Introduction
Complete Tenant Migration Solution
Cloudiway provides end-to-end Microsoft 365 tenant-to-tenant migration covering all workloads with minimal business disruption.
Microsoft 365 tenant-to-tenant migration is a complex undertaking that requires careful planning and execution. Whether driven by mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, or organizational restructuring, moving between tenants involves migrating mailboxes, files, collaboration content, and user identities while maintaining business continuity. Our Microsoft 365 tenant-to-tenant migration solution addresses all these challenges, including OneDrive migration with full permission preservation.
This guide covers the key aspects of tenant migration, from planning through execution, and shows how Cloudiway's migration platform enables seamless transitions. You can also try our free Cross-Tenant Migration Orchestrator to get started with planning. For detailed instructions, see our admin guides.
Common Migration Scenarios
Organizations undertake tenant-to-tenant migrations for various business reasons:
Mergers & Acquisitions
Consolidate acquired company into your Microsoft 365 environment for unified collaboration.
Divestitures
Separate a business unit into its own independent tenant during company split or sale.
Rebranding
Move to a new tenant as part of corporate identity changes with new domain and branding.
Geographic Compliance
Move to a tenant in a different datacenter region for regulatory compliance requirements.
What to Migrate
A comprehensive tenant migration includes multiple Microsoft 365 workloads. Cloudiway provides tools for mailbox migration and all your collaboration content:
Exchange & OneDrive
- User, shared, and archive mailboxes
- OneDrive personal files with permissions
- Calendar, contacts, and tasks
- Public folders and resources
Teams & SharePoint
- Teams, channels, and conversations
- SharePoint sites and libraries
- Microsoft 365 Groups
- Planner plans and tasks
Identity & Configuration
- Azure AD users and attributes
- Distribution groups
- Custom domains and DNS
- Security policies
Beyond Data Migration
Tenant migration also involves non-data elements including DNS records, custom domains, Conditional Access policies, app registrations, and third-party integrations. A comprehensive migration plan addresses all these components.
Migration Approach
A successful tenant migration follows a structured, phased approach. Our SharePoint migration capabilities ensure sites and libraries transfer with intact permissions:
Discovery & Assessment
Inventory source tenant content, identify dependencies, and create migration scope. Assess data volumes and plan timelines.
Preparation
Configure target tenant, establish coexistence, and prepare migration tools. Set up domain configuration and authentication.
Pre-Migration
Initial data seeding to reduce cutover window and validate migration quality. Set up delta sync for continuous updates.
Cutover
Switch users to target tenant with final delta sync and DNS changes. Complete user reconfiguration and verification testing.
Cloudiway Solution
Cloudiway's tenant migration platform provides comprehensive capabilities including GALSync for directory synchronization and seamless coexistence during migration:
Unified Platform
Single platform for migrating all Microsoft 365 workloads including Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams.
Delta Synchronization
Continuous synchronization captures changes until cutover, minimizing data loss and downtime.
Permission Preservation
Automatically map and preserve permissions across all workloads during migration.
Coexistence Support
Enable collaboration between tenants during migration with mail routing and calendar free/busy sharing.
Best Practices
Follow these recommendations for a successful tenant migration:
Start with Assessment
Conduct thorough discovery of source tenant to understand data volumes, dependencies, and potential migration challenges.
Plan Coexistence
Establish mail routing, calendar sharing, and GAL sync between tenants to maintain collaboration during migration.
Migrate in Waves
Group users by department or location and migrate in phases to manage risk and support workload.
Communicate Proactively
Keep users informed about migration timeline, what to expect, and how to get help during the transition.
Validate Thoroughly
Test migration with pilot users and validate data integrity before proceeding with full migration.
Plan Your Tenant Migration
Contact Cloudiway's migration experts to discuss your tenant-to-tenant migration requirements. Check our pricing, request consulting services, or see our case studies. Our platform is ISO 27001 certified.
Cloudiway supports various migration scenarios beyond tenant-to-tenant including Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration and Exchange migration projects.
For device management during tenant migrations, explore our Intune migration capabilities that automate configuration transfer between tenants.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a Microsoft 365 tenant-to-tenant migration take?
Migration duration depends on data volume and complexity. A small organization (under 100 users) can typically complete migration in 1-2 weeks. Large enterprises with terabytes of data may require several months of phased migration. Cloudiway's parallel processing capabilities significantly reduce migration timelines.
Can users continue working during tenant migration?
Yes, Cloudiway supports coexistence during migration. Users can work in either tenant with mail routing, calendar sharing, and directory synchronization. Delta sync captures changes made in the source tenant until cutover, ensuring no data is lost.
What happens to shared mailboxes and distribution groups?
Shared mailboxes are migrated with all content and permissions preserved. Distribution groups and Microsoft 365 Groups can be recreated in the target tenant with membership intact. Cloudiway handles the mapping of members from source to target users automatically.
Are SharePoint permissions preserved during migration?
Yes, Cloudiway preserves SharePoint permissions including site collections, libraries, folders, and individual file permissions. User and group permissions are mapped to corresponding target tenant identities. Unique permissions and inheritance settings are maintained.
What about Teams chat history and channels?
Cloudiway migrates Teams including channels, conversations, files, tabs, and membership. Using the Microsoft Teams Import API, chat history is preserved with original timestamps and authors. Private channels and team settings are also migrated.
