Manual

Preparing for Your Migration 23
Decide on a time frame
You need to decide on when the migration will begin, over what period of time you will migrate
data, and what access your users will have to your existing email server infrastructure before,
during, and after the migration.
The following scenario is one example of how to stage a migration with minimal disruption to
your enterprise.
If your network can accommodate the migration traffic along with normal business, you can let
the migration continue until it has finished. If you network cannot accommodate the extra
traffic, you can start the migration again each night until it has finished. If you restart the
migration, it picks up from the point at which it left off.
Newest data is migrated first, so on Monday morning, your users have access to their most
recent mail and calendar events. Your users can work with their Google Apps accounts while
older data is being migrated.
If you decide to allow read-only access to your mail server for some period, then your users
can still see data that hasn’t yet migrated.
Notify and provide training for your users
Before you begin the transition from your email server to Google Apps, we recommend the
following communication to your users:
• Notify all users of the coming transition from your email server to Google Apps. Early
communication is important to prepare users for the change in their routines.
• Notify users of their options for Google Apps training. Although Google Apps are simple to
use, the interface and procedures are a little different from what many of your users may
be accustomed to. By making training available to them as early as possible, you can
eliminate much of the anxiety that accompanies this sort of change.
Visit the
Google Apps Deployment for Enterprise site to find resources like:
• Communications templates
Time frame Activity
Thursday to Friday Provision users.
Friday end of business Start receiving mail in Google Apps.
Stop receiving mail on your
Microsoft
®
Exchange
or IMAP sever.
Establish read-only access to your Microsoft
®
Exchange or IMAP server.
Friday night to whenever migration finishes Migrate data.
Monday start of business Start using Google Apps Email and Calendar.