GoDaddy Hosted Office 365 to Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online) Migration Guide

It is true and amongst the biggest risks when you migrate GoDaddy Office 365 to Microsoft 365. GoDaddy doesn’t only transfer the tenant ownership but also remove its objects. Now, in such a case, if the mailbox data isn’t pre-migrated or backed up, the recovery of the data becomes difficult. Hence, it’s necessary to perform a complete backup and migration before the release of the domain from GoDaddy.

Whether you want to move emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, notes, attachments, folder hierarchy, etc., it’s important to preserve them. GoDaddy, even though effective for bundled domains and other email services, cannot surpass the advantages of Microsoft 365 due to its administrative limitations with growth. Let’s find out how to ensure a reliable migration within the scope and controls. 

About GoDaddy Hosted Office 365 to Microsoft 365 Migration 

Before you begin the actual migration process, it is necessary to understand the difference between the two accounts and fulfill the given pre-migration checklist. 

Once you have understood the difference, ensure you complete these prerequisites:

• Document all the mailboxes (user, shared, resources)
• Verify the sizes and estimate the migration timeline 
• Cross-check M365 licences for every target mailbox 
• Prepare admin accounts in the target mailbox and configure DNS 
• Inform users of the migration and run pilot tests 
• Backup the mailboxes before releasing the tenant 

When you complete all the above requirements, you can ensure a quick, scalable, and simplified migration with the native methods and the professional SysInfo O365 Backup Tool explained below. 

Natively Migrate From GoDaddy Office 365 to Microsoft 365

There are generally two approaches for this migration. It includes:

• Defederation or Partner Change if you want to keep the M365 tenant but remove GoDaddy as reseller. 
• Tenant Migration when shifting completely to a new Microsoft 365 account. 

A) Defederation to Migrate GoDaddy to Microsoft 365 

It is amongst the popular routes if you want to keep your mailbox, OneDrive, and settings intact, upgrade control, and remove the GoDaddy billing restrictions. Perform a direct GoDaddy hosted Office 365 to Microsoft 365 migration with no downtime with these steps:

1. Contact GoDaddy support or the Microsoft Transition Team and request defederation. 
2. Then, GoDaddy will raise a transition ticket and provide a temporary global admin password. 
3. Use it for direct login into the M365 Admin Center. Access the newly liberated portal. 
4. Next, use Microsoft 365 or any Cloud Service Provider to buy equivalent M365 licences.
5. Assign licences to the users and update their passwords. 
6. Once it functions, finally remove the old O365 items from the GoDaddy dashboard. 

Note: Ensure updating your domain’s DNS settings (MX, TXT, and CNAME records) to point towards the new Microsoft tenant. 

B) Move GoDaddy Office 365 Email to Microsoft 365

It is best suited for small organizations with fewer mailboxes and admins with Microsoft 365 experience. Steps to export GoDaddy to PST to configure and execute the migration are:

Audit, Target Setup, and Source Backup:

1. Audit your current GoDaddy hosted M365 environment. 
2. Estimate mailbox size, lists, emails, domains, and licensing. 
3. Then, purchase M365 licences from Microsoft or a trusted CSP. 
4. Create the new tenant and note the nameoftenant.onmicrosoft.com domain.
5. Further, go to Microsoft 365 Admin Center and create user accounts. 
6. Assign all the Exchange Online licences and verify the mailboxes are provisioned. 
7. After that, take a backup of your complete GoDaddy mailbox to ensure recovery in case of failure, inaccessibility, or other issues. 
8. Now, open Outlook connected with GoDaddy and start the Import/Export wizard. 
9. Opt for Export to a File >> PST and click Next to select GoDaddy hosted M365 emails. 
10. Pick a location and tap Finish to save the files. Repeat it for every mailbox of yours. 

Migration from GoDaddy to Microsoft 365:

1. After the backup completes, contact GoDaddy support. Request the M365 tenant release and follow the verification process. 
2. Once GoDaddy releases the domain, open M365 Admin Center and, from Settings, open Domain. 
3. Tap Add Domain, enter your business domain, add a TXT verification record to DNS, and complete verification. 
4. Update all the DNS records (MX, Autodiscover, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC (if configured). 
5. Furthermore, remove the old Outlook profile and configure the new one. 
6. Sign in with the new M365 account and allow Outlook to sync the mailbox. 
7. After that, again from File, click Open & Export and then Import/Export. 
8. Choose Import from another program or file and select PST to load. 
9. Import it into the destination mailbox and validate the migration. 
10.  At last, reconnect the devices and check the mail flow to verify. 

Loopholes of the Method 

• You need to import/export each mailbox individually. 
• High level of technical proficiency and stable internet. 
• Time-consuming with no central dashboard for progress checks. 
• Risk of human error and no support for very large mailboxes (100GB+)
• Complex and lengthy and unsuitable for enterprise-scale migrations. 

Smart GoDaddy Hosted Office 365 to Microsoft 365 Migration

To access a controlled migration window without much risk and downtime or to eliminate manual cons, use SysInfo Office 365 Backup and Restore Tool. This software allows you to directly migrate GoDaddy email to Microsoft 365 with no loss. It uses secure modern authentication and has advanced filter options with a user-friendly interface and a few simple steps. 

Steps to Migrate GoDaddy Office 365 to Microsoft 365

1. Launch the Office 365 Migration Tool and click Backup >> Continue. 
   
2. Then, pick Modern Auth/Client Mode, enter credentials, confirm the licence type, and click Sign In. 
   
3. Further, choose the mailbox backup option and pick the User IDs for migration. 
   
4. Afterward, from the mailbox hierarchy, select the folders to migrate further. 
   
5. Now, pick Office 365 as the backup option and sign in to the target account. 
   
6. Use the relevant filters before the GoDaddy Office 365 to Office 365 migration and tap Next. 
   
7. Select the final destination in the target account and click the Next button. 
   
8. Once everything is finalized and the source and target mailboxes are mapped, click Backup to complete. 
   

This is the simplest migration workflow that any individual or professional, business, or enterprise can follow for a hassle-free migration. This streamlined approach to move GoDaddy Office 365 email to Microsoft 365 is now complete. However, one question users worry about here is why choose SysInfo? Here’s why! 

SysInfo vs Top Competitors For GoDaddy Hosted O365 to M365 Migration

Choosing a migration tool means you want to ensure reliability, scalability, and security in your workflow. It even helps in reducing project risk, preserving mailbox integrity, and minimizing downtime. Here, find a comprehensive comparison of the capabilities of the top three solutions for choosing an efficient migration solution. 

Ensure you opt for the right solution so that you can prepare for the common migration challenges:

• Handling very large mailboxes 
• Accessing data from Shared Mailboxes and On-Premise 
• Mapping permissions b/w both accounts 
• DNS propagation and tenant releases (especially with manual route)

Wrapping Up

GoDaddy Hosted Office 365 to Microsoft 365 Migration is a tremendous shift that requires careful planning and control. A single wrong step can lead to a huge data loss and result in an inability to achieve greater administrative control, stronger security capabilities, and a modern collaboration platform. Microsoft’s native approach and the manual defederation solutions are straightforward but tricky and unsuited for large-scale migrations. Whereas the dedicated SysInfo Office 365 Backup Software is especially built to handle such migration scenarios, remaining cost-effective with no risky efforts or time consumption.

Frequently Asked Questions

About The Author:

Simran Bhatia

Simran Bhatia is a technical content writer engaged in writing clear, concise, and SEO-optimized content. With a background in computer science and a passion for writing, I thrive to deliver complex technical content in simple layman terms.