Successful Ways to Migrate Lotus Notes files to Office 365

Summary: Migration from any email client into the cloud-based environment is tedious. However, with the right approach, you can be able to successfully achieve the target. We will explain to you certain reasons why Lotus Notes users look at the migration toward Office 365. In addition, the solution to migrate Lotus Notes to Office 365 will also be discussed in this blog.

There is an increase in the number of queries for the migration from the On-premises email client into cloud-based technology. Many Lotus Notes users are now approaching the migration into Office 365 due to multiple reasons. Office 365 is a product from Microsoft and provides bundles of features that make work easier. However, Lotus Notes to Office 365 migration is more challenging. You need to manage many things simultaneously while migrating the user data.

But this write-up will explain to you a lot of reasons behind the migration and the solution to make the migration quicker.

What benefits will users get after migration towards Office 365?

Not sure whether Office 365 is a better platform as compare to Lotus Notes, we have mentioned some of the common reasons why Office 365 has the edge over the Lotus Notes email client:

Cost Effective: Microsoft 365 offers a subscription pricing model that suits the individual user. Users can purchase the subscription plan of Office 365 on a monthly basis at a very basic cost. On the other hand, HCL Notes is a bit costlier than Office 365, and its maintenance cost is on the upside.

Comparatively Better Security of User Data: The cloud-based Office 365 platform provides advanced security to the user data. Microsoft 365 stores complete data on the cloud, making data safety more precise.

Better User Interface: Office 365 has an intuitive interface through which utilizing every function becomes simpler. If we talk about HCL Notes, a novice user will face some difficulty while operating it.

Synchronization Issue: User who uses the HCL Notes will face problems because data synchronization between the domino server and the email client will face issues.

Automated Updation: Whenever Microsoft releases a newer update for Office 365, it will automatically install the update without causing any downtime.

Require Less RAM: Office 365 uses less system memory in order to run several function of it, whereas HCL Notes consume more memory which is complication when launching other application on the system.

These are all some reasons which are why most users look for Lotus Notes to Office 365 migration. Therefore, we will list some of the solutions which take care of data migration into Office 365.

How to Approach for Lotus Notes to Office 365 Migration?

Before we explain the different migration solutions, let’s be clear that you should back up all your data. It is a must to have a backup copy of your data to overcome undesired situations. One of the most common manual Lotus Notes to Office 365 migration approaches is using the MONTI migration guide. However, the user needs to download this guide from the website of Microsoft. To follow the procedure, looks at below:

• Go to the website of Microsoft, and then visit the download center.
• Search for MONTI.EXE, and you need to click on the download button.
• Once downloaded then, unzip the zip file on your system.

The migration guide will consist of 86 pages where all the procedures for migration from Lotus Notes to Office will be mentioned. Make sure to follow the migration as per the procedure explained in the guide. Due to the long migration strategy, many users will ignore this migration approach. Dot worries, as there are other Lotus Notes to Office 365 migration solutions, which we will discuss now.

Migrate Lotus Notes Mailboxes Using IMAP Connector

Before you can start migrating your Lotus Notes mailboxes, make sure to back up the complete of HCL Notes account.

• Create new mailboxes for every user, which you will include in the Lotus Notes to Office 365 migration.

Secondly, Enable the IMAP TCP/IP port for every user. Follow the listed steps to enable the port:

• Go to the IBM Lotus Notes and open the Domino administrator.
• Then it would help if you open the configuration tap.
• Launch the Server document, which is capable of running IMAP Services.
• Open the Ports>>Internet Ports>Mail Port.
• Now you need to change the TCP/IP value to enable from the IMAP column.
• Press the Save button to make the changes you have made.

Configure with IMAP Connector

At last, you need to use the IMAP Connector to synchronize the mailboxes between Lotus Notes and Office 365. Once you successfully complete the above procedure, you will be able to migrate Lotus Notes to Office 365 without any issues. However, this migration solution has several downsides, which you can look over them:

1. Users cannot migrate calendar entries using the IMAP Connector.
2. This Lotus Notes to Office 365 migration approach takes a lot of time and can be complicated for several users.
3. Chances of data duplication are greater as compared to other migration solutions.
4. Only able to process the migration for several mailboxes at a time.
5. Quite difficult to migrate the large Lotus Notes NSF files.

Having said that, due to various limitations of the manual method, it is need of an hour to introduce one automated migration solution. Through this write-up, we will educate you about solutions that will help migrate Lotus Notes to Office 365 account.

Expert Recommended Solution to Migrate Lotus Notes Mailboxes into Office 365

Shoviv Lotus Notes to Office 365 migration tool is an excellent utility for migrating multiple large Lotus Notes mailboxes into a Microsoft 365 environment. Using the software is easier because of its better-optimized user interface. It offers multiple user-centric features that make migration from Lotus Notes to Office 365 effective. Users can also save the NSF files in different file formats such as MSG and EML.

Creating the connection with Lotus Notes is simpler; once you make the connection, you can run multiple jobs at once. After adding the required mailboxes, users can also take a preview of them in the tool preview pane. Using the software filter option, you can add or even remove an unwanted item, which also helps reduce the target mailbox size. The tool will provide you the result without any duplicity on the target environment.

Its incremental export option is also useful if you want to resume the migration. Once you start the process, the software will also show you the live migration log, including details like the total number of items migrated, filter item count, failed items, and much more. To make you aware of the working this software, we will also show you how users can migrate their NSF files.

How this tool performs the migration from HCL Notes into Microsoft 365?

• Install the software on the system and open it once with the installation part.

• The next step is adding the required Lotus Notes NSF files to the software. For this, you can utilize different software options. If you have NSF files saved locally, then you can use the Add local NSF files option. You can also add the NSF files directly from the server using its Add Domino server NSF files.

• Under the software preview pane, you can choose the item you need to migrate. After selecting the required, right on the item or click on Office 365 option from the tool ribbon bar.

• You can include any sub-folder, then you can do it using the tool check/uncheck. Click on the Next button to move ahead.

• To fetch the mailboxes from Office 365, you have two options. Through your Outlook profile and Office 365 admin account, you fetch mailboxes. Users need to mention the login credentials, such as server name, email, and password, to connect to Office 365. Once done, click on Next.

• Now you can also map the source mailboxes with the target. It is easier to map the source using the CSV file. Click on Next after mapping the required mailboxes.

• You can include as well exclude the required item through the help of the Export selected item option. This software allows exporting the data through the data range. Along with it, you can also do folder mapping.

• The tool will now start migrating the mailboxes. Moreover, the software also displays the live processing of the data. Once the software performs the Lotus Notes to Office 365 migration, it will enable the button to save the migration report.

Conclusion

Migration is always challenging, no matter what your target environment will be. We have explained to you why Lotus Notes users prefer to move into Office 365. There are several options through which you can look for the migration into a cloud-based system like Office 365. In this blog, we have listed some Lotus Notes to Office 365 migration tools that will help you migrate your mailboxes. However, some users may face issues while using the manual migration, but we have also provided you with a quick solution to overcome all such issues.