top 5 tips for a successful microsoft office 365 software rollout

www.oxfordcomputergroup.com

Top 5 Tips for a Successful Office 365 Rollout

By Hugh Simpson-WellsCEO of Oxford Computer Group


1. A solid synchronization strategy

• Most organizations rolling out Office 365 already have Active Directory (AD)• Office 365 sits on Azure Active Directory (Azure AD or AAD)• Your users, security groups, and distribution lists need to be

synchronized across your on-premises and Cloud assets• Synchronization engines can do this for you -

some of them are built-in, butyou can add Microsoft IdentityManager (MIM) and/or Azure ADConnect

• Or you could just do it all manually…

Active Directory

HR

OtherDirectories

and SystemsAzure AD

Office 365

CRM

Portal

MIM

AAD Connec

t

For more detail, read our blog

http://oxfordcomputergroup.com/resources/top-tips-successful-office-365-rollout/


2. Uniqueness

• Many organizations have separately managed AD ‘forests’ (different divisions, merged companies etc.)

• But Azure AD is monolithic• This is not a problem as long as you de-duplicate

users across forests, and ensure that they are all uniquely identifiable

• Or you could just worry about thespaghetti monster later…




3. Common UPN/email naming policy

• Most organizations carry remnants of organic growth - this includes evolving naming policies

• Identities in the cloud need to be uniquely identified• It is a truism that email addresses are unique, so they are a great

place to start• Align each user’s UPN with their corporate email address – it’s

convenient for users, greases the skids during migration, and facilitates effective identity-based cyber security

• Agree the naming policy, tidy up existing anomalies, then simply flow into your new, squeaky-clean directory

• UPNs become (cloud) email addresses• Or you could just try to get the toothpaste back in the tube later…

@For more detail, read our blog



4. Prevent nephophobia

• Perhaps more correctly we should be talking of fear of the unknown

• Change can be not just scary, but a serious blocker – and this is big change

• Make sure that you educate your users so that they are properly prepared for migration

• Different types of user will need different training. Bite-sized, on-demand videos are excellent for this kind of education – and you should start early, so that good practices are embedded from Day One.

• Or you could wait for a flurry of “help!” calls the day you cut over…




5. Find a great partner to help you

• Don’t jump into the Office 365 cloud alone – find a technology partner with– experience and expertise – and who will be there when you need it and for as

long as you need it• Yes, it is possible to figure this out for yourself,

but you only do this once, so do it right first time• OCG has been totally focused on identity

management for more than a decade, and we have over 30 years’ experience of delivering IT training (really!)

For more detail about these Top Tips for Successful Office 365 Rollout, read my blog




top 5 tips for a successful microsoft office 365 software rollout

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