Fidelis Cloud Services
Microsoft 365
Migration Services for
Seattle Businesses
and Nonprofits
Complete your Microsoft 365 migration with an expert local Seattle-area team. Fidelis helps businesses and nonprofits move their files, email, endpoint management, users, and collaboration tools to Microsoft 365 through a planned migration that includes configuration, security, backups, validation, training, and support after go-live.
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(Obligation-free)
50+
Completed migrations
3K+
Devices under management
28+
Local Seattle employees
8 years
Average employee tenure
2008
Founded in Seattle
Move to Microsoft 365 with a plan built for your business
A Microsoft 365 migration will impact your entire operation. Without expert planning, moving can disrupt workflows, compromise data security, and create frustration for your team.
A successful migration involves managing your entire digital ecosystem, including:
- Email, calendars, contacts, and shared mailboxes
- Files, folders, and document permissions
- Users, groups, and access rights
- Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint structures
- Domains, DNS records, and mail flow
- Business applications connected to the current environment
- Software licensing and security configuration
- Data backups
- Staff communication and training
- Support before, during, and after cutover
A Microsoft 365 migration with Fidelis provides comprehensive planning for:
- Minimal disruptions: Reliable email, seamless mail flow, and file access
- Organized workflows: Clear, intuitive locations for both shared and individual files
- Strict security: Correct user and group permissions configured before normal use begins
- Optimized costs: Ensuring you only pay for appropriate Microsoft 365 licenses
- Empowered teams: Staff who are fully trained on how to use their new environment
- Reliable backing: Updated documentation and an accountable support team throughout the transition and after the cutover
What Fidelis Microsoft 365 migration services cover
Fidelis utilizes a structured process to move your operations to Microsoft 365 with minimal disruption. Our process covers the Microsoft 365 transition cycle from assessment through planning, execution, configuration, and training of your team to extract the benefits from your new environment. The information below provides a high-level overview of what we can cover and what’s included in many migrations:
01
Migration assessment and planning
What's included:
- Review of the current environment, including mailboxes, permissions, domains, and connected applications, to identify potential migration blockers
- Alignment of business, security, and compliance requirements to determine migration priorities and acceptable levels of disruption
- Project roadmap defining the precise scope, timeline, milestones, and team responsibilities to ensure an accountable and organized transition
02
Microsoft 365 tenant and license configuration
What's included:
- Preparation or review of the Microsoft 365 tenant
- Creation of user, group, and admin roles, and matching MS licenses to roles and requirements
- Planning identity and access
- Configuring the destination environment before cutover
03
Email, calendar, and contact migration
What's included:
- User and shared mailbox histories, folder structures, and distribution groups
- Calendars and contacts
- Mail flow and domain cutover
- Testing email delivery before sign-off for migration
04
File, OneDrive, and SharePoint migration
What's included:
- Files from supported servers or cloud platforms
- Migrating files to OneDrive or SharePoint
- Folder structure and permission review and migration
- Shared files and department libraries
- File ownership and external sharing policy review
- Validation after transfer
05
Microsoft Teams and collaboration setup
What's included:
- Teams, channels, and connected SharePoint sites
- User and guest access controls
- Meeting and collaboration settings, including file storage and sharing
- Third-party integrations
- Governance decisions for creating new Teams and channels
06
Security and access configuration
What's included:
- Microsoft Defender configuration, as needed
- Multifactor authentication (MFA) controls
- Administrative permissions and role-based/conditional access controls
- Device and application access
- Data retention and compliance settings
07
Active Directory and endpoint management
What's included:
- Configuration of Intune for endpoint management
- Policy and configuration setup
- Migration from local Active Directory to Azure Active Directory
- Migration from local group policy to Intune cloud management of endpoints
- Migration to cloud-based printer management
08
User training and post-migration support
What's included:
- Communication before cutover
- User guidance for signing in and finding files
- Training for Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, or SharePoint
- Support during go-live
- Troubleshooting after cutover
- Ongoing Microsoft 365 management, if requested
Questions? Our Seattle team is ready with answers:
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(Obligation-free)
Typical Microsoft 365 migration scenarios
Businesses and nonprofits migrate to Microsoft 365 for multiple reasons, but their end goals are often the same: to restructure their data, secure their environments, and improve productivity and ROI. Use the scenarios below to match your current environment to your Microsoft 365 goals.
Google Workspace and technology consolidation
Complexity and rising subscription costs across the software market are driving organizations to Microsoft 365 to consolidate their IT footprint.
The scenario
A business migrates away from Google and other SaaS platforms, including web-hosted IMAP email. By moving to Microsoft 365, they can eliminate third-party email and subscriptions for video conferencing (Zoom), team chat (Slack), and cloud storage (Dropbox), centralizing operations into Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint.
Microsoft 365 tenant-to-tenant mergers
As companies merge, acquire competitors, or rebrand, IT providers are frequently tasked with combining user OneDrive accounts, mailboxes, and permissions into a single environment.
The scenario
An organization consolidates two Microsoft 365 tenants into a single, unified environment. This ensures all users share the same collaboration tools, global address list, Teams channels, and security policies, preventing the inefficiency and security risks of operational silos.
Legacy on-premises Exchange servers to Microsoft 365
Many businesses and nonprofits are retiring aging, vulnerable on-premises Exchange servers to eliminate hardware maintenance and mitigate ransomware risks.
The scenario
Moving from on-premises Exchange to Exchange Online transfers user and shared mailboxes, historical archives, contacts, calendars, and distribution groups. The process culminates in domain and mail-flow configuration for minimal disruption for your organization.
“Post-grant” Microsoft licensing (nonprofits)
On July 1, 2025, Microsoft retired its legacy nonprofit grants, including the free 10-user Business Premium and free Office 365 E1 tiers.
The scenario
Nonprofits are executing tenant restructuring migrations to implement a “mix-and-match” licensing model. They are migrating volunteers and frontline workers to the free Microsoft 365 Business Basic plan (capped at 300 users), while keeping core staff who handle sensitive donor data on the discounted Business Premium tier to retain desktop apps and crucial security features like Microsoft Defender and Intune.
Moving from basic email to Microsoft 365 as a business grows
Organizational needs change as a business grows. A low-cost or “free” email service set up with a new business may become insufficient. If an organization needs more than basic email, upgrading to Exchange Online provides advanced capabilities such as synchronized email, calendaring, contacts, and other features that support more collaboration and communication.
The scenario
Migrating basic IMAP or SMTP-based email from providers such as GoDaddy into an integrated communication and collaboration platform improves the tools and technology available for your staff to do their work and collaborate with other organizations. It also eliminates the need for separate tools such as Dropbox and Slack by moving to OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams for an integrated experience all covered by a single license.
How your Microsoft 365 migration will work
Fidelis utilizes a structured migration process to move your data with minimal operational disruption. Many migration projects go live within three to five weeks, depending on the size of the organization and the scope of the transition. The following steps describe a typical process.
1
Assess your current environment
We work with your decision-makers and internal resources to align the migration strategy with your business objectives and timeline. We inventory your licenses, mailboxes, data volume, file share structure, and permissions. We also review your domains, DNS, connected applications, and security and compliance requirements to minimize the risk of something being missed.
Deliverable: Current-environment inventory and initial project scope
2
Design the Microsoft 365 environment
Next, we architect your target environment by mapping out your administrative structure, license recommendations, and file architecture across OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams. We define permission mappings, security configurations, collaboration features, and retention policies and backup needs, culminating in a migration and cutover plan.
Deliverable: Target-environment design and migration plan
3
Prepare, clean up, and test
We assist your team with cleaning up or restructuring your file sharing to remove obsolete data and resolve any unsupported files or configurations that could impact the migration. We prepare user accounts, configure the destination environment, and run a pilot staged migration to test that data will properly be migrated. This allows us to identify and correct potential problems before the cutover.
Deliverable: Pilot results and issue-remediation list
4
Training and documentation
We help prepare resources and training for your team, so everyone knows what to expect during the migration, what changes are happening, and the impacts of these changes on workflows. We cover the basics of the Microsoft 365 environment, highlight new features, and help answer questions. We can also prepare documentation, guides, or other resources that will be helpful for your team.
Deliverable: Targeted training to minimize operational risk of the change
5
Migrate and complete the cutover
With preparation complete, we pre-stage your data and migrate users in the agreed sequence. We execute domain and DNS changes to switch your mail flow seamlessly. Throughout the process, we manage communication with your employees and provide a dedicated support channel during the go-live phase.
Deliverable: Completed migration and cutover-status report
6
Validate access, data, and functionality
After the cutover, we test the environment to ensure a successful transition. We verify user sign-ins, mail delivery, calendars, contacts, and shared mailboxes. We also confirm that files, folders, permissions, Teams access, and OneDrive synchronization are functioning, while documenting any exceptions or unresolved issues for immediate action.
Deliverable: Migration validation and sign-off
7
Document the environment and provide support
For long-term success, we provide targeted post-migration training for your users and administrators, as needed. This includes creating updated documentation, tracking any open issues, and providing post-cutover troubleshooting. We conduct a final project review and, if requested, transition your organization to our ongoing Microsoft 365 managed services.
Deliverable: Documentation, training resources, and support handoff
Tell us what platform you are migrating from, what needs to be moved, who uses it, and when you need the new environment ready.
What we confirm before we call a migration complete
How will you know that your migration has been a success? Here are some of what we check after go-live to ensure a Microsoft 365 migration is complete:
Identity and access
- Users can sign in.
- Multifactor authentication works.
- Administrative roles are correctly identified and assigned.
- Users can access the systems and data appropriate to their roles.
Email and communication
- Email flow works internally and externally, on desktop and mobile.
- Calendars and contacts are available.
- Shared mailboxes work as intended.
- Email for scan-to-email, website contact forms, and other third-party email access work as expected.
- Distribution groups function correctly.
Files and collaboration
- File locations, folder structures, and permissions are configured as intended.
- OneDrive synchronization works.
- OneDrive backup of Documents, Desktop, and Pictures is configured as desired.
- Teams and SharePoint access has been verified.
- Shared links and external access have been reviewed where applicable.
Security and recovery
- Agreed security settings are active.
- Retention and backup decisions have been implemented or documented.
- Exceptions and unresolved risks are reviewed.
- Post-migration backup and recovery processes are understood.
User readiness
- Employees have completed user acceptance testing.
- Employees know where to find email and files.
- Support instructions have been distributed.
- Outstanding issues are resolved and the final environment is approved.
What Fidelis handles and what we need from your team
To give you an idea of what’s required from your organization during a Microsoft 365 migration, the following shows the typical distribution of responsibilities.
What Fidelis typically handles
- Current-environment assessment
- Migration planning
- Technical configuration
- Data and permission mapping
- Pilot migration
- Backup setup and validation
- Cutover coordination
- Testing and validation
- Project-status reporting
- Issue tracking
- User training
- Documentation
- Post-cutover support
What you confirm or provide
- A primary decision-maker
- Access to the current environment
- Accurate employee and mailbox lists
- Access to department and data owners
- Applications and integrations that must remain available
- Approval of file structures and permissions
- Preferred migration windows
- Internal employee communication
- Participation in user acceptance testing
- Final approval and sign-off
Why Seattle-area businesses
choose Fidelis for their Microsoft
365 migration
Microsoft expertise from planning through support
As a verified Microsoft Solutions Partner for Modern Work partner, Fidelis brings expertise across Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and Teams. Unlike some providers that just hand off a basic setup, we architect, migrate, and provide ongoing support for your entire cloud environment and licensing.
A local, employee-based project team
Based locally in Renton, our consultants, engineers, trainers, and help desk staff are dedicated Fidelis employees, not outsourced third-party contractors. When your Seattle-area business needs immediate, on-site, hands-on assistance during a critical migration cutover, our local team provides “boots on the ground” support.
One accountable team after go-live
Fidelis provides single-source accountability after go-live. Our migration team can seamlessly transition your environment to our internal ongoing support staff. They share project documentation, so you don’t have to explain your setup to a new support team. Instead, we expertly manage your users, licenses, permissions, and future security changes.
Clear project ownership and communication
You will eliminate migration chaos with our dedicated project managers providing jargon-free communication, clear milestones, and structured decision-making throughout the migration process. By ensuring your staff receives training and support, Fidelis takes ownership of your project from the initial planning stages through full user adoption.
Serving Greater Seattle since 2008
Fidelis has a long and proven track record of bringing technology to Pacific Northwest organizations. Microsoft 365 migrations are just a part of our cloud services. Our high client retention and history of successful IT outcomes reflect our enduring commitment to keeping local businesses secure, operational, and thriving.
How a Seattle-area HVAC company successfully migrated to
Microsoft 365
Background
A growing Seattle-area HVAC company was acquiring other HVAC businesses, yet still relied on an aging on-premises server for email, file storage, and Active Directory. Because the acquired companies used different technologies, there was no standardization across the newly expanded organization.
The Fidelis migration approach
We provided training for the HVAC company’s staff before and during the transition to ensure confident adoption. The first migrations were for the primary locations: local email to Exchange Online and file storage to SharePoint and OneDrive. We also implemented automated cloud-based backups for all Microsoft 365 data and assisted in moving critical line-of-business applications to the cloud. Next, all PCs were migrated to Azure Active Directory and Intune management. This allowed the company to go fully “serverless” and decommission their local hardware. Finally, we migrated the acquired companies’ historical file and email data into this new single, consolidated Microsoft 365 tenant.
Result
By eliminating physical servers and disjointed systems, the HVAC company reduced both the complexity of their IT environment and their capital and operational IT expenses. Every employee across the organization now collaborates using a single, unified platform for communication and file sharing.
“Fidelis has been our MSP for seven years, managing numerous projects including the unification of five separate companies and domains into a single operational structure, two physical location moves, Office 365 migrations, and more. They’re attentive, responsive, and accommodating. They’ve been a trusted and reliable partner and a joy to work with.”
Tronda Q., Operations Director
Fidelis partners
Frequently asked questions about Microsoft 365 migration
How long does a Microsoft 365 migration take?
Three to five weeks is our typical migration project timeline. The duration depends on numerous factors, including number of users, data volume, the current platform, mailbox sizes, file and permission complexity, applications and integrations, required cleanup, migration method, and the available migration window.
How much do Microsoft 365 migration services cost?
Each migration is different. The main pricing drivers are user numbers, data volume, source environment, workload, whether or not endpoints need to be migrated away from Active Directory, permission and file-structure complexity, security and compliance requirements, training, post-migration support, and third-party tools or licenses.
We’re happy to explain all of this in plain English and provide a migration estimate. Book your free Microsoft 365 migration consultation to speak with one of our Seattle team.
Will our business experience downtime?
We have multiple approaches for minimizing disruption and reducing risk of negative operational impact, including pilot migrations, pre-staging, phased migrations, off-hours cutovers, and validations.
What can Fidelis migrate to Microsoft 365?
Your migration can include your email, calendars, contacts, files, users and groups, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, backups, other supported applications or settings.
Can Fidelis migrate us from Google Workspace or on-premises Exchange?
Yes, we have deep expertise transitioning our clients from Google and other platforms, and from legacy server environments.
Will our file structure and permissions remain the same?
It depends. We assess your current folders and permissions, review them with you, map them to the Microsoft 365 environment, and test access after migration.
Does Microsoft 365 automatically back up all our data?
Not completely. While services like Microsoft OneDrive provide some data retention, this feature is designed for availability and recovery, not for long-term data security. In fact, all the cloud providers have clauses in their contracts that absolve them of responsibility for backing up user data.
It’s essential to have an independent backup and recovery strategy. If you don’t have a backup solution in place for your information stored in the cloud, we can help you find and implement the best-fit options.
What happens after the migration?
After your organization goes live with Microsoft 365, Fidelis provides post-cutover support with troubleshooting and issue resolution. You receive documentation of the project, and your users receive training. If requested, Fidelis can provide ongoing management and security services of your Microsoft 365 environment.
Plan your Microsoft 365 migration with Fidelis
Tell us what you are moving from, what your team needs from Microsoft 365, and when the new environment has to be ready. We’ll help clarify the scope, identify likely risks, and determine the next steps for your migration.
Get answers now
(Obligation-free)