We have an Enterprise Vault system that no longer archives new mail, but users occasionally access old messages through Outlook. We want to move archives for current employees into their Exchange Online mailboxes and eventually remove the rest.
What export or migration options are worth looking at? One migration provider hasn't responded.
Ask the Enterprise Vault vendor about export options for your installed version, including whether it is still supported. A paid export service may be available. It is also worth asking migration providers or competing archive vendors whether they can extract your version of the data and deliver it in a format you can import.
Be clear that the destination is Exchange Online, not just another archive product. Ask how they handle mapping archives to current users, what they deliver, and how they verify that the export is complete.
If the admin tools for your version support it, exporting each archive to PST is another route. You could then use an Exchange Online import process to put the messages into the appropriate mailbox or online archive. This may be a lot of manual work, so try a small export and import first before committing to the whole lot.
Keep a mapping of each source archive to its destination and check the imported messages before retiring the vault. Also check mailbox and archive capacity. Old mail can add up fast.
Get the retention and legal folks involved before exporting or deleting anything. Rules that apply in Exchange Online may not currently be active in the old vault, and bringing years of mail back could affect retention and discovery. Deleting archives for former employees needs its own approval too.
Answers are reviewed before publication.
-practice-runner:
We need the mail to remain available to the employees who own it, so checking whether it goes into the primary mailbox or online archive will matter.