Microsoft 365 Migration

Microsoft ended support for Exchange Server 2016 and Exchange Server 2019 on 14 October 2025, and the Extended Security Update program that followed expired in April 2026. Those servers still run, but they no longer receive security patches, and on-premises Exchange has a long history of actively exploited vulnerabilities. Microsoft Office 2016, Office 2019, Outlook 2016 and Outlook 2019 reached end of support on the same date.

There are two supported paths. The first is migrating your mailboxes to Microsoft 365, which removes the server entirely and is what we recommend for most businesses. The second is upgrading to Exchange Server Subscription Edition, which keeps mail on-premises and is generally only worth the cost where a specific regulatory or application requirement demands local mail storage.

Intuitive IT migrates on-premises Exchange servers to Microsoft 365 using cutover, minimal hybrid or full hybrid methods, depending on your mailbox count and how long you need both systems running in parallel.

It depends on the complexity of your setup but preplanning is normally a week. The migration process takes 2 weeks and post migration support is 2 days.

Any email system can be migrated to Microsoft 365. Here are some common examples:

• Email attached to your website hosting (referred to as IMAP or POP3),
• Google Workspace,
• Microsoft Exchange server (usually if you have an on-premises mail server),
• Another Microsoft 365 tenant (sometimes used in demergers)

No. Your staff keep using their existing email throughout. Our sync software copies mail, calendar and contacts into Microsoft 365 over the two weeks before cutover, and keeps copying new mail as it arrives, so both systems stay current.

The only moment of change is the cutover itself, when we update your domain's MX records to point at Microsoft 365. During DNS propagation, typically under an hour but can be up to 24, some mail may still arrive at the old system. We keep the sync running through that window so nothing is missed. Cutovers are scheduled for Friday evening to keep the transition outside business hours.

Intuitive IT charges per mailbox on a sliding scale: $170 per mailbox ex GST for 10 to 20 mailboxes, $168 for 21 to 50, $160 for 51 to 99, and $60 for 100 or more. A 25 mailbox migration is therefore $4,200 ex GST.

File migration, complex folder permissions and unusual source systems affect the final figure. Our Microsoft 365 migration calculator gives you an estimate in five questions, and we have written a detailed article on what drives migration cost.

You can read more about the cost to migrate to Microsoft 365. You can also use the calculator above

The per-mailbox price covers planning and licence audit, mailbox sync, cutover, Outlook profile reconfiguration, and 14 days of post-migration support.

Priced separately: File and SharePoint migration, permissions remediation, mobile device setup, decommissioning the old server, Microsoft 365 licences themselves.

Microsoft 365 licences are billed by Microsoft and are not part of the migration fee but we can help you purchase them. 

Your data is copied to Microsoft 365, not moved. The original stays in place in your existing system until you decide to decommission it, so there is a working fallback at every stage of the migration.

What carries across depends on where you are coming from. Migrations from Microsoft Exchange, another Microsoft 365 tenant, or Google Workspace bring mail, calendar, contacts and folder structure.

Migrations from basic IMAP or POP3 website hosting are more limited, because those systems usually only store mail, with calendar and contacts held locally in Outlook. We confirm exactly what will and will not carry across during the planning phase, before any work begins.

Yes. Shared mailboxes, distribution lists, room and resource mailboxes, and public folders are all part of a full migration, and we audit them during the planning phase.

Worth knowing on cost: in Microsoft 365, shared mailboxes under 50 GB do not require a paid licence, so they do not add to your ongoing monthly bill the way user mailboxes do but they do count as mailbox for calculating your migration fee.

Public folder migration needs some additional planning. They can migrate as-is, convert to shared mailboxes or SharePoint and Teams.

When your Microsoft 365 tenant is registered with Australia as its country, Microsoft stores your core customer data at rest in its Australian datacentre regions. This covers Exchange Online mailboxes, SharePoint and OneDrive files, and Teams chat data.

Not every Microsoft service carries that commitment. Some features, particularly newer AI services, may process data outside Australia. If data residency is a regulatory requirement for your business, we confirm the position service by service during planning rather than relying on a blanket assurance.

Intuitive IT is based in Melbourne, and our support team is located in Australia.

That depends on your current licensing. As part of the planning phase, we will audit your current licenses and requirements to make a recommendation.

As of 2025, we highly recommend that you purchase the minimum Microsoft 365 license as Microsoft 365 Business Premium. In fact, if you want ongoing support from Intuitive, this is a mandatory requirement.

There are a lot of reasons we recommend Business Premium, but the key features are:

• Advanced Security Protection
• Ability to manage the devices (phone, tablets and computers) that can connect to your M365 data
• Data Protection to ensure access and information loss
• Better Compliance

If your licensing is Business Standard, Business Premium, or Enterprise, then yes, you will.

Not necessarily. There are options where you pay for Microsoft 365 email and file hosting while continuing to use your existing Office installation.

Check which version you have first. Microsoft Office 2016 and Office 2019 reached end of support on 14 October 2025 and no longer receive security updates, so those versions should be replaced rather than carried forward. Office 2021 is supported until October 2026, which makes it a short-term option only.

Intuitive IT recommends Microsoft 365 Business Premium as the minimum licence for any business we support, because it includes device management, advanced threat protection and the compliance controls that the cheaper plans leave out.

In most cases if the plugins work with your current version of Office then yes they'll continue to work after you migrate. This will be confirmed during the planning stage of the project.

Apart from the Business Class email hosting? Well there are many features you may not know about like Office apps for your smartphone and tablet, real-time editing and collaboration on a document, a smarter inbox that will remove the Clutter to mention just a few.

We have many years experience performing mail migrations for our clients. Our IT team are all located in Australia and our support team provide outstanding customer service.

Call Intuitive IT on (03) 9044 4767 or book a time online to talk through your migration.

We will scope your current mail system, licence position and file storage, then give you a fixed quote before any work starts.