Accounts preparation

Before starting migrations with VaultMe for Admins, the administrator should prepare both the source and destination accounts. Proper preparation helps avoid unexpected delays, throttling issues, and incomplete results.

To prepare accounts for migration, the administrator should:

1. Ensure all accounts are active. Verify that all Google Workspace source accounts are active and accessible in a web interface, and that all corresponding Microsoft 365 destination user accounts have been created and licensed.

For more information on what accounts can participate in a migration, see Migration setup prerequisites.

Each OneDrive account must be activated before migration. OneDrive is activated only after the user or admin signs in to it at least once.

For instructions on activating all OneDrive accounts as an administrator, see Pre-provision OneDrive for users in your organization.

2. If migrating email, ensure that it is synced with the cloud in the source. VaultMe for Admins can only access email content that is synced with the mail server (i.e., is accessible in the cloud in the webmail interface).

Email clients may be configured to download sent and received emails to a hard drive and immediately remove them from the server. In cases like this, email is only stored locally and is inaccessible to VaultMe for Admins. Administrators should make sure that content is visible in the webmail interface before setting up a migration. To do so, sign in to each source user account in a browser.

3. Disconnect third-party apps. Remove or disable all non-essential third-party applications connected to the source or destination accounts. Examples of such applications include desktop clients, mailbox management software, and others. These tools may compete for API resources or interfere with VaultMe for Admins’ ability to access and migrate content efficiently.

You or the users will be able to reconnect the applications once you've verified the migration results and are ready for the cutoff.

4. Disable automated rules and filters in destination accounts. If destination accounts are already in use, instruct users to turn off all mailbox rules, filters, or automation that could move, duplicate, label, or delete migrated content in the destination Microsoft 365.

For instructions on using Exchange PowerShell to disable mailbox rules in Outlook as an administrator, see Disable-InboxRule.

5. Check storage availability.

Confirm that destination accounts have sufficient mailbox and file storage to accommodate all migrated content.

To do so, as an administrator, check each user's account size in the source and compare it with the destination accounts' configurations. VaultMe for Admins will run automated checks and will highlight accounts with insufficient storage space. However, because larger accounts may need to be assigned different higher-capacity licenses before the migration, it's best to plan in advance.

With business Microsoft 365 plans, OneDrive and Outlook have separate storage quotas. For most subscription plans, by default:

• Outlook accounts have 50 GB of free storage space
• OneDrive accounts have 1 TB

For Outlook accounts that require 100 GB of free storage, different licenses may need to be purchased, such as Microsoft 365 E3/E5. Accounts that are larger than 100 GB may need to use the auto-expanding archive. For more information on the Outlook archive, see Learn about auto-expanding archiving.

For instructions on changing OneDrive storage quotas, see Change a specific user's OneDrive storage space.

6. Review the technical limitations of Microsoft 365. Microsoft 365 does not support extra-long path lengths or special characters, and uses a different approach to organizing email than Google Workspace. Review the content in the source accounts and reorganize it if necessary.

For a full list of technical limitations and recommendations, see Compatibility concerns.

7. Maintain consistent credentials. Avoid changing user passwords or revoking access tokens after you've set up a migration. While you will be able to reconnect the accounts mid-migration, changes to credentials will interrupt the migration process and extend the migration time.

If users already have access to their destination accounts, instruct them not to make any changes to the accounts' settings, including setting up MFA, while the migration is running.

VaultMe for Admins uses encrypted connections, so changing the credentials after the migration for privacy reasons is optional.