The IT department’s preparation work for the Microsoft 365 mail migration has been completed and we’re happy to announce that the migration phase will begin this week as a “rolling migration” where we will be working with one department/group at a time until everyone has been migrated.  Though we hope to have everyone up-and-running on the 365 platform within a week, the window that each individual user will be effected by the conversion will vary – depending upon the amount of data contained in your Outlook account.
 
Because Outlook is an app that all of us use, we have performed our due diligence and have thoroughly tested all portions of the migration process and have tried to plan for every circumstance that can take place.  However, as this migration is a huge undertaking effecting nearly 900 accounts (mailboxes; public folders; faxing services; distribution lists; etc.), we will ask for everyone’s patience during the process and will do our best to minimize any issues.
 
Again, what is Microsoft 365 mail?  Microsoft 365 is basically the cloud-hosted equivalent of our current on-premises Exchange servers.  Under this new platform, your Outlook account will be transferred to Microsoft’s hosted servers in the cloud.  This new platform will come with several new features - though we are currently just concentrating on migrating your Outlook mail account at this time. Look for information on the new features in coming weeks.
 
What do I have to do?   Most of the modifications on your network-connected system will be handled by the IT department.  After the automated portion of the migration is complete, you will be notified by a pop-up window and will be asked to manually complete some simple initialization steps to finalize the setup of the Outlook client on your network PC as well as on any remote device(s)* you use to access your AoA account.  Lastly, and this is EXTREMELY important, you will need to know the current password you use to access the network and/or the Outlook Webmail app!
 
Where can I find the directions containing the manual steps I will need to complete? You can find them by clicking this link below:

CLICK HERE FOR SETUP INSTRUCTION MANUAL

It is strongly recommended that users create a hardcopy of these directions ASAP.  The directions contain the following three sections:

1) Configuring the Outlook Client on user PCs directly connected to the network.  (Note: Remote clergy; auditors; contractors; and those who do not work within the Chancery and only used the Outlook Webmail app in the past to access their Outlook account can skip this section).

2) Accessing your account using the online 365 portal (which has replaced the Outlook Webmail app).  (Note: This is not necessarily a mandatory section that everyone is required to complete, but if you’ve ever used Outlook Webmail to access your Outlook account you may want to familiarize yourself with this access method.  Of course, remote clergy; auditors; contractors; and those who do not work within the Chancery will definitely want to complete this section).

3) Configuring authorized mobile devices* to access AoA-based Outlook accounts.

When exactly will I be migrated?  You will receive a notice (by e-mail) from the IT Department prior to the migration of your Outlook account.  The actual migration will then begin happening “behind the scenes.” Most of the process will be transparent to you and you can continue to work normally.
 
How will I know my account has been migrated and I can begin the manual steps of completing the setup?  If you are a Chancery-based user (including those remote users connecting to a terminal server session such as a Tribunal Advocate; Auditor; etc.), you will receive a gray Windows Security pop-up window on your system (as described in detail in the directions found at the above link).  At this point, you can begin “Part 1” of the directions.
 
If, however, you are a remote-only user (accessing your Outlook account via the Outlook Web app over a browser at webmail.archatl.com), you will not receive any direct notification that the automated portion of the migration has finished.  After a period of about an hour to a day from when you were first notified that the migration was going to take place, you will find that you can no longer connect to the Outlook Web app and will see an error message when trying to do so.  Advance to “Part 2” of the directions.
 
In both cases, a sure sign that the account has been migrated and is ready for your attention is when authorized mobile devices* begin throwing connection error messages.  If you use your smartphone or tablet to access your AOA Outlook account, you will also want to complete “Part 3” of the directions found at the link above.
 
Are there any issues I should expect?  Once the automated portion of the migration has finished and you have completed the manual steps found in the linked document above, be aware that certain portions of your data (i.e. mail folders; contact records; calendar entries; public folder data; etc.) may take time to fully populate and be viewable again.  Please be patient as IT has little control of this.  Rest assured, however, all your data will be accessible eventually. 
 
What if I have issues with something and require assistance?  In order for the IT Department to handle requests in an organized way, we ask that all questions/problems be submitted as a formal request in our help desk system found here …

http://help.archatl.com

As always, the helpdesk will be monitored and issues involving the 365 migration will receive priority during the migration.
 
Should you have any additional pre-migration questions or concerns, please contact us via the helpdesk at http://help.archatl.com/ or e-mail me directly at thardy@archatl.com.

Thank you.
 
* Refers to smartphones, tablets and laptops.  As is currently the case, the IT department does not support Outlook clients running under the operating system of laptops or remote PCs.