This news puts many IT teams in a frenzy at the start of a new year, especially when budget plans are being made for the annual software renewals.

It’s not any one particular plan that is going to get costlier; the price is increasing across the board. So, even if you operate a small team and use a personal/family license, you will have to increase your budget.

While it’s true that you can’t control vendor pricing, we can follow something similar to what happened last time M365 plans became costlier in April 2025. You are not alone.

This is because. I am going to give you the exact strategies that my own organization is going to adopt. Here we will see how to audit your environment, optimize storage, and consolidate resources to keep your 2026 IT budget in check.

The Current State of Microsoft 365 Pricing & What’s Changing in 2026

The question did Microsoft 365 price increase is more relevant than ever. So, here is a tabular pricing table to compare the Microsoft 365 plans:

Just knowing the pricing isn’t the whole game. You must also understand how exactly you pay for the plan. Microsoft gives you 3 options. Understand them with Microsoft 365 E3 as an example:

Microsoft is bundling previously premium add-ons (Defender security, Intune management tools, and Copilot chat) directly into the base subscription and using it to justify the price increase.

Some organizations dont use these services and may want to shift elsewhere. However, cloud migration is still difficult, and you can’t perform an Office 365 to G Suite Migration without ample preparation. Not to mention the cost of changing services might not be worthwhile.

So instead, see what you need to do to minimise costs.

Four Strategic Ways to Offset Rising Licensing Costs

Did Microsoft 365 increase in price before? Yes. In April of 2025, Microsoft did something similar. So we can revisit our strategy and adapt it to the new cost updates.

No amount of support contacts will get Microsoft to reduce the prices just for you. Instead, plan out a strategy that can lower your billing amount.

You don’t always have to downgrade your plan. There are ways to remain on the same subscription, not lose any functionality or app access, but still cut costs.

The secret is to stop paying for the waste. Many organizations don’t audit regularly, and as a result, end up paying for licenses that no one uses.

In case you are someone who is not using M365 right now or planning to outmaneuver the cost increase by switching to a different, lower-cost plan, I have you covered.

Strategy 1. Move in Now and Lock in Annually for ROI

If you are analysing did Microsoft 365 price increase and after that realize that your current infrastructure is too expensive to maintain, it is time to consolidate.

Moreover, running two separate environments, one on cloud and one on-premises, no longer offers the same advantage it used to in the initial days of the cloud. So, follow our guide to migrate from Hosted Exchange to Office 365 to unify your users.

The SysTools Exchange Migrator is the go-to software available as a free demo. You can try out the software today.

Download Now Purchase Now

If your company has recently undergone a merger or acquisition, then the situation is different. You have multiple disjointed Office 365 tenants that need to be combined before the price hikes to get a better negotiation if you buy from a reseller.

With the SysTools Office 365 to Office 365 migration tool, you can perform an Office 365 tenant-to-tenant migration step-by-step. Don’t take my word for it, try it yourself right now.

Download Now Purchase Now

Download today and centralize licensing before the Microsoft 365 price increase happens.

Getting your infrastructure to the right M365 plan means you can lock in for an annual commitment and pay the current discounted amount even when the price rises for everyone else. However, keep in mind that this price protection applies to the Annual Commitment. If you are on the Monthly Flexible plan, you have zero protection. On July 1, your bill will jump immediately because your “contract” renews every 30 days.

If changing the infra or plans is not something you are planning to do dont worry, there are other means to reduce the price.

Strategy 2. How Did Microsoft 365 Price Increase, Not Break My Budget

It is because I audit my environment and remove inactive users on a timely basis. Many organizations feel they are paying more than they should because they are. In the form of “Ghost Licenses”.

These are the types of subscriptions assigned to employees who are no longer part of the organization. This happens because IT admins are afraid that if they remove the license, they will also lose the account and all the data in it.

That is a misconception. If you keep paying for a full E3 or Business Premium license just to retain an ex-employee’s mail, then sorry, it is a massive waste of money.

You don’t need to do that; instead, a way better strategy that instantly lowers your monthly bill is converting inactive users to shared mailboxes.

Once you do that, you can release the paid licence or reassign it to another active user.

Strategy 3. Save Data Locally and Release Excess

Monitor how many users actually use a particular service with the help of the OneDrive usage report and other resources available to you as the admin.

You can’t expect Shared Mailbox to be the right answer for every scenario. There are compliance requirements and data protection laws that mandate you keep all information for 5 or 10 years. This poses a unique problem for the admins. On the one hand, they are looking to cut costs, but on the other hand, they can’t perform the task that is most likely to reduce costs.

Now, did Microsoft 365 price increase also include the archiving cost? To answer that yes, it did. The cost of cloud storage for archiving has also risen.

For long-term retention without the subscription fee, the most cost-effective approach is to archive old user data to your local infrastructure.

To help you in this, we have the SysTools O365 Backup tool. Use it and create a digital cold storage of all O365 data that is not needed on an immediate basis.

Once you have secured the data locally, you can safely remove the Office 365 subscription from that specific user account and save on billing for the next cycle.

Strategy 4. Did Microsoft 365 Price Increase for Storage? Start Optimizing

Moving everything offline isn’t an ideal solution and may not even be possible for some organizations.

What you can do instead is to reduce the storage overage fees. Microsoft 365 gives organizations the option to buy an in-place archiving feature. You can opt out of it to save a few bucks per account. Which adds up to a significant monthly cost reduction when we talk about thousands of users.

Additionally, if you know how to reduce the large Outlook mailbox size. It can allow you to stay within your current plan’s free limits.

One thing that I often find in user mailboxes is that they get bloated with redundant conversation threads and duplicate attachments.

A quick win for reclaiming space is to remove duplicate emails in Office 365, which often consume gigabytes of unnecessary space.

Final Verdict on Microsoft 365 Price Increase

No doubt did Microsoft 365 price increase announcement happen again in 2026. However, with a plan in place, you can navigate this tricky situation again. Here, I gave you the exact increase in dollar terms so you can plan out clearly. Not only that, but I also revealed what my strategies are to keep costs in control and justify ROI to stakeholders.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Should I just switch to Google?

No, Google will also adjust its pricing to match market trends if it has’t already. If you are still not convinced, read why Office 365 is better than Google Apps regarding the current feature-set value.

Q: How can I save money without changing M365 plans?

Focus on “License Hygiene”. By that, I mean to audit your active users, remove redundant data, and archive old user data so you can cancel unused licenses immediately.

Q: Did the Microsoft 365 price increase already happen in 2026?

Not yet, but an announcement has been made, and you will surely see a rise in business licensing costs in the second half of 2026.

The post Did Microsoft 365 Price Increase Again in 2026? Calculate ROI appeared first on SysTools Software.

That’s why it becomes extremely important that admins know exactly what the retention policies are, when and why to use them. We will cover all that, plus tell you the exact steps you can use to apply your custom retention and develop Office 365 backup policy techniques as well. Let’s start.

Video Guide on How to Create Retention Policies in O365

What are Retention Policies in Office 365? Are They Different from Labels?

Retention policies are rules that determine how long data is kept in Office 365. They are a key feature within the Microsoft Purview portal and help an organization to manage the vast amounts of data that is in the O365 cloud at the container level.

If you don’t know exactly what a container means in Microsoft, think of it as a storage unit. It houses (or contains) other data elements. Like for example, a user’s mailbox is the container for individual email items.

The majority, if not all, of the applications that you use in M365 are containers for various data elements. Outlook is for mail; Teams is for chats.

Policies are designed to perform one of two actions

• Retention: Makes data immune to deletion.
• Deletion: Permanently removes all traces of data.

Then there is a hybrid of the two core policies. Here, you retain the data for a preset interval and then, at the end of its lifespan, delete it automatically with zero admin intervention.

Labels work similarly, except they apply to individual items (for example, an email in Outlook Inbox or a document in OneDrive).

So labels are a more precise version of policies and have the following features that are absent from retention policies in Office 365.

Specify the retention solution from the moment the label was applied. This facility is given on top of the usual age/last modification time type filter.

Use machine learning to figure out what item is being labeled.

Have default labels for certain apps, like SharePoint.

You can get a more in-depth look from Microsoft’s comparison between labels and policies.

Now, let us see the reason behind using the retention

Why Use Retention Policies in Office 365?

Compliance protocols and industry regulations mandate the use of such data governance tools.

Like the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002

Risk of internal leaks increases exponentially if an organization doesn’t know where its data is.

According to a recent Eon report (2025), which surveyed 150+ organizations, almost half of them struggle to find the right data when they need it.

You can thwart external attacks by automating the deletion of data that has served its purpose.

Your peers and competitors are using these right now and becoming leaner and faster.

It reduces user burden and only allows them access to what’s necessary, and ignores the rest.

Let us learn to make and use labels first, then move on to the retention policy.

Create and Apply Microsoft 365 Retention Labels

Here is the list of prerequisites you must fulfill before you start.

• Your organization must be on the Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 enterprise plan
• You must have the Global Administrator or Compliance Administrator privileges.

How Admins Make a Retention Label in Microsoft 365

Step 1. Open Microsoft Purview >> Solutions >> Click on the Data Lifecycle Management option >> select Retention labels.

Step 2. Click on Create a label.

Step 3. A Create Retention Label window opens on the screen. Enter a Name (mandatory) and Description (optional but recommended)

Step 4. Choose one option out of three in the Define label settings page.

Step 5. Decide how long to retain the items for and the start period.

Step 6. Determine what happens after the retention period expires (you have five options).

Step 7. Finally, on the Review and finish page, see if all the settings are as per your requirement, then hit Create label.

Guide to Create a Microsoft 365 Retention Policy

Step 1. Log in to Microsoft Purview >> Select Solutions >> Tap on Data Lifecycle Management >> Go to Retention policies.

Step 2. Tap + New retention policy and add a name and description.

Step 3. Continue with the default Full directory selection on the Assign admin units screen and press Next.

Step 4. Choose an adaptive/static scope for this new retention policy in Office 365.

Step 5. If you chose Adaptive in the previous step, click on Add scopes and select one or more adaptive scopes. Then, select one or more locations. The locations depend on the scope.

If you opt for Static. In the Locations page, select the locations to be included in the retention policy.

Step 6. Depending on what your organization requires, you can:

•    Retain the content for a specific period or forever (does not delete)
•    Retain for a duration and then delete.
•    Delete the content after some time. (does not retain, data may be removed before)

Step 7. Check the details on the review screen and hit Submit.

Limits of Retention Policies in Office 365 and What’s the Alternative?

The biggest limitation of retention policies is that the data is still on the cloud. To access and interact with the data, you need an active internet connection.

Also Read: Outlook Classic End of Life Date, Meaning & Next Steps

Retention policies are only made available to the most premium enterprise-grade E3 and E5 plans. Making it out of reach for organizations that have a lower budget.

Setting up a calendar retention policy is quite difficult and may not be possible in some cases (like perpetual, never-ending events).

If a user deletes an item from their account, the data stays in litigation hold, but restoration of the data to the user account is not possible without admin intervention.

Download, although possible, requires a completely different set of steps than what we have described here. Moreover, it will be more like a trial-and-error method than a true and precise data export. It will take a lot of effort and waste a lot of time to get the exact data you need.

Instead, what you can do is use the SysTools Office 365 Backup and Restore software to get a copy of the Office 365 user data. It can download every user’s email, contact, calendar, and document data from the cloud onto a local machine directly without the requirement of a network folder setup.

This zero-code GUI-only tool requires no special training to operate. Just follow these simple steps.

• Step 1. Install the tool. Select Microsoft 365 as the source and keep the default destination format. Scroll down and mark all the workloads and apply the date filter if you wish.
• Step 2. Validate the Office 365 admin credentials.
• Step 3. Validate the local folder path.
• Step 4. Map the Users
• Step 5. Preview, Validate, and Start Backup.

Conclusion

In this write-up, we went in-depth on the topic of retention policies in Office 365. Organizations must use them if they wish to maintain a proactive approach towards data safety. Although necessary, the retention policies are not a true backup and restoration substitute. That is why we have introduced a complementary tool that can patch up the gaps left by retention policies and labels to make it super easy for admins to back up and restore their organization’s data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How many retention policies can be applied at a time?
There is no limit on the number of retention policies you can make in M365. However, individual workloads such as Exchange Online or SharePoint can have no more than 1800 retention polices attached to them at a time. For most practical purposes keep retention policies count at no more than 25 per workload.

Q. What is the difference between Adaptive and Static Retention policy?
A static retention policy is fixed. It only applies to the sites/mailboxes/groups that you defined during the setup. On the other hand adaptive retention policy is more dynamic. As it uses an alterable query, instead, you can automate the inclusion/exclusion of location as per a user’s department, group, or site.

Q. Does retention policy have an expiry date?
Retention polices can be used to set expiry date on items. However, retention polices themselves have no expiry date they stay as long as your account remains active.

The post Retention Policies in Office 365 Explained in Simple Words appeared first on SysTools Software.

This is a security feature that goes beyond simple username and password checks. Conditional access is Microsoft’s Zero Trust policy engine in action. It leverages the digital signals that users generate to automate policy enforcement. Speaking of signals, let us take a look at what qualifies as a genuine signal and what does not.

What Signals Does Microsoft Conditional Access Policy Use to Allow/Deny Entry?

These are the five Vowels of Verification that act as the source for CAP signals

1. Applications and Data: M365 is a complete business suite with more than 50 different applications. Admins can set unique Conditional Access policies that trigger for a specific app. Combine this with Microsoft Defender, and admins get access to a continuous data stream. Which strengthens both visibility and control over what is being accessed and what activities are happening inside the cloud infrastructure.
2. Endpoint Devices: Users don’t use single privileged access workstations anymore. Their work is done through their laptop, mobiles, smartwatches, etc. Admins can mark these devices to reflect a specific state (like “compliant” or “Microsoft Entra hybrid joined”) & enforce policies accordingly. Plus, you have options for device-level filters to target policies on a particular piece of hardware.
3. Identity: Precise control over user behaviour can be achieved by studying the signals that come out of the user and group membership interactions. This can be done by tracking sign-in behaviour in real-time.
4. Organization: Risky behaviour, like repeated login failures, can be flagged as possible attack vectors. This becomes possible when you start signal integration with Microsoft Entra ID Protection + Conditional Access in Microsoft.
5. User Network: Even the underlying infrastructure that is being used to connect to M365 is a possible signal source.  Policies can be put in place that judge whether the IP/Location of the user is known, on a secure network channel, and can be trusted or not.

Now that we know what the signals are, let us see what they are used for.

Which Policy Decisions is Microsoft Conditional Access Policy Responsible for?

All possible decisions that can come from processing signals lie between allowing full access and blocking access completely.

Between these two states exists a spectrum of access privileges that can be assigned based on pre-determined factors. The requirement list is as follows:

• MFA (Multifactor Authentication)
• Authentication strength (Password must be 8+ characters with a combination of letters, numbers, & symbols.)
• Device to be marked as compliant (Device used to access the resources/apps must be known to the company network)
• Microsoft Entra hybrid joined device(advanced version of compliant devices, useful for private devices)
• Approved client app (Any third-party app being used must use a CAP)
• App protection policy (Company/user data must stay safe in apps)
• Password change (Password expires automatically after a certain time or after a leak)
• Terms of use(some apps, other infrastructure may contain their own TOS)

Also Read: How to Save Sent Items in Shared Mailbox Office 365

Where in the M365 Environment Should I Use CAPS?

Microsoft Conditional Access policies are useful in real-life situations. Look at the sample templates. You will notice that some policies are shared between different scenarios. This is deliberate. As some policies hold so much importance that they form the bedrock for the more advanced use cases. These are:

• MFA for Admins.
• Protecting the security credentials.
• Block old and insecure authentication methods
• MFA for accessing the admin center.
• MFA for all users, plus a compliant device or a Microsoft Entra hybrid-joined device.
• MFA for managing Azure infrastructure.

Once the Baseline foundation level setup is complete, deploy additional CAPS in the following situations.

Zero Trust systems: These operate on a policy of never-trust-always-verify. So require:

• MFA for guest access.
• MFA for risky sign-ins (P2 license).
• Password change for high-risk users (P2 license).
• Block access for unknown or unsupported device platforms.
• No persistent browser session: Reduces the window of opportunity for an attacker
• Approved client apps or app protection policies: A core Zero Trust control for BYOD.
• Block access for users with insider risk (Microsoft Purview).

Remote work: Secures users outside the corporate network. So, retains all foundational policies except certain admin-specific MFA rules.

• Adds MFA for guests and automated responses for risky sign-ins/users.
• Requires approved/protected apps and uses “application-enforced restrictions” (like blocking downloads) for unmanaged devices.
• Specifically requires compliant devices for administrators.

Protect Administrator: Our goal here is to add the strongest, non-negotiable protection to our privileged accounts.

• Require phishing-resistant MFA for administrators: Mandates the highest security (FIDO2 keys)
• Require a compliant or Microsoft Entra hybrid-joined device for administrators.

This template is admin-centric, so you can drop all general user policies

Emerging Threats: To protect against new, never-before-seen threats, a phishing-resistant MFA for administrators’ style policy is a must.

Prerequisites for Using Conditional Access Policies

CAPS are a premium service and can’t be deployed everywhere. So check:

Whether you have the Microsoft Entra ID P1 license or not. Moreover, some policies(the ones that require Microsoft Entra ID Protection) are only available within the Microsoft Entra ID P2 subscription.

Check Out: How Admins Can Allocate Microsoft 365 Licenses Using 4 Techniques

CAPS are available as a facility to organizations with Microsoft 365 Business Premium or Enterprise-grade licenses.

Moreover, if due to billing errors, your Conditional Access licenses expire, the policies remain in place. So you don’t have to worry about security when you sort out the payment problems.

Even if you lack the Conditional Access policy, Microsoft covers all of its users within its Security Defaults umbrella.

How to Configure Microsoft Conditional Access Policies?

Follow these steps to create your first CAP using Microsoft Entra ID. Official guidelines split the process into two stages

Stage One: Collect Session Details.

Here, you, or rather, ask the policy to gather the details about who is signing in, from where, and with what device.

Stage Two: Enforce Policy

Once the data is ready, deploy the policy that performs checks in the following order.

• Check for a block
• Grant Controls
• Apply session controls

When you make a new policy, it must:

Have a Name.

Assignments

• Users and/or groups
• Cloud apps or actions

Access controls

• Grant or Block controls

Best Practices for Organizations Using/Want to Use M365 Conditional Access

• If you use more than one switch, all switches must be satisfied to trigger a policy.
• Exclude emergency access or break-glass admin accounts from policies to prevent a total lockout due to policy misconfiguration.
• Use an Office 365 backup software to add a second layer of security to your organization’s data.

Conclusion

Here in this blog, we discussed what exactly the Microsoft Conditional Access Policy is. This unique way to read digital signals through organizational policies leads to better decisions and security for all. With conditional policies, you ensure that all users have access to resources whenever they require and wherever they might be. All of this while protecting the critical assets of your organization.

The post Microsoft Conditional Access Policy Explained [Updated Information] appeared first on SysTools Software.

Office 365 or now known as Microsoft 365, is a productivity suite used by billions of people. Many organizations use this software to manage emails, contacts, calendars, and other crucial data. For managing emails, they include the Outlook application, where you can perform all the normal email functions with the cloud platform.

There is another email service that also works on a cloud platform i.e. Gmail. Developed by Google, it is a webmail that can be accessed on any device. This application is also integrated with Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), where you will get all cloud features. Both programs are different, but users still want to sync Office 365 email with Gmail.

Why Set Up Microsoft 365 Emails in Gmail?

In this, I have mentioned the reasons for transferring the Office 365 emails to your G Suite email application.

• Having important emails in two different accounts makes it difficult to manage both mailboxes. So, moving them to one inbox, i.e. Gmail, helps you maintain your sensitive emails.
• Gmail offers filters, labels, and a search option to access your emails faster than Outlook.
• If you want to combine your personal and professional emails for smooth communication.
• Gmail is webmail, which means you can easily access the program from any platform. Outlook, on the other hand, is a desktop application. Although by integrating with Office 365, it is now easier to access. However, some still prefer Gmail because of its easy accessibility.
• Many sync their emails with Microsoft 365 and Gmail for backup purposes or email preservation.
• You are leaving your organization, so you are transferring your professional Office 365 emails to your personal Gmail account for further reasons.

There are other reasons for linking Office 365 emails with Gmail. But you now know how many users will get the benefits of syncing the emails. So, without wasting time, let’s see the methods to sync the account properly.

Link Microsoft 365 with Gmail using IMAP

To securely connect Office 365 email to Gmail. You can use an IMAP server. Here, you must enable IMAP in Microsoft 365 and then properly set it up in Gmail.

1. Open the Gmail application and go to the Settings page.
2. Click on Accounts and Import option, and then select Add a mail account.
3. Enter the Office 365 email address, then follow the instructions to connect the account.
4. Lastly, grant Gmail for access, also add the app password option for the authentication.

Sync Office 365 Email with Gmail by Mobile

The Gmail mobile app can also be used to configure the Office 365 email account. With this, you can easily sync your account from anywhere.

1. First, download the Gmail app on your mobile device.
2. Click on the profile picture and then select Add another account option.
3. Select the Exchange and Office 365 option. Enter the Microsoft 365 email address. Hit the Next button.
4. Choose Work or school account. Provide the password and then sign in to the Microsoft 365 account.

After the account is completely synced, you can now access your Office 365 emails in your Gmail app.

Set Up Microsoft 365 Emails in Professional Gmail Account

If you want to sync your Office 365 to a professional Gmail account. Then Google Workspace has a built-in migration tool that can help you. For this, you must have a super administrator Google Workspace account. Also, administrator credentials for Microsoft 365. Here are the steps.

1. First, log in to the Google Admin Console using the super administrator account.
2. Then, click on Data >> Data import & export >> Data Migration option.
3. If this is your first migration, click on the Set up data migration button.
4. Choose Microsoft Exchange Online from the Migration source.
5. Click on Auto for the connection protocol. Press the Connect button and sign in with a Microsoft 365 account using a global administrator account.
6. Create a CSV file to add the source and destination ID of the user. Keep the information in the Source Exchange Email and Target GUser column.
7. Save it and upload the file.
8. After that, choose the data you want to copy and provide a date range.
9. Hit the Start button to begin the process.
10. Update the DNS records after the migration process is completed.

This is the solution when you need to link your Office 365 emails to a professional Gmail account. As you can see, this method is lengthy, and a non-technical person may have issues following it. Then, I have a professional method that you can use.

Sync Office 365 Email with Gmail with Professional Tool

Syncing your work Office 365 email to your professional Gmail account. SysTools Office 365 to G Suite Migration Tool will help you. It is a great tool that allows you to migrate Microsoft 365 emails to Google Workspace. With this tool, you are not able to sync your emails. However, you can move your important emails to your work Gmail account. So that you can easily access them anytime and anywhere. To know how to use, follow the steps below.

Download Now Purchase Now

Working Steps of Professional Tool

1. Download and install the software on your Windows OS.
   
2. Select Microsoft 365 as a source and G Suite as a destination.
   
3. From the Workload selection, click on the Email option. You can apply a date filter for the selective email.
   
4. After that, provide the Admin Email and Application ID. Press the Validate option to check the permission.
   
5. Provide G Suite Admin Email, Service Account, and Certificate File. Hit the Validate button.
   
6. Now, add the users by choosing the Fetch User or Import User option.
   
7. Lastly, click on the Start Migration button.
   

Conclusion

If you ever have any problem linking your emails. Then, read the article. Here, I have provided four different methods to sync Office 365 email with Gmail. In this, I have explained how you can easily link a Microsoft 365 email to your personal account or work account. So, properly follow the steps to avoid any mistakes.

The post How to Set Up Microsoft 365 Emails in Gmail? How to Guide? appeared first on SysTools Software.

Don’t worry, I am here to act as your guide and help you complete this contact migration quest in no time. Just read through my instructions and move your contacts. Here in this guide, there are instructions not just for regular users but also for M365 admins.

Steps to Transfer Contacts from One Office 365 Account to Another on Outlook Web

• Step 1. Log in to your source Office 365 account and select Outlook.
• Step 2. Go to the People (Contacts) tab.
• Step 3. Expand the Manage Contacts option in the top ribbon.
• Step 4. Choose the Export contacts option.
• Step 5. Select the Contacts folder and hit Export.
• Step 6. Soon, you should receive a CSV file with all of your contacts.
• Step 7. Now log out of the source account and log in to the target Office 365 account.
• Step 8. Like we did previously, go to Outlook and switch to the People tab.
• Step 9. Click on the same Manage contacts box; this time, select the Import contacts option.
• Step 10. Browse for the CSV file you got from the source, upload it, and Hit Import.

This is how you migrate contacts from one Microsoft account to another. You can follow the same steps if you use the new Outlook for desktop client. This is because it has the same UI design; all you have to do is set up both of your Office 365 accounts on the same client.

Also Read: Guide to Transfer Photos from One OneDrive to Another

If you are someone who uses the classic Outlook client, then the steps vary slightly.

Bring All Contacts to the New O365 ID with the Classic Client

• Step 1. Open Outlook and add the old O365 account.
• Step 2. Then, go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export.
• Step 3. Select Export to a file > Next.
• Step 4. Select Outlook Data File (.pst) > Next.
• Step 5. Select the Contacts folder (check “Include subfolders”).
• Step 6. Browse to save the .pst file > Finish.
• Step 7. Then, add the new account to Outlook (File > Add Account).
• Step 8. File > Open & Export > Import/Export.
• Step 9. Then, click on Import from another program or file > Next.
• Step 10. Select Outlook Data File (.pst) > Next.
• Step 11. Browse for your .pst file > Next.
• Step 12. Select the Contacts folder from within the .pst file.
• Step 13. Ensure “Import items into the same folder in:” is set to your new account’s mailbox > Finish.

This covers all the user options.

Check Out: Steps to Fix TPM Error in Office 365

If you are an admin in an organization, you have access to more powerful tools that can do multi-use contact migration. Let me teach you how.

Migrating Office 365 Organizational Contacts

It is done in two phases. First, export all contacts from the source O365 domain:

As an admin, you need to connect to the source tenant with Exchange Online PowerShell and run a command to export all mail contacts to a CSV file. Take a look at my sample script. Don’t copy-paste; directly modify as per your organization’s requirements.

Get-MailContact -ResultSize Unlimited | Select-Object Name, DisplayName, ExternalEmailAddress, FirstName, LastName | Export-Csv -Path "C:\temp\all_contacts.csv" -NoTypeInformation

The second phase is to add all contacts to the destination tenant. Now, connect to the destination tenant with Exchange Online PowerShell. Run a script to read the CSV and create a new mail contact for each entry.

Import-Csv -Path "C:\temp\all_contacts.csv" | ForEach-Object { New-MailContact -Name $.Name -DisplayName $.DisplayName -ExternalEmailAddress $.ExternalEmailAddress -FirstName $.FirstName -LastName $_.LastName }

However, not every admin is comfortable using PowerShell. Don’t worry, I have an excellent solution for you.

How to Transfer Contacts from One Microsoft Account to Another Professionally?

Use SysTools Office 365 Migration Software to transfer contacts from one Office 365 account to another.

Download Now Purchase Now

Get your free copy today and experience the best means to shift data between Office 365 profiles in enterprise environments.

Step 1. Download the software on your machine. On the main setup screen, choose Microsoft 365 as both the source as well as the destination.

Step 2. Scroll down towards the workload area, select Contacts, and keep all other workloads unselected unless you also wish to migrate them.

Step 3. Move to the source screen and perform admin credential validation, enter the required details, press Validate, and proceed by hitting Next.

Step 4. Similarly, perform Destination side admin validation.

Step 5. Now, map the users in any one of the three available methods: Direct Fetching, Uploading your User list, or by downloading the CSV template given by the tool.

Step 6. Once the user list is available, mark the checkboxes, validate, and press start.

Conclusion

Now you know exactly how to transfer contacts from one Office 365 account to another. Whether you are a normal user just aggregating all of your contacts in your new M365 accounts or an admin managing the transfer of thousands upon thousands of contacts between multiple user accounts, I gave you the right method, which will work as per your needs. However, if admins require a solution that not just migrates contacts but also moves other workloads and gives detailed reporting for official purposes, they should choose the tool described in the text.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Can I drag and drop contacts across two different accounts in my new Outlook client?

No, you cannot use the export-import method to carry out the contact transfer.

Q. How long does it take to transfer contacts between Office 365 accounts?

It will hardly take you a few minutes to complete the entire process.

Q. Is it possible to transfer contacts across two Office 365 accounts without using CSV files?

Yes, you can either use the old and confusing PowerShell cmdlets or the fast and new tool to carry out inter-account contact transfer.

Q. Is it also possible to migrate contact groups (distribution groups) alongside regular user contacts?

No, contact groups won’t migrate on their own; you must use the specific workload inside the migration tool to achieve that requirement.

Q. Does importing overwrite existing contacts?

No, it creates a duplicate contact instead.

Q. Can I transfer contacts from a shared mailbox to a regular user account in this manner?

Yes, for all intents and purposes shared mailbox behaves just like a regular account, so inter-account contact transfer between such O365 accounts is indeed possible with the help of the methods described in this text.

Q. Do contact profile pics move alongside the text details?

No, you must add the photos on your own.

Q. Can the Outlook mobile app help me move contacts?

No, but you can use it to sync all of your contacts.

The post Transfer Contacts from One Office 365 Account to Another appeared first on SysTools Software.

Understanding the strengths of each of them is key for IT administrators looking to set up the right tool for their team. Don’t worry, if you lack this ability right now, you will be able to create and use both public folders and shared mailboxes effectively after you go through this write-up. I have included simple instructions that will help you decide quickly and easily.

Not only that, but through this blog post, I will help you develop insights so you can decide for yourself when it’s better to create a central inbox where people can see and respond to mail simultaneously. Moreover, we’ll also explore when it makes more sense to have a company-wide repository for documents needed by multiple team members. Let us start by understanding what exactly a Microsoft public folder means.

What is a Public Folder vs Shared Mailbox? A Digital Filing Cabinet for All

The name “Public Folder” itself reveals everything we need to know. It is a storage area that many different users can access independently.

It is not tied to any single account; rather, the organization itself is the owner. Once the admin permits, a user can add the public folder to their Outlook app and access the contents from there.

You can share emails, calendars, contacts, and even files using a public folder. The main reason organizations use a public folder is to create an archive of sorts. Information that does not change frequently is often kept inside public folders. Like for example, a company may store old project communications, departmental contacts, and training docs. A new joinee who needs to get familiar with the project can be given access to the public folder.

Moreover, public folders support a hierarchical structure, so you could store information in the following format:

Parent Public Folder (2025)

|———Q1

|———|———Apr

|———|———May

|———|———June

Making it easy to look for information when needed. Public folders are not new; they were (and still are) a facility in the on-premise Exchange Server system. Since then, Microsoft has introduced many more advanced ways to communicate and collaborate, like MS Teams, and people have been debating about public folders vs shared mailboxes. When organizations grow, the public folder architecture may not keep up, and there might be scalability issues.

Although it is possible to send emails to a mail-enabled public folder, that is not its primary use case. Instead of a two-way conversation, it is more useful as an information-sharing repository.

To fill in this gap, we have another tool that Microsoft has made available for its users, i.e., shared mailboxes. Let us learn more about it.

What is a Shared Mailbox vs a Public Folder? A Collaborative Inbox for Teams

Shared Mailbox, as the name suggests, is a special (license-free) type of Office 365 mailbox with its own email address that many different people in an organization can attach to their primary mailbox.

All those people who have the shared mailbox can then interact with it like any other regular mailbox, read messages, send mail, and everything in between. As it syncs all the activity, people can get real-time information on whether a particular email has been seen by someone else and responded to or not.

If this is your very first time interacting with Shared Mailboxes, here is a guide teaching you how to create a shared mailbox in Office 365.

You can also see how to change a public folder to a shared mailbox on your own.

Now that we have introduced both the options, let’s do a head-to-head comparison of features and see what to use when.

Public Folder vs Shared Mailbox Comparison Chart

As we have told you earlier, because of the collaborative requirement that both these features aim to solve, there are quite a few similarities between them as well, so check them out as well.

Similarities Between Public Folders and Shared Mailboxes

Conclusion

The main point of public folder vs shared mailbox boils down to one simple question: whether you want a place to keep information or a tool that multiple people can use for communication.

For archiving and pure storage use cases, there is no doubt that public folders are a superior choice. However, if you are mainly looking for a method that would facilitate multi-person email, choosing shared folders will be the right choice.

In case your organization is undergoing a migration scenario where you want to move all of the existing shared mailboxes and public folders from one Office 365 to another, look no further than the SysTools Office 365 Migration tool. It can handle the transfer of both workloads flawlessly.

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Get your copy today and migrate without issues.

The post Public Folder vs Shared Mailbox Differences Explained appeared first on SysTools Software.

Being an IT admin myself, I have taken special care during the preparation of this distilled documentation. Here, I have tried to cut out all the noise and bring you a clear, actionable road map of what’s expiring when. Admins can use this guide to chart out a plan for their organization and stay on top of all the service changes and feature terminations.

Creation of this documentation is important because the clock is ticking for many of the key Microsoft products and services that you know and love. Plus, another critical factor is that a lot, if not all, of this is happening in a span of a few months before the end of 2025. So, for IT personnel and regular people who rely on those products, this is going to be a significant challenge if they try to find everything on their own.

Moreover, if you don’t know the deadline for a particular service, it could mean disruptions in service, data loss, and insufficient time to retrain staff on new solutions. Don’t worry, this guide is made in a user-first format where I will tell you what is ending, when it’s ending, why it’s ending, and what you need to do to minimize the impact. So without further ado, let’s start.

Biggest Update: Microsoft Windows 10 Reaches End of Life in October

The end of the official support of the Windows 10 operating system on October 14, 2025, is perhaps the biggest update happening this year.

The reason this particular Microsoft 365 End-of-Support is such a massive event is because of the sheer numbers involved. According to the most recent estimates, there are still almost 1.4 billion devices running Windows 10. Making it the second most popular operating system in the world, only behind Windows 11 in the PC/laptop category.

So when these billions of Windows Home, Pro, Enterprise, Education, and even IoT Enterprise editions stop receiving support, it will be a security nightmare. The same applies to the non-security updates or assisted support.

However, it does not mean that your PC will become a brick after October 14; it’s just that non-up-to-date systems are more vulnerable to zero-day attacks. If your hardware allows, then upgrading to Windows 11 is absolutely free, so do it ASAP.

Key Azure & Microsoft 365 End-of-Support Events Happening In September 2025

Every week in September, a major or minor service is being deprecated and/or absorbed into a different feature.

• September 1: The classic eDiscovery (Premium) experience in Microsoft Purview will be retired. Users will need to transition to the new unified eDiscovery for improved search and investigation capabilities.
• September 1: Legacy message trace experience and certain cmdlets in Exchange Online will be retired.
• September 1: In this year’s last phase of Microsoft 365 end-of-support, Client Access Rules (CARs) in Exchange Online will be deprecated.
• September 9: The ‘Mobile Devices’ settings page in Outlook for viewing synced devices will be removed.
• September 15: Cognitive Services and Azure Machine Learning features in Power BI are being retired.
• September 19: Azure Database for MariaDB will be retired.
• September 30: A number of Azure services will see their end of life, including:
  • Azure Basic Load Balancer
  • Azure HPC Cache
  • Azure Remote Rendering
  • Azure Service Map
  • Azure SQL Edge
  • Azure Unmanaged Disks

What’s Ending in October 2025

Check out this list to know the key dates for the tenth month of 2025. Please note that all the dates here, as well as those shared in the September section and the November section, follow the Pacific Time Zone (PT)—Redmond, WA, USA.

• October 7: Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises (Modern Policy), 2024 release wave 1, version 24.x, reaches its end of servicing.
• October 14: In addition to Windows 10, support for Office 2016 and Office 2019 will also end.
• October 14: Mainstream support for Azure DevOps Server 2020 and Microsoft Robotics will end, though they will continue to receive extended support.
• October 22: Microsoft Configuration Manager, Version 2403, will end servicing.
• October 24: Windows Server Annual Channel, Version 23H2, will reach its end of servicing.

Microsoft Services and Features You Won’t Be Using After This November

In November, there are a lot fewer Microsoft 365 end-of-support instances compared to the previous months. Perhaps the closeness to the holiday season is the reason. Regardless, you will still say goodbye to a few things in the penultimate month of the year. Here is the list:

November 11: Windows 11 Home and Pro, Version 23H2, will reach its end of servicing.

This covers all the things Microsoft is closing down permanently in 2025. However, simply knowing about these facts isn’t enough. Users and other stakeholders must also have a plan to tackle these changes. Don’t worry, we have covered that right here in this tutorial.

Go-to Action Plan to Tackle the Microsoft 365 End of Support Milestones

These dates will arrive sooner than you think; that’s why adequate preparation ahead of time is a must. Here are the key steps you need to take:

Assess your environment: Knowing your current digital infrastructure is the most significant step that an admin needs to take. This helps to identify and mark all those systems and users who will be affected by the end of support changes.

Switch to Windows 11: It’s been almost four years since the release of Windows 11, and in this time, it has proved to be a worthy successor to Windows 10. So, before the Windows 10 systems cease to receive official support, you should switch to the new operating system. If your current devices don’t support Windows 11, then a hardware upgrade might be necessary.

Also See: Microsoft Conditional Access Policy

Evaluate your Azure Usage: Within these three months (i.e., September to November), many of the legacy Azure services are shutting down. If your organization relies heavily on any of these services, it’s essential to plan an alternative. Microsoft may have merged the feature set into its more popular Azure service, so check the official documentation to see if this is the case. This is the sure-shot way to avoid service disruptions.

Also Read: Why is Microsoft Office 365 Slowing Down the Computer?

Update the apps before Microsoft 365 end of support: Older editions of Office apps, more specifically the Office 2016 and Office 2019, are also in their sunset stage. If your workflow involves these products, consider switching to the continuously up-to-date M365 cloud or the newer one-time purchase edition of the Office business suite.

Check Out: Why Microsoft 365 is Better Than Google Workspace

Lastly, make sure to keep close tabs on all the latest developments and announcements made on official channels; bookmark this page, subscribe to Microsoft’s newsletter, follow Microsoft’s accounts on Twitter,  etc.

Conclusion

The Microsoft 365 end of support isn’t a one-off event but a continuous set of changes that will keep happening even after 2025. By adopting a plan, you can navigate these upcoming changes with ease while maintaining security and usability.

A significant step that admins inside organizations should take is to conduct a backup of the most important data. This includes user emails, contacts, calendars, OneDrive, and all other info that is most likely to be affected. For that, the SysTools Microsoft Office 365 Backup tool can help you out.

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Download the demo today.

The post Microsoft 365 End-of-Support Guide for 2026 & Beyond appeared first on SysTools Software.

In other words, you cannot perform a direct account-to-account transfer of data. Although Veritas EV can use and export PST files (the data type used by the Outlook Desktop client to store email), manually moving those files ultimately violates critical compliance requirements.
Given that it’s so difficult to migrate from Exchange Vault to Office 365, it becomes essential to understand why any organization would undertake such a significant effort in the first place.

Table of Contents

• Why Companies Choose to Migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365?
• Should I Manually Shift Veritas EV to the O365 Cloud?
• Get Data Out from Veritas EV in Microsoft Acceptable Format
• Use PowerShell and Migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365
• Put the Enterprise Vault Data in Office 365 Accounts
• How to Migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365 Professionally?
• Steps to Migrate Veritas Enterprise Vault to O365 with a Tool
• Why Using This Tool is Better than Manual Import?
• Conclusion

Why Companies Choose to Migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365?

Enterprise Vault, a Veritas product, has been meeting the archiving and storage needs of organizations worldwide for decades. However, as systems evolve and new requirements emerge, the on-premises systems are unable to keep up.

Upgrading to the cloud solves this issue.

You free yourself from constant hardware issues/upgrades/scaling up or down when demand spikes or dries up.
Cost reduction is visible from the first day. IT teams can become leaner and spend more time addressing user issues. Increasing the overall productivity.

With Office 365 cloud, the advantages don’t end at hardware management independence. You also get full access to the state-of-the-art business suite apps. There are more than 50 different applications that cover all possible business requirements. Moreover, you also get to leverage the power of AI through agents developed by Microsoft in your workflow.

All of this is just a tiny glimpse of the advantages that you get from shifting your organization to O365. Let us now see what method you can use to make the change on your own.

Should I Manually Shift Veritas EV to the O365 Cloud?

I had told you earlier that it is possible to get Veritas Enterprise Vault data in PST format, and I have already shown you the best method for importing PST to Office 365. So the solution seems simple, right? No, there lies our biggest problem. How do we ensure the method we are using is compliant with the rules and regulations of our industry?

Regardless of that issue, I will explain to you the steps you can attempt on your own to migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365. The entire process is divided into two parts. First, I pull the data from the archive, then push it into the cloud.

Get Data Out from Veritas EV in Microsoft Acceptable Format

The Basic GUI-based steps are as follows

Step 1. Log in to the EV Server >> On your left-hand pane, click on the Archives node >> Right-click >> Export (This launches the Export Archive Wizard)

Step 2. Select Export Archives to PST and click Next.

Step 3. Choose the archive you want to export and click Next.

Step 4. Specify Export Scope and Retention Category (Here you also have the option to remove these items from the archive after you export. Use it if you want to clear the storage.) Click Next.

Step 5. Set PST File Destination. You may have to make a UNC path; a regular folder won’t work. Click Next to migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365.

Step 6. Change the maximum PST file size from its default value (600 MB). Note: If a file cannot accommodate the entire vault, the wizard creates a numbered sequence of files (e.g., Inbox 1, Inbox 2 …).

Step 7. Choose the PST format. Click Next.

Step 8. Review and if everything is as per your requirements, start Export.

Use PowerShell and Migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365

Step 1. Make a list of archive IDs. To do this, open a new instance of Enterprise Vault Management Shell. Then type:

Get-EVArchive | Select-Object ArchiveId | Out-File C:\Path\To\ArchiveIDs.txt

Replace the placeholder with the correct path. This cmdlet creates a text file containing the archive IDs that I will use in our other scripts.

Step 2. Create a PowerShell script that loops through all the IDs and exports the data in PST. It should look something like this:

$ArchiveList = Get-Content C:\Path\To\ArchiveIDs.txt

foreach ($ArchiveID in $ArchiveList) {

    Export-EVArchive -ArchiveId $ArchiveID -OutputDirectory "C:\PSTExports\$ArchiveID" -Format PST -MaxPSTSizeMB 51200

}

These are the key parameters you must use in your script:

• –ArchiveId: Identifies users from the Veritas EV archive.
• –OutputDirectory: Path to save PST files.
• –Format: Must be PST.
• –MaxPSTSizeMB: The Maximum size of each PST file must be smaller than the amount of space in your account; otherwise, you risk a service stoppage.

Put / Migrate Enterprise Vault Data to Office 365 Accounts

Like the export part, here also, you have multiple ways to complete this task. I will explain every method in brief and also outline the disadvantages to make you fully aware of the risks.
Those who opt for Network upload must do the following:

• Step 1. Open the Microsoft Purview compliance portal and start a new PST import job.
• Step 2. To upload the data, make use of the SAS URL plus the AzCopy tool. This puts your PST in a temporary Azure cloud storage.
• Step 3. Use a CSV-style mapping to join the PST with its mailbox. From there, follow the on-screen instructions to move the data.

To migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365 with Drive Shipping, you do this:

• Step 1. Use the WAImportExport tool to copy PST files to a hard drive. Then encrypt all the drives with BitLocker.
• Step 2. Log in to the Microsoft Purview compliance portal and set up a drive shipping import job. You will receive an address where you have to send the drives via mail.
• Step 3. Microsoft receives the encrypted hard drives (this can take anywhere from 3 to 7 days) and uploads your files.

The Outlook Classic Client offers a PST Import mechanism:

• Step 1. Open Outlook >> Select File >> Open & Export >> Import/Export.
• Step 2. A small window appears; there, choose “Import from another program or file,” then select “Outlook Data File (.pst)”.
• Step 3. Browse to your PST file, select a destination folder in your mailbox, decide how to handle duplicates, and hit Finish.

Common issues and errors you face regardless of the manual upload type you choose:

• File size restrictions (often 20-50 GB)
• PST file corruption.
• Slow import speeds.

How to Migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365 Professionally?

The method to get the data from Veritas EV stays the same. However, the next stage, which is the way you put the data into Office 365 cloud, changes significantly. Introducing the SysTools Import PST to Office 365 tool.

Free Download Purchase Now

The only solution is to conduct a compliance-critical migration from Enterprise Vault to Office 365.

The best part about this tool is that you can use it to directly deposit the Veritas EV data into the O365 archive mailbox. No need to first add the mails to the active mailbox, then wait for the archiving rules to kick in. Just plain and simple transfer from offline to online archive. You also get to decide what part of the Veritas EV gets in and what is left behind using the dedicated date filter.

With this tool at their disposal, admins can transfer the data of 10 users simultaneously. User-level filtering and single admin account control mode are other major advantages. Follow the steps below and put your data where it is supposed to be.

Steps to Migrate Veritas Enterprise Vault to O365 with a Tool

Step 1. Download and launch the tool that will migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365 on your system. Choose Outlook (for PST) as your source and Office 365 or Office 365 Archive as the Destination.

Step 2. Under the Workload section, mark the check box next to Emails and apply a Date filter if you need a more precise import. Press Next.

Step 3. On the source screen, you have to browse for the parent folder that contains the Enterprise EV now in PST format. Then, validate and press Next.

Step 4. On the destination screen, add the Office 365 admin details and application ID, then validate and Press Next to migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365.

Step 5. The mapping screen is where you attach the user list. You can fetch, Import, or download a Template and upload it to add users.

Step 6. See the user list, then mark the boxes next to them to prioritize, validate, and hit Start Import to migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365.

Why Using This Tool is Better than the Manual Way?

On comparing both methods, the reasons become obvious as to why this tool is the best option to migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365: The tool is faster, takes less effort, and above all, is critically compliant. These are just the surface-level upgrades you get on choosing the right path. Let me tell you about even more hidden advantages that you receive:
You control how many accounts are processed simultaneously. With a concurrency slider, you can fine-tune the data import.

Witness real-time item count. This tool has a live counter that tells you how much of your data has been deposited in its intended location.

Perform the second level of import. If some data is left in the first run, use the retry failed. If there is new, never-seen-before data, you can delta import. Moreover, you can redo the entire import again in case of a major failure.

Get reports at the end of every import session. This tool creates two separate reports: one that summarises the entire session, and another that covers all the detailed account-level nuances.

Admins don’t need the user account credentials to deposit the data. They can just use the Application ID and start the import.

Also Read: How to import PST to Archive Mailbox?

Conclusion

Here in this blog, I have explained what you have to do to migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365 cloud. You first have to get the data out of Veritas EV, for which you can use either the GUI options or the PowerShell cmdlets. Once you have the data in Office 365 compliant format, use Classic Outlook’s import mechanism, Network Upload, or load up the PST into a hard drive and ship it over to Microsoft. As an alternative to the manual methods, I told you about an import utility that requires no complex setups or hardware procurement and can work directly from your workstation.

The post How to Migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365 – A Guide to Follow appeared first on SysTools Software.

In Microsoft 365, distribution groups and Office 365 groups are types of email features. Both are used to communicate with multiple users. However, their functions differ from each other. In the distribution group, users can send messages to multiple users at once. Whereas, Office 365 groups are a modern version of a Distribution list. To understand it better, I created a comparison table.

Distribution List VS Office 365 Group

Now, you know the difference between these two. Let’s see the benefits of migrating the Distribution Group to Microsoft 365.

Benefits of Upgrading Distribution Group to Microsoft 365

Distribution group is an old feature, and Office 365 groups are the modern approach where you cannot only send your emails to multiple users. But, you will also get several advantages like

• The Microsoft 365 groups provide you with a shared mailbox, calendar, SharePoint document library, OneNote, etc. This makes it easier to collaborate with your teams in one place.
• The distribution group primarily shared your emails, although Office 365 also does the same. But you can also connect with SharePoint and store and manage your files.
• For managing or exporting distribution list members, you need to access the Exchange admin center. However, in Office 365 groups, group owners can manage to make it more flexible to use.
• You can add guest users to access the group resources. However, it is not possible in the Distribution list.
• You will also get more security features in M365 groups than in a Distribution list.

Hence, it is better to use Microsoft 365 groups because of the advanced features they provide. So, now without wasting our time, let’s see how to do that.

Prerequisite Before Moving to Office 365 Groups

Before we go through the methods to upgrade your distribution list. There are some preparations that you must follow before you go through the process.

• First, check that your Distributed Groups are hosted in Exchange Online. The process will be lengthy if it is your On-premise group.
• Ensure your group must be eligible to upgrade. The group must have a valid SMTP email address, not a dynamic distribution list, does not have nested groups as members, It is listed in global address list and has owners not more than 100.
• The group has proper administrative privileges, like Exchange Admin or Global Admin roles.
• Also, you must have a mailbox where your Distributed group stores the data.
• Export distribution group members. So, there would be no issue in the configuration process.
• Make sure that the group members know about the upgrade of the distributed groups.

After fulfilling these steps, you can now go through the methods to migrate distributed groups to Office 365

Upgrade Existing Distribution Group to Office 365 with EAC

1. Log in to the Exchange Admin Center. Then, click on the Recipients option.
2. Select the Group and then Distribution List.
3. Choose the specific distribution list. You now see a new option, “Send upgrade request”.
4. If your distribution list is eligible. Click on the owners to send the upgrade request.
5. Now, the owner receives the request and clicks on the Upgrade option in the email.

This way, your Distribution list is upgraded to a Microsoft 365 group.

Upgrade Distribution Group to Office 365 using PowerShell

With the help of PowerShell, you can also migrate the Distribution list to the M365 group. Before using it, first make sure that there is no email address policy. If not, then the commands will fail; then follow the steps below.

1. In Windows PowerShell, install Exchange Online Module: Install-Module -Name ExchangeOnlineManagement
2. Then, connect it to Exchange Online: Connect-ExchangeOnline -UserPrincipalName admin@yourdomain.com
3. Check the eligibility of the Distributed groups by this: Get-DistributionGroup | FL Name,RecipientTypeDetails
   Get-EligibleDistributionGroupForMigration (This command will list all the groups that can be upgraded)
4. Now, we upgrade them by following this command: Upgrade-DistributionGroup -Identity “” (use the name of the distribution group in place “”)
5. To make sure the group successfully upgraded, type this command: Get-UnifiedGroup -Identity “”

With these methods, you can easily migrate your distribution list and take the advantage of new features. But, changing your groups is also a risky process,s especially when it comes to important data. Therefore, it is good to store your data before the process.

Secure Data When Upgrading Your Distributed Groups

Any data that is shared in the Distributed list is stored in the Exchange Online mailbox, OneNote mailbox, etc., so when you migrate your group to an Office 365 group. There is are chance that you might lose your data. In that case, try our SysTools Office 365 Backup and Restore Tool.

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Conclusion

By migrating a Distributed Group to the Office 365 Group, you will get many more benefits. That’s why I explained two ways to upgrade Distributed Group to Microsoft 365. Before going through the process, make sure the group is legitimate and don’t forget to store your data. Then, it will be easy to migrate your group.

The post How to Migrate Distribution Group to Office 365 Group? appeared first on SysTools Software.