Step 1: Define Stakeholders and Goals

To start off successfully, bring together all relevant stakeholders – IT leadership, department heads and end users all have an interest in how well the migration goes. Agree upon why migration is taking place — whether cost reduction, compliance requirements or platform modernization is desired — as well as expected results to prevent scope disputes later. Without shared goals in place, decisions about scope could quickly turn into disputes over who makes a decision and when.

Step Two: Evaluate Your Email Environment

It is impossible to accurately scope what has not been measured. Take an inventory of every mailbox, shared inbox, distribution list and archive in your environment as well as data volumes, total user counts and legacy systems that touch email. Pay particular attention to service mailboxes or executive inboxes which often carry more hidden complexity than expected.

Step 3: Define What Will and Won’t Migrate

Intentionally select which mailboxes, data types and date ranges will be migrated. At the same time, document what won’t. Spam folders, deleted items past a certain age thresholds and decommissioned accounts are often left out – reducing scope and risk by cutting these off early on.

Step 4: Establish Your Technical Boundaries

To set technical boundaries, identify both source and target platforms, map integration dependencies (calendars, contacts, third-party apps), assess network constraints, and decide on an implementation approach such as cutover, staged, or hybrid as this will influence every subsequent technical decision.

Step 5: Establish a Timeline and Define Success

Set an achievable timeline, including milestones such as pilot group, phased rollout, and final cutover. Most importantly, define “done” using specific measures — zero data loss, 99% mailbox parity or full user access within an acceptable window for example — rather than vague criteria that leave projects hanging well after their work has concluded.

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