Cutover vs Staged: The Best Migration Strategy
Choose the right migration approach for your organization's needs.
Migration Strategy Comparison
Cutover
Staged
Overview
Choosing the right migration strategy is crucial for minimizing business disruption and ensuring a successful transition to your new platform. The two primary approaches—cutover and staged—each have distinct advantages depending on your organization's size, complexity, and requirements.
Key Decision Factor
Cutover Migration
Definition
The entire company is switched at the same time, typically over a weekend. All users transition to the new system in a single coordinated event.
✓ Advantages
- • The fastest, simplest form of migration
- • Immediate access to new system for all users
- • Single-pass completion option available
- • New emails arrive in target system right away
- • No coexistence period to manage
⚠ Considerations
- • Requires weekend availability
- • Tight scheduling demands
- • All users impacted at once if issues arise
- • Requires thorough pre-migration testing
Pre-Staging Option
You can combine multiple migration passes before the final cutover. Historical data migrates in advance, and only remaining items transfer during a quick delta pass on cutover day, reducing the migration window significantly.
Staged Migration
Definition
Migrating user mailboxes in batches across weeks or months. Groups of users transition at different times, offering flexibility in scope and timing.
✓ Advantages
- • Multiple flexible approaches available
- • Extended timeline reduces deadline pressure
- • Minimal disruption to end-users
- • Customizable batch schedules
- • Selective content migration options
- • Older emails can migrate post-cutover
⚠ Considerations
- • More complicated than cutover migrations
- • Requires thorough advance planning
- • Ongoing coexistence management necessary
- • Users on different systems temporarily
- • May require additional coexistence tools
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Factor | Cutover | Staged |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 1-3 days | Weeks to months |
| Complexity | Lower | Higher |
| User Impact | All at once | Gradual |
| Best For | Small-medium orgs | Large enterprises |
| Coexistence | Minimal | Required |
| Planning Required | Moderate | Extensive |
Recommendation
Choose Cutover When:
- → You have a smaller organization with manageable data volumes
- → Weekend availability for the migration is possible
- → You want the simplest, fastest approach
- → Coexistence complexity is a concern
Choose Staged When:
- → Handling large mailbox quantities or extensive data archives
- → Maintaining uptime during transitions is critical
- → Different departments have different migration schedules
- → You need flexibility in timing and approach