Move to cloud removes limitations

Freedom Bath & Bristol were using an old IMAP server with limited support for email facilities. This setup provided limitations both in terms of access, support and stability. Having been recommended by another Bristol based charity, Clifton IT were chosen to manage the project to move Freedom Bath & Bristol from their existing email infrastructure to Exchange Online. In addition, ongoing support was required.

Migrating to a cloud based solution is not always straightforward. During this project we managed challenges relating to:

• IMAP mailbox migration limits
• Time challenges relating to imports of PST files
• Credential restrictions
• DNS propagation

Importing files from the existing IMAP server to Exchange Online is not an automated process due to credential restrictions. To overcome this, we used the Microsoft PST function which meant we were able to avoid importing files via Outlook. The project saw 11 users and a total of 20 mailboxes successfully migrated to the new cloud based system.

Exchange Online has provided Freedom Bath & Bristol with an email solution that:

• Improves usability by providing familiar interfaces
• Provides a web based platform that can be accessed anywhere from any device
• Increases resilience, reliability and provides greater flexibility