- As Microsoft continues to push Office 365, the transition to Office 365 has likely already been decided, but uncertainty surrounds the starting point and the best path forward.
- The lack of a clear migration process that considers all the relevant risks and opportunities creates significant ambiguity around an Office 365 migration.
- As organizations migrate to Office 365, the change in Office’s licensing structure presents obscurity in spending that could cost the business tens of thousands of unnecessary dollars spent if not approached strategically.
- The fear of overlooking risks regarding the cloud, data, and existing infrastructure threatens to place IT in a position of project paralysis.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Many businesses are opting for a one-size-fits-all licensing strategy. Without selecting licensing to suit actual user needs, you will oversupply users and overspend on licensing.
- Jumping into an Office 365 migration project without careful thought of the risks of a cloud migration will lead to project halt and interruption. Intentionally plan in order to expose risk to develop project foresight for a smooth migration.
- A migration to Office 365 represents a significant change in the way users interact with Office. Be careful not to forget about the user as you take on the project. Engage the users consistently for a smooth transition.
Impact and Result
- Start by evaluating the business, users, and infrastructure requirements to ensure that all needs are clearly defined and the best fit-for-purpose migration plan can be decided on.
- Assess the underlying risk associated with a migration to the cloud and build mitigation strategies to counter risk or impending issues and identify project interruptions before they happen.
- Build a roadmap through a logical step-by-step process to outline major milestones and develop a communication plan to engage users throughout the migration. Demonstrate IT’s due diligence by relaying the project findings and results back to the business using Info-Tech’s Office 365 migration plan.
Member Testimonials
After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.
9.3/10
Overall Impact
$19,928
Average $ Saved
9
Average Days Saved
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
State of Minnesota - Minnesota State Retirement System
Guided Implementation
10/10
$61,749
3
Town Of Marana
Guided Implementation
9/10
$2,519
20
Groton Utilities
Guided Implementation
10/10
$25,829
20
Effort Trust
Guided Implementation
10/10
$10,000
9
District of Central Saanich
Guided Implementation
10/10
$25,000
9
Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment
Guided Implementation
7/10
N/A
2
H2O Power Holding LP
Guided Implementation
8/10
$2,000
5
Plumbing Distributors
Guided Implementation
10/10
$12,399
5
Bath Iron Works Corporation
Guided Implementation
9/10
N/A
N/A
Toyota Tsusho South Pacific Holdings Pty Ltd
Guided Implementation
10/10
$69,749
20
C2P Enterprises
Guided Implementation
10/10
$5,000
47
Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority
Guided Implementation
8/10
$1,900
3
Hamilton Lane Advisors
Guided Implementation
9/10
N/A
N/A
Mueller, Inc.
Guided Implementation
9/10
N/A
N/A
San Francisco Health Plan
Guided Implementation
7/10
$2,292
N/A
Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc.
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
Anglo Beef Processors
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
Delta Dental Plan Of Colorado
Guided Implementation
8/10
$2,419
2
Capital Regional District
Guided Implementation
10/10
$14,500
5
University of Ottawa Heart Institute - Institut de Cardiologie
Guided Implementation
9/10
N/A
2
Translational Research In Oncology
Guided Implementation
10/10
$2,000
10
National Archives and Records Administration
Guided Implementation
8/10
N/A
N/A
Shared Services Canada
Workshop
10/10
$50,000
20
Corporation Of The City Of Barrie, The
Guided Implementation
9/10
$27,500
50
AAA Club Alliance, Inc
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
Rim Architects
Guided Implementation
8/10
$8,913
5
South West Water
Guided Implementation
7/10
N/A
1
Delta Dental Plan Of Colorado
Guided Implementation
6/10
N/A
3
Manning & Napier Advisors, LLC
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority
Guided Implementation
8/10
$2,000
2
Workshop: Migrate to Office 365 Now
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Evaluate Office 365 License Needs
The Purpose
- Review corporate and project goals.
- Review and prioritize relevant services and applications to shape the migration path.
- Review Office 365 license models.
- Profile end users to rightsize licensing.
- Estimate dollar impact of new licensing model.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Corporate goals for Office 365.
- Prioritized migration path of applications.
- Decision on user licensing structure.
- Projected cost of licensing.
Activities
Outputs
Outline corporate and project goals to paint the starting line.
- Clear goals and metrics for migration
Review and prioritize services.
- Prioritized list of applications
Rightsize licensing.
- Effective licensing structure
Module 2: Assess Value, Readiness, and Risks
The Purpose
- Conduct value and readiness assessment of current on-premises services.
- Identify and evaluate risks and challenges.
- Assess IT’s readiness to own and manage Office 365.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Completed value and readiness assessment.
- Current targets for service and deployment models.
- List of perceived risks according to five major risk areas.
- Assessed IT’s readiness to own and manage Office 365.
- Established go/caution/stop for elected Office 365 services.
Activities
Outputs
Assess value and readiness.
- Cloud service appropriateness assessment
Identify key risks.
- Completed risk register
Identify changes in IT skills and roles.
- Reorganization of IT roles
Module 3: Mitigate Risks
The Purpose
- Review Office 365 risks and discuss mitigation strategies.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Completed risks and mitigation strategies report.
Activities
Outputs
Build mitigation strategies.
- Defined roles and responsibilities
Identify key service requests.
- Assigned decision rights
Build workflows.
- List of staffing gaps
Module 4: Build the Roadmap
The Purpose
- Build a timeline of major milestones.
- Plan and prioritize projects to bridge gaps.
- Build a communication plan.
- Review Office 365 strategy and roadmap.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Milestone roadmap.
- Critical path of milestone actions.
- Communication plan.
- Executive report.
Activities
Outputs
Outline major milestones.
- Roadmap plotted projects, decisions, mitigations, and user engagements
Finalize roadmap.
- Finalized roadmap across timeline
Build and refine the communication plan.
- Communication and training plan