From Microsoft 365 to Noveu: the switch in 6 steps

The decision has been made: you are moving from Microsoft 365 to Noveu. You are the one who is going to carry it out. Your colleagues mainly want to know whether their mail still works on Monday.

This piece describes the switch in six steps, for the IT administrator or external IT partner who does the work. The planning depends on your number of users, your mail volume and everything that is tied to Microsoft.

Step 1: map what you are moving

Make a list of everything that runs in Microsoft 365:

• users and their roles
• mailboxes, shared mailboxes and distribution lists, with their size
• files in SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams
• calendars, meeting rooms and contacts
• integrations with other software, such as signing in via Microsoft, add-ins and APIs
• automations in Power Automate or SharePoint

Those last two often take the most time. Look them up before you make a plan.

Step 2: set up Noveu next to Microsoft

The new environment comes next to the old one. This is what you set up:

• mail on our own mail server, reachable via IMAP and SMTP; you set up a mail program with an app password from your workspace (beta)
• Files and Documents for storage and writing
• Calendar and Contacts
• accounts, with one Noveu login via OpenID Connect, TOTP and passkeys, optional for users

Record the policy for passwords, MFA and session duration.

Step 3: transfer the data

Mail

We are building mail transfer via IMAP, with folders, messages and attachments (in development).

Calendar and contacts

You import contacts from vCard or CSV files. In the Calendar, you plan and manage your appointments and invite colleagues and external addresses.

Step 4: test with a small group

Choose 10 to 20 colleagues from different departments. They work in Noveu for a while, while Microsoft 365 keeps running as a fallback. Have them test at least this:

• daily emailing, with attachments
• writing documents and sharing files
• signing in on phone and tablet
• the integrations with software that you use every day

Collect their experiences in one place and solve problems before the rest follow. This group is then your best source of answers on the shop floor.

Step 5: switch over, department by department

Do not switch everyone over at once. For each department or location, you go through the same order:

1. Final mail synchronisation (in development).
2. Set up mail apps on computers and phones.
3. Activate accounts in Noveu.
4. You add your own domain under Settings, Domains. The domain itself stays where it is now.
5. Cancel the other Microsoft licences after the transition period.

Tell people in advance what changes and when. A short guide and a familiar face on the first day do more than a long email.

Step 6: aftercare

The switch is not finished when all mailboxes have moved. In the weeks after:

• you keep an eye on performance and availability
• you process questions and experiences from users
• you only turn off the Microsoft environment once you have checked that everything has moved
• you keep an export of the Microsoft data as an archive

With an inventory and a test group, you prepare the switch. You can find the features and costs in the comparison with Microsoft 365.