Why the in-house Exchange Server is being replaced
The reasons are similar everywhere: the hardware or host system has reached the end of its life, the Exchange version in use is running out of support, the number of vulnerabilities requiring emergency patches is no longer acceptable, or the only administrator who knows the server is retiring. Add to that the wish for mobile device access, Teams, or simply an operation without weekend maintenance windows.
Whether the target is Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace is secondary for the move; our software handles both routes. The comparison Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365 (German) helps with the decision; the target pages describe what arrives where: Microsoft 365 migration and Google Workspace migration.
What we take from Exchange and what is only on request
At the fixed price we transfer emails with the complete folder structure and attachments; Inbox, Sent Items, Drafts and Deleted Items land in the real system folders in the target. Distribution groups come along with members and owners. We have to be honest about what is not in the fixed price on this route:
- Calendars and contacts from Exchange are migrated on request. Not because it is technically impossible, but because the age and data quality of the Exchange environment determine the effort; we check how clean the data is in the discovery analysis and then name a price.
- Public folders have no direct counterpart in Exchange Online or Google Workspace. On request we transfer their contents into shared mailboxes, groups or drives; the mapping is agreed beforehand.
- Not automatically: mailbox permissions and delegations, "send as", inbox rules, the server's transport rules, admin roles and the DNS switch. In a Microsoft 365 target, mail also arrives as unread.
Archive mailboxes and already exported PST files are imported directly into the target mailbox or an archive mailbox; what to consider is in the guide importing PST, mbox and EML archives (German).
Access to the Exchange Server: no installation, no agent
Our software accesses your server via Exchange Web Services (EWS) with a service account that is given read access to the mailboxes being migrated. Nothing is installed on the server, no agent runs, and nothing in the data is changed. Access comes from our servers in Germany, either via the EWS endpoint that is already published or via a firewall rule for our addresses. This coordination with your IT partner is why the project fee for on-premises sources is €300 instead of €200.
In the discovery analysis we record mailboxes, sizes, folders, distribution groups and public folders so that quote and schedule rest on real numbers. Exchange Server 2016 and later are supported (2016, 2019, Subscription Edition). For the firewall rule on the EWS endpoint we give you a fixed source IP address of our migration servers.
Cut-over: MX, Autodiscover and Outlook profiles
The pre-migration copies the existing data while Exchange works normally; with large mailboxes this is the decisive time saving. On the cut-over date delivery is switched: MX records to the target, SPF, DKIM and DMARC adjusted, and if a mail gateway or spam filter sits in front, its forwarding changed. The delta sync then picks up every email that still arrived on the Exchange since the pre-migration. You switch the server off only once the final report is in your hands.
Two points are specific to Exchange: the Autodiscover record of your domain has to point to the target after the switch so Outlook finds the new mailboxes, and users need a new Outlook profile, because an Exchange profile cannot be redirected to a different server. Both happen after the cut-over, not before; we provide a short guide. The order in detail is in the guide email move without downtime (German), the whole project on the process page.
Data protection: from your own data centre into the cloud
Anyone who has run an Exchange Server in-house until now often decided against the cloud deliberately. All the more important that the path there stays traceable: the data leaves your server only towards our own infrastructure in Germany and the EU, and from there into your target tenant. No third-party service, no intermediate storage outside the European legal area. The service account and the firewall rule are removed after the project, credentials deleted. On request we sign a data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR. Whether your industry places additional requirements on cloud operation, for instance for professions bound by secrecy, is something to clarify with your adviser; we advise technically, not legally. Notes for medical practices and law firms are under medical practice and law firm (both German).
What you receive and what it costs
Discovery report with the real inventory, fixed-price quote, test migration on two or three mailboxes, pre-migration, cut-over support, delta sync and a final report with validation per mailbox and folder. One dedicated contact from the first enquiry until the old server is switched off. Pricing: €300 project fee for the on-premises source plus €29 per mailbox for emails; 40 mailboxes therefore cost €1,460 net, and from 50 mailboxes a 10 % discount applies to the per-mailbox total. Calendars, contacts and public folders are added by effort; licences for the target platform you pay directly to Microsoft or Google. In the price calculator Exchange Server is already preselected as the source. A worked example with concrete steps: Exchange Server to Microsoft 365 (German).
