Cloud vs. On-prem Environment for Microsoft 365 Data Migration Tool

Cloud-based vs on-prem migration environment

Is it reasonable to use an Office 365 data migration tool in a cloud-based or on-prem environment? This is one of the critical decisions businesses planning a data migration to Microsoft 365 (OneDrive and SharePoint Online) must make.

Both migration environments have their unique set of advantages. However, depending on the migration needs and budget that vary from one business to another, one migration environment may be more suitable than the other.

This post helps IT admins, IT managers, CTOs, business leaders, and decision-makers choose the right migration environment that perfectly suits their business migration budget and needs.

Cloud-based Migration Environment

A cloud-based environment is the best for straightforward business migrations where timely completion and budget maintenance are the core requirements. Starting any business data migration in cloud (to transfer users and data to Office 365) is quicker than in an on-prem environment as the software and hardware are readily available.

Cloud-based migration environment

When performing Office 365 migration with CloudFuze in a cloud-based environment, businesses benefit from the readily available enterprise server that enables CloudFuze’s migration tool to perform secure and high-speed data transfers.

1. Migration Allocation to the Managed Migration Team

The first core step for businesses to migrate data to OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online (from any source) with CloudFuze is to allocate the migration project to the managed migration team. This is because our managed migration team knows the ins and outs of our Office 365 data migration tool.

Enterprises, MSPs, and SMBs do not face any technical challenges and complications when having their Microsoft 365 transfer performed by our managed migration team.

2. Server Portal Creation

The next critical step to data migration in the cloud is creating the server portal. Since we have a lot of enterprise servers of various configurations, our managed migration team will choose and allocate the server that best suits the migration load.

Our managed migration team performs several other vital tasks during the server portal creation stage, including sanity testing, creation of credentials, and adding the source and destination clouds.

3. User and Data Mapping

Businesses planning to use CloudFuze’s Office 365 data migration tool in a cloud-based environment must also accurately map the users and their data. Mapping thousands of users and PBs of data can be cumbersome for many businesses.

Our managed migration team helps businesses map users accurately through CSV mapping. The CSV mapping approach works great for businesses planning to customize user mappings in the source and destination.

4. Migration Initiation

The needle movers for starting the migration process are reading the CSV mapping and finalizing the features to transfer (e.g., permissions, versions, timestamps, embedded links, etc.).

Every business opting for managed data migration in the cloud environment is entitled to daily reports that help them learn about the data transfer updates and track the migration progress properly.

On-Prem Migration Environment

Businesses planning to use an Office 365 data migration tool (to transfer users and data to OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online from a particular source) most securely can benefit a lot from an on-prem data migration environment.

On-prem migration environment

1. Tool and Server Installation and Activation

Unlike data migration in cloud, using an on-prem migration environment requires businesses to deploy the migration platform into their infrastructure to perform the migration locally. Deploying CloudFuze into any business’s local infrastructure involves installing and activating:

CloudFuze X-Change (data migration tool)
API server
Move server

2. API Domain Whitelisting

One of the most critical aspects of performing data migration in an on-prem environment to transfer content to Microsoft 365 (or any other cloud suite) is to whitelist the cloud API and content domain. Our managed migration team performs the whitelisting for the API and Move server.

This whitelisting stage is crucial for enabling several mission-critical functions, including cloud addition, data migration, and access token update.

3. User and Data Mapping

Similar to using an Office 365 data migration tool in a cloud-based environment, deploying the migration tool in an on-prem environment necessitates proper mapping of the users and the data to be migrated.

All the functions of CloudFuze X-Change to overcome OneDrive and SharePoint Online limitations work to maintain a high-speed data transfer when performing the migration in an on-prem environment.

4. Migration Initiation

Starting the migration process soon after readying user mapping, adding clouds, and choosing the migrated features helps businesses ensure on-time project completion. Initiating the migration becomes a breeze once high-speed internal communication between API servers is set up.

Businesses planning to use CloudFuze’s Office 365 data migration tool in an on-prem environment along with the managed migration service benefit from: