What is the Best Way to Migrate Exchange 2010 to 2016 ? Know Answers Here!

Admin | Cloud Backup How to's Software Technology | 4 minutes read | Last updated on February 8th, 2023,

As technology evolves, we become more desperate to incorporate and utilize it, so as to make ourselves get going with the latest technological trends. When MS Exchange Server was introduced by Microsoft, it became so much popular that every second company was deploying a dedicated Exchange Server environment, to manage their business at centralized hub, and help it grow globally. As time passed, there were updates to the Exchange Server editions too, and we were having Exchange 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and the latest in the list is Exchange 2019. With every updated Exchange edition, there are new features added and users need to upgrade their Exchange environment with the latest one, for example, Exchange Server 2010 to Exchange 2016. But this migration cannot be performed overnight and needs a lot of planning. If you are also looking for best way to migrate Exchange 2010 to 2016 environment, then read this blog and get complete solution to resolve your issue. But first find out :

What Exchange 2016 Has in Store for You?

Improved Design and Architecture

The improved Exchange Server 2016 now has a single component named Mailbox and includes all components like mailbox, Hub Transport, Unified Messaging, Client Access etc. that were previously saved as the several separate components in Exchange 2010.

Enhanced Exchange Admin Center

The Exchange Admin Center of Exchange 2016 is enhanced that now allows users to connect from any location, using any web browser. It is optimized to control all executions being performed on hybrid, On-premise and Online Exchange deployments.

Hybrid Configuration Wizard

Exchange 2016 Server supports Hybrid Configuration Wizard (HCW). It is a cloud-based application that allows to connect simultaneously with other Microsoft tools like Office 365.

Quick Search process

Exchange 2016 edition offers better search experience for users. Now they can search upto 10k mailboxes and 10k archived mailboxes (total 20k mailboxes) at once, in the new Exchange 2019 environment.

Easy SharePoint and OneDrive Collaboration

Exchange 2016 supports better integration with SharePoint and OneDrive. When an Exchange 2016 user gets a message along with an attachment file, then it is automatically saved to OneDrive or On-premise SharePoint Server. Also, users now don’t need to attach the files to the email message as they can share the files using a link only.

Enhanced Outlook on the Web

Outlook on the web (earlier Outlook Web App – OWA) has an enhanced user interface now. It is optimized to support smartphones (including iOS and Android) and tablets with complete efficiency.

MAPI over HTTP

Exchange 2016 supports MAPI and replaced HTTP that was RPC in Exchange 2010. The MAPI protocol permits users to pause Outlook connection, modify networks, resume hibernation etc. which was tough with Exchange 2010 supported HTTP RPC.

Better Certificate Management

The certificate installation takes a long time to execute in Exchange 2010, where user has to install each certificate through EMC. Exchange 2016, on the other hand install certificates on multiple servers in real time using EAC (Exchange Admin Center).

Now that we are aware of the advanced features of Exchange 2016, let’s follow the next section and find out the best way to migrate Exchange 2010 to 2016.

Manually Migrate Exchange 2010 to Exchange 2016 via Exchange Admin Center – Step by Step Guide

Please make sure that these requirements are fulfilled for maintaining synchronization with Exchange 2016 : Operating system, mailing platform compatibility, hardware requirements and proper integration between Exchange 2016 and 2010 platforms.

Now follow below mentioned “How to Migrate Exchange 2010 to Exchange 2016 – Step by Step Guide”

  1. Launch Exchange Amin Center (EAC) and log in with your credentials
  2. In Recipients, click Migration, choose Move to a different database
  3. Choose ‘Select the users that you want to move’ option and add users in Select Mailboxwindow
    Note: You can also add users by selecting Specify the users with a CSV file option
  4. Once all the users are added, click Next
  5. Now, provide a name for move mailbox process. Select the option Move the primary mailbox and archive mailbox if there is any mailbox showing under archive
  6. Provide a name for Target Databaseand provide bad item limit and click on Next
  7. Enter user account details to which mailbox move reports needs to be sent
  8. In case you want to migrate mailboxes automatically, then choose Automatically complete the migration batch option
  9. In preferred option to complete the batch, choose Automatically complete the migration batch option
  10. Finally, hit New button
    (If you want choose manual selection instead of automatic one, then choose manually select the batch later option displayed under preferred option to start the batch.)
  11. Go to Recipients >> Migration, manually select batch that needs to be moved. Click Complete this migration batch, showing under details pane
  12. Select Recipients, click on desired Migration batch to check the mailbox migration status, showing in the details pane.
  13. If you want more detailed information, then click on View Details

As you can see that the above mentioned manual method is perfectly suited to migrate Exchange 2010 to Exchange 2016, step by step. But it is feasible for technical users only and may not be useful for non-technical users. Then what is the solution now? How will non-technical users be able to migrate Exchange 2010 to 2016 without any hassles and performing these complex steps? Well the answer is simple, utilize a professional utility that will provide hassle free and error free solution for everyone.

Get Best Way to Migrate Exchange 2010 to 2016 with Professional Solution

Exchange Server Email Backup Tool is an expert application that provides comprehensive solution for moving from Exchange 2010 to 2016 with complete effortlessness. The tool is capable of migrating complete mailbox data includuing emails, contacts, calendars, notes, tasks etc. between Exchange Server editions. The software has a simple GUI and is handy for even non-technical users too and allows them to easily perform data migration without any data loss or corruption issuses. Moreover, you can also try its free demo edition that allows to move first 20 items/folder from Exchange 2010 user account to 2016 server, as free trial.