More often than not, OST files get left behind when users shift email clients if they don’t have any important content. However, the issue arises while shifting OST files containing essential data. It’s not possible to move OST files from their configured profile directly. Users are often perplexed while figuring out the solution to move their data files. To clear confusion and simplify the conversion process, we’ll discuss a detailed manual method to shift OST files to Office 365 easily. For a faster and risk-free migration, we’ve given a trustworthy OST to Office 365 tool.
Reasons to import OST to Office 365
Each user has different requirements for importing OST files. Some of the most common reasons are listed below:
· Backup OST files: Moving OST files to Office 365 creates a copy of all the important emails at a safe location. This is helpful in case of data loss due to system crashes or data corruption.
· Centralized data storage: Saving all your Outlook file data at one place helps in managing data in a better way. This also reduces the burden of oversized on-premises servers.
· Advanced security features: As compared to On-prem Outlook, Office 365 has a variety of security features to keep your data safe. Features like multi-factor authentication, Data Loss Prevention, data encryption, and Microsoft Defender guarantee that your data remains perfectly safe.
· Better access: Importing OST files to Office 365 makes it a lot easier to access their data from anywhere. Since OST files aren’t easy to view, moving them to a cloud platform makes it easy to work with them.
· Enhanced collaboration: Moving OST files to a cloud platform like Office 365 makes it very easy for clients and colleagues to collaborate efficiently.
Pre-requisites of OST to Office 365 migration
For a successful OST to Office 365 migration, it’s essential to take some precautions and fulfill some prerequisites. We’ve given some of the common prerequisites below:
· Backup: Take a backup of your data at multiple locations to have a copy in case you face data loss due to system crash. Follow the 3-2-1 backup strategy to safeguard your data.
· Storage management: Assess your mailbox data and only import important files to Office 365 mailbox. This avoids clutter and helps in managing data in a better way.
· Assigned permissions: Assign all the necessary permissions and roles to the required users before proceeding with the migration. Doing so makes sure that you have a smooth migration without any issues.
· Data file size: Make sure that your data file is well under the defined size limit before importing it to Office 365 mailbox. Not only will an oversized file be tricky to migrate, but you might also face data loss.
· Corrupt data file: Make sure that you only import healthy data files to Office 365 mailbox. It’s not possible to migrate an inaccessible or corrupt OST file to Office 365 with manual workarounds.
How to migrate OST to Office 365 manually?
As such, there’s no direct method available to migrate OST to Office 365. There does exist a way where users first save their OST files in PST format using Outlook’s Import/Export wizard. Afterwards, the PST files are transferred to Office 365 mailbox via the network upload method. However, this method isn’t suitable for non-technical users. It’s crucial that users must have a certain degree of technical know-how and must be perfect in navigating the Office 365 admin center.
Safest way to migrate OST file to Office 365
While the network upload method can import OST files to Office 365, it has a lot of drawbacks. Not only does this process require strong technical knowledge, but users must also have a lot of time on hand. This is a particularly complicated and time-consuming process involving multiple steps. This among many other reasons why users often look for a simpler alternative to migrate OST files. Experts suggest using a reliable Email Migration tool is a better choice to move OST files without any risks involved.
Kernel Email Migrator is a powerful email migration tool which efficiently migrates all emails without data loss. Users get the option to save their data in multiple formats, like PST, OST, MSG, EML, etc., while retaining the original folder structure and formatting. Run multiple migration jobs of even large-sized PST files without any downtime or delay.
Conclusion
Let’s recap what we have learned in this article. We started off by discussing the basic overview and why you might want to import your OST emails into Office 365. Then, we talked about the network upload method to upload OST to Office 365. Finally, we shared the easiest third-party tool – Kernel Email Migrator. We suggest you opt for the recommended email migration tool to migrate OST to Office 365 with complete data security.
