Exchange Database file (EDB), also known as the Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) database, works as the repository of the Exchange server to store mailbox data locally in the .edb extension. EDB files are capable of storing non-SMTP mails as well as in-process messages using a b-tree structure & multiple nodes. EDB files can be converted to OST & PST file extensions in order to support various platform exports.
Organizations working with Exchange tend to back up their database mailboxes locally to avoid workflow interruptions. In case the Exchange Server gets corrupted, and the business wants to expand, then the .edb file will come to the rescue. Also, if you're going to migrate or collaborate your business to a different organization or destination from Exchange, then it's essential to export the EDB.
The most common practice performed with EDB files is when the user wants to indulge with Office 365, then it is necessary to export EDB to Office 365.
Why export EDB files to Office 365?
Organizations are switching over to cloud services like Office 365 in large numbers as it provides all essential business productivity applications at one place without any requirement to deploy an expensive infrastructure. The Office 365 cloud platform helps you to achieve better business performance and growth while leaving the entire responsibility of its maintenance on Microsoft. The subscription plans designed by Microsoft suit the requirements of all types of organizations and are affordable too. All these reasons explain why small and mid-sized organizations largely are adopting or migrating to Office 365.
Microsoft 365 has a plethora of applications that helps organizations in improving their communication, collaboration, and security. Some other benefits of Microsoft 365 are:
- Task management - There are several applications that are helpful in managing business tasks and their assignments to team members like Power Apps, Power Automate, Planner, and To-Do. All these applications can enhance productivity and the quality of any project.
- Content management - With the help of cloud storage facilities from Microsoft, the organizational data is accessible from any device or location. Also, it has applications like Exchange Online, OneDrive for Business, Microsoft Teams, and Sway for collaborative activities.
- Intranet and Team sites - There are facilities like SharePoint and Yammer to connect with your team members for the enterprise-level social networking. It helps you create a connected workspace.
- Threat protection - There are multiple services that work solely to protect your data from internal and external threats like Microsoft Advanced Threat Analytics.
- Information protection - Control the sharing of information using various information protection features of Office 365. There are several applications like Office 365 data loss prevention, and Azure Information Protection for this purpose.
Businesses export Exchange Server data to Office 365 to streamline their workflow and enhance collaboration. The procedure of manually exporting the entire Exchange to Office 365 is quite hectic as there are several attributes to be followed carefully. Find three viable methods that are preferable are mentioned below:
For small organizations, cutover Migration process is the recommended method of migration. It can be said as the simplest method, almost similar to staged migration but comes with limitation in migrating mailboxes. To achieve successful results, every step of cutover migration must performed accurately.
In Staged migration, mailboxes are migrated in batches by splitting them to export in Office 365. Performing staged migration is recommended when the organization has more than 2000 mailboxes and is running an older version of exchange (2003/2007).
Hybrid migration is a method where the database is exported to Office 365 and also retained on-premises. However, hybrid migration is a more complicated method as it requires some technicalities to fulfill. So, you must analyze the methods & factors of hybrid migration.
Conclusion
In the above discussion, we have concluded the benefits of exporting Exchange to Office 365. We have also mentioned the prodcutive methods to perform easy exchange export. Although, sometimes direct migration of EDB to Office 365 may fail or take longer time, then it’s essential to convert it to PST file format. Employment of third party EDB to PST offers smooth transition from EDB to PST to proceed export to Office 365. This tool has advantages for organizations in terms of time, money and effort. Moreover, third party tools can be operated even by non-technical people.
