Microsoft 365 Migration Services Canada | North Star
SVC · 16 · Migration

Streamline Your Business with Expert Microsoft 365 Migration

Move to Microsoft 365 with a clear plan for your people, data and business workflows. North Star scopes migrations from Google Workspace, GoDaddy, Rackspace, other hosted email and on-premises Exchange, with agreed cutover windows, practical user preparation and documented acceptance checks.

// WHAT WE MIGRATE

Map the move, workload by workload.

Start with an inventory of mailboxes, calendars, shared files, devices and connected applications. The quote should identify what moves, what needs rebuilding, what stays behind and who approves each decision. A mailbox migration does not automatically include every collaboration workload.

// 01

Mailboxes

Scope users, mailbox sizes, archives, shared and resource mailboxes separately. Confirm supported folders, rules and item limits for the chosen migration method, then review migration reports and exceptions.

  • MAIL
  • RULES
// 02

Calendars and contacts

Check recurring meetings, delegation, room bookings, shared calendars and contact fields against the selected method. Identify anything that needs a separate transfer, recreation or user validation.

  • CALENDAR
// 03

Files and Drive

Map Google Drive, Dropbox Business or file-share content to agreed OneDrive and SharePoint destinations. Review identities, access groups, external sharing and unsupported items rather than assuming identical permissions.

  • ONEDRIVE
  • SHAREPOINT
// 04

Mobile devices

Inventory supported phones, account profiles and management requirements. Plan sign-in changes, MFA registration and any device enrolment with instructions and a test group before wider rollout.

  • MOBILE
// 05

Licensing and tenant

Confirm the Microsoft subscription, commitment term and billing arrangement, plus any separate migration-tool licences. A migration service fee does not include ongoing subscriptions unless the quote explicitly says so.

  • CSP
// 06

DNS and deliverability

Plan domain verification and the required MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC and autodiscover changes. Test representative sending and receiving workflows; DNS configuration alone cannot guarantee inbox placement.

  • DMARC
  • SPF
// HOW IT WORKS

A planned move, with approval points.

Agree the sequence around business needs, source-platform limits and a representative pilot. The schedule should allow for data transfer, issue resolution, user preparation and a cutover decision, not assume a universal overnight move.

// STEP · 01

Scope and quote

Confirm user and mailbox counts, data volumes, source versions, administrative access and integrations. Document included work, exclusions, responsibilities, acceptance criteria and any separately priced remediation.

// STEP · 02

Tenant setup

Prepare the destination tenant, domain and selected licences. Agree identity and security settings, administrative access and a tested recovery route before enforcing changes that could lock users out.

// STEP · 03

Pre-stage migration

Where the selected method supports it, copy data ahead of cutover and run a representative pilot. Review errors, skipped items and mapping decisions before approving the next batch.

// STEP · 04

Approved cutover

Use an approved change window for final synchronisation, mail routing and client changes. Assign a go/no-go owner, communication route and contingency steps. Source access and rollback options depend on the migration method.

// STEP · 05

Post-cutover support and handover

Agree the post-cutover support period, coverage hours, escalation route and response targets in writing. Record open issues and their owners before handover; migration pricing does not imply an immediate fix or unlimited support.

// PRICING

Published rates. Defined scope.

Use the published mailbox rates below as a starting point. The written quote defines the included tenant preparation, supported mailbox transfer, cutover and post-cutover assistance. Microsoft subscriptions, migration-tool licences and work outside that scope must be identified separately.

// 01

1 to 15 users

$185 per mailbox for the agreed migration scope. Confirm tenant preparation, the supported mailbox workload, cutover assistance and the post-cutover support period in your quote.

  • FROM $185
// 02

16 to 50 users

$165 per mailbox for the agreed migration scope. Confirm data volumes, source complexity and any separately scoped workloads before approving the quote.

  • FROM $165
// 03

51+ users

Quoted after scoping. Published indicative range: $135 to $150 per mailbox. Confirm the included workload, batch approach and exclusions in the written proposal.

  • QUOTED
// ACCEPTANCE

Decide what ready means.

Agree the evidence and the people who can accept it before moving production data. A completed transfer job is one input, not the whole handover decision.

Content and exceptions

Record the source inventory, destination mapping and supported data types. Compare agreed counts and representative items, including older messages, attachments, calendar entries and important documents. Give skipped or failed items an owner and a resolution or acceptance decision.

Access and business tasks

Have nominated users check sign-in, delegated access, shared resources and representative permissions. Include a negative check: an unauthorised test account should not gain access. Exercise essential mail, calendar, mobile and application workflows included in the scope.

Handover and retirement

Record open issues, support contacts, administrator ownership and approved configuration changes. Agree when to stop source synchronisation and retire old services, considering access, retention and subscriptions. A rollback plan must account for new data created after cutover.

Method and licence limits to confirm

Microsoft's IMAP migration guidance limits that method to mail folders, excluding calendars, contacts and tasks. Its Google Workspace mailbox guidance lists limitations such as shared calendars and room bookings, and says migrated rules remain disabled until reviewed. These are method-specific constraints, not a claim that every migration tool behaves identically.

For files, Microsoft's Google Drive migration guidance calls for destination and identity review in its standard workflow and notes unsupported files. Review the workflow available in your tenant. Conditional Access also requires appropriate licensing: base policies require Entra ID P1; risk-based policies require P2. Do not assume a migration fee supplies those licences.

// QUESTIONS

Migration questions, answered clearly.

These questions help separate a planned migration from assumptions about what the source platform or transfer method can preserve.

Will anybody lose mail?
No migration method can promise zero mail loss or a fixed delivery delay. Confirm supported items and limits, review transfer errors and reconcile agreed source and destination checks. Verify inbound and outbound mail flow and investigate discrepancies before approving retirement of the source system.
What about phones?
Identify the supported devices and apps, who owns them and whether enrolment or a new profile is needed. Pilot sign-in and synchronisation, provide the agreed user instructions and confirm the support route. Device condition, policy and user availability affect the work required.
Can you keep our old domain working?
Keeping an email domain is separate from retaining the old mail platform. Confirm domain control, destination verification, aliases and DNS changes. Any source-platform overlap or archive access needs an agreed duration, licensing, access permissions and retirement plan; indefinite read-only access is not assumed.
What if we have a public folder mess?
Inventory public-folder versions, sizes, permissions and business use before selecting a supported migration or redesign path. Moving content to shared mailboxes or SharePoint changes how people access and use it. Agree the destination and acceptance checks instead of assuming the old structure will be preserved unchanged.
Do you handle Teams and SharePoint setup?
Teams and SharePoint planning or setup can be included when specified in the quote. Identify sites, channels, membership, file destinations and required integrations. Creating a new structure is different from migrating historical content, conversations or application behaviour.
Do we have to use you for support after?
The migration can be scoped as a standalone engagement with handover to your internal team or another provider. Confirm the post-cutover support end date, documentation, administrator ownership and any separate ongoing support agreement before signing.
What is included in Microsoft 365 migration services?
The written quote defines the included mailboxes, supported data types, destination setup, security-baseline configuration, user preparation, cutover work and post-cutover assistance. SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, public folders, archives and integrations must be named if required; they are not automatically included in a per-mailbox price. Licences and out-of-scope remediation should be listed separately.
How long does a typical mailbox migration take?
Duration depends on data volume, source access, transfer limits, the selected method, pilot findings and agreed change windows. Use pilot results and migration reports to update the schedule. A planned cutover window is not a promise that the entire project will finish overnight or within a standard number of days.
Will there be downtime during our move to Microsoft 365?
Plan for possible interruptions to sign-in, mail routing, synchronisation and connected applications. Pre-staging can reduce cutover work where supported, but does not establish zero downtime. Agree the business communication plan, validation steps and escalation route, then measure the actual outcome.
How do you ensure data security during the migration?
Agree the access roles, transfer method, handling of credentials and security settings for the licensed environment. Validate representative content and access, review transfer reports and resolve or explicitly accept exceptions. This does not mean every file was individually opened or that all historical permissions and security controls transfer unchanged.

Your inbox should not be a project.

Tell us your source platform, approximate user count, key workloads and preferred timing. We can discuss the migration approach and information needed for a scoped quote.