Why Do Organizations Require to Migrate PST to Office 365?

Personal Storage Table or PST is an Outlook data file that stores the mail items, such as emails, contacts, and attachments, on the local machine for quick access. Users also export their mail items from Outlook profile to PST file for backup and migration purposes. For instance, if users want to move emails from their existing email profile to a new one, they can export and import the mail items using the Outlook Import Export wizard.

Many organizations also archive user data from Outlook and save it in PST file. If an organization wants to switch or move from on-premises or current email environment to Office 365, it requires to import all PST files to migrate the mail items stored in the PST files to Office 365 mailboxes.

In addition, there are several other reasons (discussed below) that require organizations to migrate their local PST files to Office 365 .

Reasons to Migrate PST Files to Office 365

Here are some reasons that may require an organization to migrate PST files to Office 365.

Reliable Way of Mailbox Migration

Many organizations run an unsupported mail server from where they cannot export the mailboxes directly to Office 365. In such cases, they can convert the mailboxes or export them to PST files via the Outlook Import Export wizard and then import the PST files into Office 365. This is an efficient and reliable way of migrating users from unsupported mail servers to Office 365.

Upload Archives for Remote Access

Organizations can move or upload the PST file containing the archived mailbox data from the local storage to Office 365. It enables the organizations to allow their users to access their data from anywhere and through any device. They won't have to store their archived data on local media. Instead, the data is available to the users from all devices as it's stored on the cloud.

Prevent Data Loss

Importing or migrating PST files to Office 365 also protects against data loss as Office 365 provides high availability. The data remains available to all users across all devices as it is stored on the cloud. ?

Security and Compliance

Uploading or migrating PST files to Office 365 also helps organizations meet compliance. They can use the Microsoft Purview features to manage the data from imported PST files. For example, after logging into the Microsoft Purview compliance portal , they can:

• Enable?auto-expanding archiving?and archive mailboxes and provide users additional mailbox storage space to store the data that is imported.
• Put the?Litigation Hold?on the mailboxes to retain the imported data.
• Efficiently search imported data using the Microsoft?eDiscovery tools. This comes in handy during legal investigations.
• Use Office 365 retention policies?to define how long the imported mailbox data is retained and delete the content after the retention period expires.
• Search the?audit logs related to mailbox events that affect the imported data.
• Import mail items or data to the?inactive mailboxes. This can help archive data for security and compliance purposes.
• Use?data loss prevention policies?to prevent sensitive data from unauthorized access or leaking outside the organization.
• Use the Communication compliance policies to review and ensure the messages meet the standards and classifications.

Best Way to Migrate PST Files to Office 365

You can use the PST Network Upload or Drive Shipping method to upload and import the PST files into your Office 365 user mailboxes. Network Upload Method is a free but long process that involves multiple steps to upload and import PST files into Office 365. Below is a diagrammatic representation of how the Network Upload Method works.

If you choose Drive Shipping, you need to store all PST files in a BitLocker-encrypted drive and ship it to one of the Microsoft's data centers. Then pay a $2/GB or $2000/1000 GB fee to upload PST files. Microsoft will upload it. After that you can map and import the PST files. You also have to pay Microsoft for the shipping if you want your hard disk back.

A more efficient and reliable way to migrate PST files to Office 365 is by using a PST to Office 365 migrator software, such as Stellar Migrator for Outlook. It's a GUI-based, easy-to-use tool that uses secure Microsoft Modern Authentication to import PST files directly into the Office 365 users’ mailbox.

You can upload PST files in a few clicks without going through any extra steps or configuration on your Office 365 tenant. Just scan the PST file, choose Office 365 option, and enter the user or global administrator credentials to migrate the PST files from local storage to Office 365.

It makes the job easier and overcomes the limitations of manual methods, such as the 20 GB PST file limit and 35 MB message limit. With the help of the software, you can migrate PST files up to 50 GB.

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve shared the reasons why organizations may require to move the Outlook PST files to Office 365. We’ve also shared the methods to upload, import, and migrate the PST files from local storage to Office 365. You can opt for any method based on your need and availability of resources. Both Network Upload and Drive Shipping methods have some limitations. However, you can overcome these limitations by using a PST to Office 365 migrator tool, such as Stellar Migrator for Outlook . The best part is that the software offers pay per mailbox plan, which enables you to pay based on the number of mailboxes you need to import, making it more affordable. The software also generates detailed log reports that you can use to create migration reports and meet compliances.