Did you ever find yourself wishing that you didn’t have to spend tremendous amounts of time researching everything you need to know before you undertake a major migration, especially one as visible and as risk-laden as a Microsoft Exchange Migration?  Didn’t you wish that SOMEBODY would just put all the information you need to guide your decision-making and planning in one place?

Somebody has.

The good folks at Dell and Quest have published a white paper aptly titled “The Move to Exchange 2013: Migraine or Migration?”  Written by Microsoft MVP J. Peter Bruzzese, the paper clearly reflects his extensive experience and insight going back to the earliest releases of the Exchange platform.

Business Drivers for Migration to Exchange 2013

This paper is so timely, with so many companies migrating from on-premises Microsoft Exchange servers to Exchange Online as part of the Microsoft Office 365 offering, and others migrating from other platforms to Exchange to take advantage of its new features and functionalities. Bruzzese focuses in right away on what he considers to be “the question on everyone’s mind:” What is it about Microsoft Exchange 2013 that justifies a migration to it from wherever you may currently be.

Technology Drivers for Migration to Exchange 2013

Bruzzese then goes into a very informed, highly detailed and very comprehensive comparison of previous platforms, management consoles and other features suggesting what admininstrators may like immediately, what they may dislike and what they may come to appreciate over time. He discusses core issues such as changes in Server Roles, Namespaces, Client Connectivity and Managed Store Processes. Key information management abilities including the oft-discussed return and changes to Public Folders and integration with SharePoint are also discussed.

Bruzzese also addresses key technology issues including PowerShell, Data Loss Prevention (DLP) and offers pros and cons of virtualizing your Exchange 2013 servers.

Wherever You’re Migrating From...

Wherever you may be migrating from, you’ll find great insight into what you need to plan for. From non-Exchange platforms to the previous 2003, 2007 and 2010 versions, this white paper offers the kind of advice you’ve been looking for.

Since this is a publication from Dell and Quest, you can correctly assume there’s a section about third-party migration vendors and tools. What may be most impressive about this white paper is that the pitch is kept to a minimum and saved for the end. Before you ever get to it, you’ll have already received incredible value from reading it.