The Challenge
- Hosted Exchange provider sunsetting service with limited migration support
- No MFA, no conditional access, and shared admin credentials in use
- Files spread across personal drives, USB sticks, and a single aging file server
- No backup of email or files outside of provider defaults
Assessment
- Audited current mailboxes, distribution groups, mailflow, and shared resources
- Reviewed identity, licensing, and existing Microsoft 365 tenant baseline (empty tenant exists)
- Mapped file-server contents and proposed SharePoint/OneDrive structure
- Modelled Microsoft 365 Business Premium licensing vs. mixed Business plans
The Solution
- Cutover migration of 55 mailboxes from hosted Exchange to Exchange Online over a weekend
- Deployed Microsoft 365 Business Premium with MFA, conditional access, and Intune enrolment
- Stood up SharePoint sites for each practice area with retention and access controls
- Migrated file-server content to SharePoint and OneDrive with mapped permissions
- Rolled out Teams for chat and meetings with documented governance
- Added Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 with immutable cloud retention
Results
55
mailboxes migrated with zero data loss
1 weekend
cutover window with staff fully productive Monday morning
100%
of accounts enrolled in MFA and conditional access
Independent
Microsoft 365 backup with documented restore testing
Technologies Used
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium
- Exchange Online
- SharePoint Online
- Teams
- Intune
- Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365