Migrate Public Folder to Office 365 Shared Mailbox Directly

Organizations are shifting towards integrated collaboration tools such as Teams, Shared Mailboxes, etc. Managing both public and shared folders has become inefficient. Therefore, migrating public folder data to a shared mailbox simplifies accessibility and ensures a centralized approach. But how do you achieve this efficiently? You have two options: manually migrate public folder to shared mailbox or opt for Cigati Office 365 Backup Tool. The following blog will give you insights into why and how we migrate public folder to Office 365 Shared mailboxes.

Understand Public Folder and Shared Mailbox

A Public Folder is a shared directory in Microsoft Exchange that is accessible by multiple users. It is typically used to access, modify, and store files collectively. A Shared Mailbox is an email inbox that allows multiple users to access and manage emails using a common email address. It is used for team collaboration. Unlike shared mailboxes, public folders lack integrations with collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams.

Reasons to Migrate Public Folder to Shared Mailbox in Office 365

Before we go into further details, it is important to understand why this migration is essential. The following points outline the key benefits of why this migration process is worth considering:

1. Shared Mailboxes are more manageable than a public folder. Mailbox permissions are easier to handle eliminating the complexity of public folder permissions.
2. Shared Mailboxes facilitate collaboration. Unlike public folders, shared mailboxes integrate well with Microsoft Teams and Power Automate.
3. With Shared mailboxes, there is no need for separate licenses up to 50GB of storage. On the other hand, public folders need to be upgraded to Exchange Plan 2 for extra or large storage.
4. Public folders provide only basic security features. Whereas shared mailboxes offer advanced security features such as Multi-Factor Authentication.
5. Once the user sets the permission, Shared Mailboxes appear automatically in Outlook. Public folders are added manually.

How to Migrate Public Folder to Shared Mailbox Directly?

You can complete this migration either manually or with the help of a professional tool. While the manual process is achievable, it requires considerable time and effort. On the other hand, using a professional Office 365 Backup Tool simplifies and speeds up the process. Let’s explore both the options step by step.

Move Public Folder to Shared Mailbox Using MS Outlook

This method is best for organizations that are handling small-sized migrations. Also, if the organization is dealing with only a small number of public folders, this method is effective.

Following are the steps to migrate the public folder to Office 365 shared mailboxes:

1. Open the Outlook application.
2. Go to Open & Export > Import/Export.
3. Choose Export to a file and click Next.
4. Next, choose the Outlook data file (.pst) > Next.
5. Now, select the public folder from the list and click on Next.

Limitations: The user has to reconfigure public folder permissions manually after the migration process is completed. Since it requires manual effort, it is time-consuming too.

Migrate Public Folder to Shared Mailbox in Office 365 Using Microsoft’s Public Folder Migration Script

This method ensures data integrity while maintaining folder hierarchy. It is best suitable for medium to large public folder migrations. In addition to this, it offers bulk migration.

Step 1: Download the Microsoft Public Folder Migration Script

1. Go to Microsoft Download Centre.
2. Search “Public Folder Migration Scripts”.
3. Download the file and extract it to a local folder C:\PFScripts.

Step 2: Run the Pre-migration Checks

• Go to the folder where you have extracted the scripts.
• Open Exchange Management Shell and run this command to check duplicate or corrupted folders:

.\SourceSideValidation.ps1

• Now, check if the mail-enabled public folders sync properly. Run this command:

.\Sync-MailPublicFolders.ps1

Step 3: Preparation to migrate Public Folder to Shared Mailbox

• Run the following command to check if all the Public folders have valid SMTP addresses:

Get-MailPublicFolder | FL Name,PrimarySmtpAddress

• Assign the address, if needed by running this command:

Set-MailPublicFolder -Identity “\FolderName” -PrimarySmtpAddress “folder@domain.com”

• To check the Public folder’s size and structure, run this command:

Get-PublicFolderStatistics -ResultSize Unlimited | Sort-Object TotalItemSize -Descending

Step 4: Start the Office 365 Public Folder to Shared Mailbox Migration

Follow the Microsoft’s Official Migration Guide:

• Create a Public Folder Mailbox in MS Office 365 by running this command:

New-Mailbox -PublicFolder -Name PFMailboxOnline

• Run the Public Folder migration in batches by running these commands:

//Export the Public Folder Listcd C:\PFScripts.\Export-PublicFolderStatistics.ps1 > PFStats.csv//Create a Mapping File for Migration.\PublicFolderToMailboxMapGenerator.ps1 PFStats.csv > PFMapping.csv// Start Migration in BatchesNew-MigrationBatch -Name “PF-Migration” -SourcePublicFolderDatabase “PFDatabase” -CSVData (Get-Content PFMapping.csv -Raw) -NotificationEmails “admin@domain.com”

• Convert the Public Folder to a Shared Mailbox by running this command:

Set-Mailbox “PFMailboxOnline” -Type Shared

Limitations: For smooth migration, the user needs to have technical expertise in PowerShell. It is a complex method that involves multiple steps.

A Specialized Tool to Migrate Public Folder to Office 365 Shared Mailbox

The Cigati Office 365 Backup Tool simplifies backup and restoration. It offers support for multiple formats like PST, OST, EML, MSG, etc while also allowing exports to email clients. It ensures complete backup of mailbox data with features like bulk backup, OST/PST recovery, etc. In addition to this, it is compatible with Windows 11,10,8 and 7 to migrate public folder to shared mailbox. Also, it ensures a way to protect your data against cyber threats.

Below are the easy steps to migrate public folder to Shared Mailbox in Office 365:

1. Download and run the Cigati Office 365 Backup Tool.
2. Press Backup > Continue.
3. Log in with your Office 365 Email ID. Click Sign in.
4. Choose Public Folder as the Backup option.
5. Now, select the mailbox from the mail list and click Next.
6. Choose the desired folders from the tree structure and press Next.
7. Under Save/Backup/Migrate As, pick Office 365.
8. After that, apply any additional features if needed.
9. Set the destination path and click Convert.

Conclusion

Organizations move from Public Folders to Shared Mailboxes due to various reasons. A Shared Mailbox offers greater flexibility, better features, and easy management. Through this blog, we’ve addressed why there’s a need to migrate public folder to shared mailbox. Also, we have explained the various solutions, both manually and by using the Cigati Office 365 Backup Tool. The user can now choose the best-suited method as per their needs.

You May Also Read: Export Office 365 Shared Mailbox to PST

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q- Can you migrate public folders to Office 365?

Ans- Yes, you can migrate the Public Folder to Office 365. But, some requirements need to be met:

• A compatible and supported version of Exchange is currently running on the Exchange server.
• The Exchange Admin must hold in the Organization Management role membership.
• The Public Folder should be smaller than 25GB.
• Make sure to migrate user mailboxes first. Only then, migrate the public folders.
• The EAC does not support public folder migration. Therefore, it can only be done by Powershell scripts.
• Public folders should be migrated in batches.

Q- How to import the public folder PST to Office 365?

Ans – There are various ways by which you can import the Public Folder PST to Office 365:

1. By using Microsoft Public Folder Migration Script
2. Using Outlook

With the help of a dedicated tool such as Cigati PST to Office 365 Migration Tool for a quick fix.

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