Microsoft Exchange Online Adds Support for Cross-Tenant User Data Migration

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Microsoft has released cross-tenant migration capabilities for Exchange Online. The latest update brings new cross-tenant mailbox migration and cross-tenant OneDrive migration features for commercial customers.

Specifically, the new features provide a faster and cost-effective solution to help organizations migrate user data between tenants. The cross-tenant mailbox migration feature lets IT admins move end users to a new tenant via Exchange Online PowerShell and the Mailbox Replication Service (MRS).

“Cross-tenant mailbox moves use an invitation and consent model to establish an Azure Active Directory application used for authentication between tenants. Using Azure Enterprise Application with Mailbox Migration permissions and a client secret, admins can now manage the authorization and scoping of Exchange Online mailbox migrations from one tenant to another,” the company explained.

Cross-tenant OneDrive migration enables IT Pros to leverage tools such as SharePoint Online PowerShell to transition employees to the new organization. It’s possible to schedule the migration of up to 4,000 accounts, and each account can have a maximum size of 2 TB.

Cross-tenant User Data Migration licensing requirements

Currently, the cross-tenant user data migration features are available as an add-on for business customers. Customers are required to have the following subscription plans: Microsoft 365 Business Basic/Business Standard/Business Premium/F1/F3/E3/A3/E5/A5, Office 365 F3/E1/A1/E3/A3/E5/A5, OneDrive for Business, Exchange Online, and SharePoint Online.

Microsoft notes that cross-tenant user data migration support should be a welcome addition for companies going through acquisitions, mergers, splits, or divestitures. However, these features are still available in public preview for Government Community Cloud (GCC), GCC High, and DoD customers. We invite you to check out Microsoft’s support documents to learn more about cross-tenant mailbox migration and cross-tenant OneDrive migration.