Migrate Your GoDaddy Email Data to Microsoft 365 with Netovo Group

BY Alexander Schmidt | 2022-01-16 | BLOG

Migrating from one technology to another is a tedious and risky process. That's why migrating GoDaddy to Microsoft 365 needs the assistance of an expert.
 

Migrate Your GoDaddy Email Data to Microsoft 365 with Netovo Group

Migrating from one technology to another is a tedious and risky process. You could mess up the switching process and lose essential data. That’s why migrating GoDaddy to Microsoft 365 needs the assistance of an expert.

But before we get to that, why would you even consider GoDaddy to Microsoft 365 migration in the first place?

A GoDaddy hosting for Microsoft 365 comes with several global admin privileges and app restrictions. Many customers see the restrictions as pretty inconveniencing, and you could be on this bandwagon. On the other hand, a Microsoft 365 environment comes with unbeatable control in functionality and licensing aspects.

And this is why most users consider the move inevitable.

How to Migrate from GoDaddy to Microsoft 365

Microsoft Office 365 migration is a complex and delicate process that will take you slightly over one hour to complete. For you to understand the process, we will divide the process into three distinct sections. They include;

Preparation

Without proper preparation, your migration process will most likely fail. It is sometimes prudent to find an expert who can guide you through this process as it involves initiating on both your GoDaddy DNS and on your target Microsoft Office 365 tenant. The process includes:

Step 1- Ensure That You Have All User Credentials

Ensure that you have the names (both first and last) and the users’ passwords. You can organize this data neatly on an Excel spreadsheet, as you will need it later to Enable Source-Side Impersonation (SSI) on GoDaddy.

Step 2- Access Your GoDaddy DNS

You need to ascertain that you can still access your GoDaddy DNS by logging into the platform.

Step 3- Backup Client Settings on GoDaddy DNS

Once you Login to your GoDaddy account, look around for Account Settings on the platform and click. You can then select the domain that you intend to work on and click DNS.

Check at the bottom of the page for the Advanced Feature section and click Export Zone File, which appears under it.

Save the file locally. Doing so provides you with a basic backup that you can use to restore the original DNS in case of an eventuality.

Alternatively, you can establish a backup by following these commands once you Log in on the GoDaddy platform using Admin credentials.

Go to Workspace Email, click Manage All, and click on the Export option. From the drop-down under Export, choose Email, and choose CSV as your preferred File format. Now, click on Export to begin the backup process. Once done, open the CSV file and create a new raw with the Username, Email Address, and Password.

Step 4- Prepare the Target Microsoft Office 365 Tenant

Before you do anything, ensure that you are a global administrator on the Office 365 tenant. You can then proceed as follows:

• Open portal.office.com and Log in.
• Create all your end-user accounts. Do this by using the address <tenantName>.onmicrosoft.com.
• Provide all the relevant Microsoft Office 365 licenses. You can contact your Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) for all the necessary licenses if you don’t have them with you.
• Ensure that you license the Global Admin account and assign these licenses to your end-users. Note that every end-user account needs licensing, at least with the Exchange Online Plan 1 Certificate.

Migrate from GoDaddy to Microsoft Office 365

Now that we are through with the preparation stage, you can implement the migration process through the following steps:

• Login to Microsoft Office Admin Center. Go to Admin Center and perform the following commands, Exchange>>Recipients>>Migration.
• You will see a + sign, click on it, followed by Migrate to Exchange Online.
• Select IMAP Migration, which is the last option on the list.
• Click on Choose File and browse your files for the CSV files you created during the preparation phase.
• Open the IMAP Migration Configuration and fill in the IMAP server details, and click Next.
• Name the batch migration as you may prefer and implement the commands Bad Item Limit>> Large Item Limit>>Exclude Folder>>Next.
• Using the Browse button, select the User (s) who will receive migration process notifications. Click on Start to commence the moving process.
• The process will be in a syncing status until all your email data move from GoDaddy to Microsoft Office 365, after which the status will change to “synced.”
• Throughout the process, you can get the status via the View details option.

Synchronization

After the migration, you can continue with the following:

• Remove the GoDaddy federation from the Windows Powershell section.
• Delete user accounts or email addresses on GoDaddy.
• Remove your domain from the GoDaddy Platform.
• Add a vanity domain and update your DNS on the new Microsoft 365 Tenant.

Of course, this isn’t very easy, but you can effectively achieve it via the following steps.

• Use your admin credentials to log in to Office 365.
• Follow Admin>> Setup>> Domains>> Add Domain.
• When prompted to Verify Domain Page, ignore and instead select the Add a TXT record option.
• Open your DNS on a different browser and add the requested TXT record.
• Wait for a couple of minutes and click Verify.
• And when prompted to Update DNS settings, ignore and instead choose “I’ll add the DNS records myself.”
• Update the DNS appropriately and remove any existing GoDaddy references.
•  Refresh the system until “All DNS records are correct, no error found” appears on your screen.

Now, you can update your primary email addresses into the new domain. Once you log in to the portal, click Users>> Active Users.

• Select one User at a time and click Edit over the email section/Username. Using the vanity domain, create an alias and click on Add.
• Continue as follows; Set as primary>> Save>> Close.
• Repeat steps v, vi, and vii for all active users.
• Once you are certain that all emails are in, run a full synchronization.
• Finally, you can test your email, reset your password, log off from GoDaddy, and update your Office 365 to the latest version.

Trust Netovo Group to Guide You through GoDaddy to Office 365 Migration

Migrating your email data from GoDaddy to Office 365 is a risky, complicated, and time-consuming process. It even gets difficult if you have appointments and calendars in your Outlook to move. You no longer have to fret about this as our experts at Netovo of all the hard work and update you through each step. Contact Us for more details.

Alexander Schmidt

Managing Partner at Netovo Group, LLC a local provider of enterprise-grade Managed Hosting and Full-Lifecycle IT Services.