So, you’ve finally made the good call to move to office 365 (now a part of Microsoft 365)? Welcome to the clan! But wait! Whether you’re planning to go all in on the cloud or planning a hybrid migration, there’s a little homework to do.
Before you even plan the move, it’s important to understand that office 365 migration is not simple. There are a lot of factors to be considered and looked into to ensure a successful office 365 implementation. And one of the most crucial considerations in your office 365 pre-migration checklist should be conducting a readiness assessment.
A successful office 365 deployment involves a thorough Office 365 readiness assessment which is designed to collect detailed information about the current state of your existing IT infrastructure and to learn whether it can handle all the great functionalities and features of Office 365.
Why is Office 365 Readiness Assessment So Important?rnHelps you evaluate the business, technology, processes, and people.rnThe move to the cloud is complex and overlooking readiness assessment may favour a migration failure.rnReadiness assessment determines the best way forward, all changes involved and impacts on your business.rnHelps you build a cost model by determining what can be moved, what should be moved and what shouldn’t be migrated.rnHelps you determine if your technology group is ready for deploying and supporting office 365.rnOffice 365 readiness assessment helps you gain insights on governance, compliance and security requirements.rnOther Related Post: 6 Steps in Exchange to Office 365 Migration [A Guide]
Here’s What a Thorough Office 365 Readiness Assessment Involves:rnComprehensive readiness assessment services comprise a review of your network infrastructure, server, applications, and desktop. And there’s more to it:
Review Infrastructure and RequirementsrnOffice 365 readiness assessment should begin with a thorough assessment of your existing infrastructure which includes:
Reviewing the no. and details of client devices, operating systems, architectures, required languages, existing versions of Office, Project, and Office applicationsrnEnsuring the client devices meet the minimum system requirements for Microsoft 365 Apps installation.rnReviewing the system requirements of office server workloadsrnReviewing deployment tools in use.rnLicenses and FeaturesrnThe next step involves the selection of office 365 features and the right license. Here you need to select the right license tiers, the higher you go the more you get. When it comes to office 365 feature selections, pick only those features that you’re ready to deploy and as your business scales, you can always introduce additional services or features.
Active Directory ServicesrnThis involves ensuring your active directory environment is compatible with office 365 requirements. Here we need to ensure that Microsoft Active Directory (AD) has no issues and meets the supported levels with the current implementation to prevent any issues with Azure AD integration and Single Sign-On (SSO).
Existing application compatibilityrnDid you know outdated infrastructure is one of the most common disruptions to a successful office 365 migration? That’s why we need a strong infrastructure readiness assessment.
The existing applications running on your IT need to be assessed for their compatibility to determine whether you can go for a complete cloud environment or a hybrid solution. Here we identify which workloads are compatible with office 365 and are ready to be migrated to the cloud.
Client and End User ExperiencernWhen planning an office 365 migration, end user and client requirements are highly important. Here we need to see if the desktops and laptops are office 365 ready. The goal behind this is to gain a clear understanding of the infrastructure and receive a clear action plan to help users experience the great office 365 environment as intended.
NetworkrnNetwork and firewall services are vital when connecting applications to the cloud. We need to determine DNS requirements, internet proxies, determine impact of proxies, ensure firewall and ports are opened and forwarded appropriately, complete change management process to ensure these don’t break the security protocol.
Other Related Post: Office 365 Security Best Practices
Office 365 Readiness Assessment Services
As the most preferred Microsoft Partner company, we provide comprehensive Office 365 migration services, from planning and design, to readiness assessment and migrations, to support and managed services. Our consultants take a pragmatic approach in delivering SaaS solutions that completely support the growth of your business.
As part of our comprehensive Office 365 consulting services, here’s how we make your business office 365 ready:
Office 365 Readiness Assessment
Capture information about your existing environmentrnAssessment of your existing hardware and software infrastructurernIdentifying potential migration challengesrnMicrosoft Active Directory integrationrnNetwork, name services and connectivity planningrnUser identity, access and provisioning planningrnExchange online services planningrnMicrosoft Teams Online services planningrnOffice 365 services planningrnIdentification of all Microsoft licenses requiredrnAnalysis and validation of implementation timeline and organizational readinessrnReady for an Office 365 readiness assessment? Let’s talk!