Upload, Import & Migrate PST to Office 365 Using Network Upload Method

Are you searching for the best and easy way to Upload, Import & Migrate PST to Office 365? You are at the right place, migrate Outlook data to O365 using Network upload.

Microsoft Office 365 becomes a widely adopted cloud-based platform for delivering services. One of the major O365 applications is Outlook on Web or OWA. It is a webmail service that can be accessed from anywhere in this world with the help of internet connectivity. That is why many mid-sized and large enterprises are switching to Microsoft Office 365. Due to different reasons people often face the necessity of migrating Outlook PST files to Office 365 cloud’s mailbox.

In this article, multiple solutions have been proposed, including the “Network Upload” method to import PST to Office 365 service. These methods ensure availability and, at the same time high performance to the end-user. Now, first, we will discuss the reason to import PST files into Office 365 webmail.

Shortcut Method – Outlook Converter

Reason to Upload, Import & Migrate PST to Office 365 Cloud’s Mailbox

PST or Personal Storage Table is a unique database file formulated by Microsoft for Outlook application. It copies all the data items of MS Outlook and stores them locally on the hard-drive. However, it is more amenable to data loss and corruption in case of hard disk failure. Considering sensitive organization data, putting PST locally may be a risk that cannot afford. Hence, it is a better option to move PST to Office 365 cloud where it is less vulnerable to corruption and data loss. In the next section, the techniques will describe the import PST file to Office 365 account.

Methods to Upload PST File to Office 365 Webmail

There is a number of direct and indirect ways by which users can move all data from local .pst files into Exchange Online. Here, we illustrate Microsoft Network Upload Method method that can easily migrate Outlook PST to Office 365.

Use Network Upload to Upload, Import & Migrate PST to Office 365

Microsoft Network Upload tool is the inbuilt utility to add multiple PST files in Exchange Online. To use this method, first, the admin needs to assign Mailbox Import Export role permission. By default, this role not assigned in Office 365. To change the Mailbox Import Export role, navigate to Admin Center and select Exchange. Under the permissions, pick Organizational Management and select Mailbox Import Export role. After that, follow the below-mentioned steps carefully:

1. Download Azure AzCopy and Note SAS URL

First, download the Azure AzCopy tool and install it. This utility will upload the PST files to the O365 account. After that, copy the Shared Access Signature or SAS URL. To do this, go through the following instructions:

Open the admin account in your O365.
From the left pane, select Security & Compliance Center and pick Data governance. Click on Import.
Now, click + New import job under the Import page.
Provide a relevant name for the PST import job and Click Next.
From the new page, select the Upload your data option and click Next.
On the Import data page, select Show network upload SAS URL. And, copy the entire URL and paste it on the safe location for future reference.
On the same page, click Download Azure AzCopy and Run to install the tool.
Now, close the Import data page by clicking on Cancel.

2. Upload PST File to MS Office 365

Once the Azure AzCopy tool is downloaded on the system, you are ready to upload the PST files to Office 365. For this step, the PST files should be located on a file share or file server in your enterprise. This is known as the source directory and every time when you use the Azure tool, you need to mention a different source directory. In order to upload PST file, follow the below-mentioned steps:

Launch Command Prompt on your system.
Go to the location where the AzCopy.exe tool installed. If the utility is saved at the default location, then use this:% ProgramFiles (x86)% \ Microsoft SDKs \ Azure \ AzCopy
In order to upload the PST file, run the following command: AzCopy.exe / Source: / Dest: / V: <”Log file location”> / Y
You need to provide the PST file position and SAS URL that was already taken in step 1 in the command.
Once you run the above command, a message displays the number of .pst files that were uploaded.

3. View Uploaded Outlook PST files

It is not a mandatory step of the network upload method. You can download the MS Azure Storage Explorer to preview all the uploaded PST files. By this, users can check that all the data files are successfully uploaded to the Azure tool or not. Also, users can verify the file name that will be used in the PST mapping step. Furthermore, this can help to reduce error during the mapping process. To download the Azure Storage Explorer and redirect to the Azure storage area:

Initially, download the Microsoft Azure Storage Explorer tool and install it.
Now, right-click on the Storage Accounts option and select Connect to Azure storage.
After that, pick Use a shared access signature (SAS) URI or connection string. And, click on Next.
Click on Use a SAS URI, paste the SAS URL into the box, and then click Next.
You can view the connection information on the Connection summary page. Click Connect.
After that, the ingestion data container is opened and shows the PST files that you have uploaded.

Note: Once the work of Microsoft Azure Storage Explorer finishes, then right-click ingestion data, and click on Detach to disconnect from the Azure storage. Otherwise, next time when you will connect with the Azure Storage tool it shows an error.

4. Make the PST Import Mapping file

Once the PST files uploaded to Office 365, the next step is to create a CSV file. This CSV file includes the information of the user mailboxes imported into Office 365. In Comma Separated Values or CSV file, the first row must have the parameters separated by the comma. All the parameters will be further used by the PST Import service. After that, the subsequent rows specify the values of the parameter for moving a PST file to a targeted mailbox.

5. Create PST Import Job in Exchange Online

This is the step in which a PST Import job will be created in the Import service. To do this, follow the below steps:

Open the admin account in O365 by entering the credentials.
Under the Security & Compliance Center, click Date governance >> Import.
Click + New import job from the Import page.
Now, provide a name for the PST import job and click Next.
Choose Upload your data option and click Next.
On the Import data page, check the “I’m done uploading my file” & “I have access to the mapping file” corresponding checkboxes. Then, click Next.
From the new page, select the mapping file in order to submit the mapping file created in Step 4.
After that, click on Validate to cross-check any errors in the CSV file. Once the mapping file is successfully validated, the file name changes to a green color.
In order to submit the job, click on Save. After that, click Cancel.
To update the status column, click on Refresh. Once the analysis is finished, the data is ready for the import process.

6. Filter the PST data and Import in O365

This is the final step in which you can erase some data with the help of filters. To do this, follow the below instructions:

From the Import page, select Security & Compliance Center and click on Ready to import to Office 365.
A fly-out page appears on the screen that has information about the PST files. Click Import to Office 365.
After that, the Filter your data page is open on the screen. Here, you can select the filter and start the import process.
If you want to migrate all PST data, then click Import data and begin the process.

Also, Read – Backup Office 365

Final Words

In order to protect Outlook PST file data from any disaster, users move their data file to Office 365. In this blog, we have discussed the network upload solution. With the help of the above-discussed methods, one can Upload, Import & Migrate PST to Office 365 cloud easily.

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