Expect post-migration cleanup

It’s frightening enough to imagine what’s going to pop up when you think your project is complete. But the truth is, no matter how smooth your migration, there’s always some amount of reorganization required after cut-over. Be prepared to deal with some missing documents, misconfigured accounts, or integration errors. You can identify many issues by reviewing migration reports, then use that information to communicate status to stakeholders and let them know it’s all part of the plan.

Don’t be afraid! We’re here to help with your migration project. Contact us today and start migrating.