Step-by-Step Guide: How to Import PST to Office 365

Outlook users know that their email data is stored in a PST file that is used when importing or migrating data to other platforms. If you’re one of the businesses on the edge of migrating email data to Office 365, you must be looking for techniques that allow you to transfer PST to Office 365. There are several ways available, but identifying and picking the best one requires thorough research.

To save your time and eliminate extra steps from your process, this article will guide you on how to effectively perform the data transfer, preserving the entire hierarchy.

How to prepare for moving PST files from Outlook?

PST is a file format used by Outlook to store mailbox data, including emails, contacts, calendars, etc., saved locally on the computer. These files often encounter several challenges, such as corruption, data loss, and other data security risks. Many organizations move or import PST files to Office 365 to manage and secure their files within a centralized platform. Here is what you need to do before moving PST files:

1. Make sure you have all the necessary permissions assigned in advance.
2. Set up the import settings within Office 365 and assign licenses.
3. Backup all the necessary data before you import PST to Office 365.
4. Review the Office 365 mailbox size and split PST files before import if required.
5. Organize the PST mailbox folders to make sure the hierarchy is retained.

How to import PST files to Office 365?

Here we’ll discuss top three methods to move PST file data to Office 365. You can choose any of these methods to import the data.

Method 1: Use Import/ Export technique

Here are the steps to import PST as described below:

1. Open Outlook and Go to File.

2. Click Open & Export and then Import/Export.

3. Choose Import from another program or file and click Next.

4. Select Outlook Data file (.pst) from “Import a file.”

5. Click Browse to define the file location, select options and click Next.

6. Select “Import items into the same folder in:” and choose Office 365 mailbox. Click Finish.

This will begin the import process, which will take some time. To import multiple PST files, repeat the process and browse different PST files.

Method 2: Use Drive Shipping Method

Drive Shipping is a method for importing PST files to Office 365 involving shipping of a storage device (USB drive, hard drive, etc.) to Microsoft. This means PST files will first be copied to a storage device and then shipped to Office 365. This method allows you to ship bulk PST files to Office.

1. Arrange all the prerequisites, such as internet connectivity, a storage device, and the latest Azure AzCopy tool on your computer.
2. Prepare the storage device and create a separate folder to import PST data. Name the folder same as import job.
3. In Office 365 Security & Compliance, create a new Import job, use the drive shipping method, and provide the necessary information.
4. Create an import mapping file to map PST file with Office 365 mailboxes.
5. Copy all the desired PST files to the storage media and ship them to the address given by Microsoft.

Once Microsoft receive the package, they will begin the import, and you can see the progress and troubleshoot if there are issues. After the process completion, you can check the data to see if it’s correctly imported to the Office 365 tenant.

Drawbacks of manual methods

Some shortcomings or errors that can occur when using these methods include:

1. Only one PST can be imported at once with the Import/ Export method.
2. You can only use 10 storage drives as a ship for one import job.
3. Drive shipping does not support PST files containing 300 or more embedded folders.
4. The processes are time-consuming.
5. There is a need for technical understanding to execute the processes.

Conclusion

The process to import PST to Office 365 is simple and straightforward when you have the required technical knowledge and prerequisites arranged. However, the process can often seem complicated to non-technical users. To avoid this and migrate hassle-free, use Kernel Import PST to Office 365, which is a professional solution to import data from PST files to Office 365. Use it to transfer everything, such as emails, contacts, attachments, etc., with metadata and hierarchy.