The biggest risk is not the migration itself

The biggest risk is not knowing everything that uses email: users, aliases, shared mailboxes, scanners, invoicing, website, CRM and old servers. If this is skipped, someone stops receiving or sending after cutover.

That is why migration starts with inventory, not with a button.

  • User accounts
  • Aliases and groups
  • Old mail server or hosting
  • Applications that send email
  • DNS and domain access

DNS preparation for a calm cutover

Before changing MX records, TTL is lowered, DNS ownership is confirmed and new SPF, DKIM and DMARC records are prepared. This reduces the period in which parts of the world see old settings and others see new ones.

If the domain moves to Cloudflare, that does not change email by itself. Email changes only when MX and supporting TXT/CNAME records are changed.

Moving messages and devices

Old messages are migrated per account, but phones, Outlook/Apple Mail, signatures, 2FA and access rules are just as important. Users need to know exactly when the old system stops and the new one starts.

For companies with multiple users, a pilot account is migrated before the full cutover.

After migration

Migration is not complete until messages pass authentication checks and scanners, the website and business applications send correctly.

The final deliverable is documentation: who has an account, who has admin access, where DNS records are and what to do if messages are delayed.