Migrating from GroupWise to MS Outlook is not only time demanding but also costly. If anything goes wrong, it will hurt in the most painful manner possible – by causing data loss. If you are planning to migrate from Micro Focus GroupWise to Microsoft Outlook, keep the following points in mind to have a smoother and safer migration.
Points to Remember before Migrating from GroupWise to MS Outlook
- Infrastructure considerations for future-proofing
When you acquire a Microsoft collaborative product, you purchase the complete stack. Once you do, you are locked in. When you migrate to MS Outlook, you lose all of the freedom you had with GroupWise, including paying for just what you use, keeping older clients current for as long as you want, and running it on the operating system or directory you choose. But GroupWise can become redundant and cannot be used if everyone else has moved to MS Outlook. So, weigh in your choices and see the right choice for you.
- Create an exact copy
Everybody has seen emails that need to be sent to many people yet are too sensitive to be forwarded to a large group: You may utilize Outlook’s cut-and-paste feature to send the same message to several recipients simultaneously. On the other hand, you can use the “duplicate” option in GroupWise to have that message reproduced exactly. Just enter the next name in the text box and send. It’s that simple and quick.
- Storage space
Microsoft has partnered with storage vendors to provide you with incredible savings on storage. They are not acting out of a responsibility to be polite. Their acts are driven by an acknowledgement of your requirement for their services.
Outlook’s current versions keep a copy of all messages and attachments for each recipient, which is a design issue that may quickly inflate your disc space requirements out of control. As GroupWise saves each message and attachment once, you will never need to utilize the storage reduction option.
- A contextually applicable time continuum
A calendar and a to-do list are effective tools. It is self-evident that these two things should always be present. Outlook only displays tasks due today, even if they are due the previous day. If you want to be prepared for tomorrow’s activities, you must refer to the task list. Only in the context of a group does it manage the connections for you, displaying current and forthcoming tasks within the context of your calendar schedule as a whole.
- Making a backup of your data is critical
In the case of an emergency, this will serve as a haven for everyone. In the case of a disaster, a backup copy can be utilized for recovery. After you’ve met all the prerequisites, it’s time to begin the migration process. Suppose you contemplate switching to a more user-friendly platform, such as Microsoft Outlook. In that case, you should be aware of the significant benefits.
- Perform a cleanup before you migrate
When we migrate from one platform to another, we generally move everything to the new platform. This also includes items which we may otherwise not need. So, to save time and space, while migrating your stuff, you need to perform a cleanup of your data and remove all the redundant files.
- Prioritize the items you wish to migrate
You should know that you cannot migrate all the files from GroupWise to MS Outlook in one go. If you wish to migrate, you can only move 500,000 items, which are migrated to the new inbox from the newest to the oldest. Moreover, files which are over 35 MB cannot be migrated. So, choose files which are low in size for smooth migration process. We recommend you migrate only those files which you deem to be important, as it might save lots of space and help you during the migration.
- Get familiar with the differences
You must get used to the platform before you migrate your content to it. What if you are running late on a project and you wish to perform a certain piece of the task, and now you are fishing out for the feature hidden in the platform? Well, this is why you must try out MS Outlook before you migrate from GroupWise, as both of them have different UI, different features and functionality. So, get hands on experience of MS Outlook before you migrate your data on the platform.
- Look for ways to fast-track migration
There are many ways with which you can speed up the process. One way with which you can increase the speed of migration is by using Stellar Converter for GroupWise. The software will help you to migrate your items easily and quickly. Moreover, you can also check out the community discussions of the software to understand the migration and see what people have done to experience a smooth migration of their mails.
- The time you wish to migrate
You must choose only that time for migrating your content which might not affect your other work. If you are migrating your mail data during your work hours, then your work is sure to pile up, which is something you would not be looking forward to. Therefore, you must migrate your mail account only when you have no work or little work.
An excellent way to migrate your data
Once you’ve decided to move your GroupWise data to MS Outlook, you need to look for a suitable method. We recommend you to use the most professional and ideal tool for migration – Stellar Converter for GroupWise. It is a great product for the users and organizations looking to migrate GroupWise data to MS Outlook. The converter is user-friendly and can convert multiple files in one go. Download the converter from its official website and enjoy the migration with ease.