A well-planned migration must take into account all aspects of Exchange Server, such as the following:
Mailboxes
Distribution lists
Public folders
Messages
Attachments
Calendars
E-mail addresses
In addition, a well-planned migration strategy takes into consideration the business and technical reasons for the migration as well as emphasizing communication about the migration process. You can’t focus only on the technical aspects of the migration; you also need to inform key stakeholders. Those with a business interest in the migration should have input into the plan’s goals and outline the business reasons that underlie the migration. Key players on the business side of the migration project might include the following individuals:
Human resources
Customer management
Sales
Marketing
Administration
Manufacturing
Executives
Common business goals for a migration can include better internal routing of e- mail; a development environment that leverages Active Directory; compatibility with mission-critical, industry-specific software; or simply ensuring that your company stays current with its technology. Less tangible goals, such as increasing user productivity or increasing e-mail efficiency, come into play as well.
Technical goals should be listed in concert with the business goals for the project. Common technical goals include the following:
More secure e-mail platform
Better or more flexible management of the Exchange system
Higher availability of Exchange services
Better scalability as the organization grows
Integration with other applications that the organization is using now or in the future
It is imperative that the key stakeholders understand what you hope to accomplish through the migration. A cost is associated with migrating to any new system, and establishing clear, measurable goals is a good way to ensure that the cost is justified. The reason for this is simple: the more objective and measurable the goals for the project, the more easily you can define the project’s success.