Top Tricks for Moving Outlook Offline Folder File to Office 365 Account in a Simplest Way

Ritu Roy | Cloud Backup email migration Exchange How to's Software Technology | 4 minutes read | Last updated on February 8th, 2023,

Here, we will talk about how to access Outlook offline .ost file to Office 365 cloud platform. I explain two different solutions for moving Outlook offline folder file to Office 365 account. If you are planning to move to Office 365, then this article will surely help you.

Why Move OST to Office 365 Account?

Having your Exchange mailbox data on a cloud platform like Office 365 has many benefits and advantages. Email mailboxes in Office 365 are universally accessible offering you the net connectivity. So, many Exchange users like to keep a copy of their Exchange mailboxes on Office 365. To facilitate this easily one can shift their offline Outlook Data File (.ost) to Office 365 account. And this can be done in many ways.

Let us know some reasons which tend users to convert their OST files to Office 365:

• Company move owing to Office 365 cloud benefits
• Exchange crash and need a reliable platform
• Avoid big Exchange maintenance downtime
• Speed access of data in safe environment after accidental deletion.

How to Import OST Emails to Office 365?

There are no direct ways to add OST emails to Office 365. However, you can migrate OST files to Outlook PST format, and then upload them to Office 365. Also, there are many third-party tools to help you convert OST files directly into Office 365 accounts.

1. Migrate OST to PST format, and then add to Office 365.
2. Import OST files directly in Office 365 using third-party tools.

Stage 1: Convert OST Files to PST Format

1. Log in to your Outlook account >> file >> import and export.
2. Opt Export to a file and tab the Next button.
3. Then go to Personal Folder File (.pst) >> Next.
4. Now choose email or folder; check on Include Subfolder >> Next.
5. Select the location where you want to save the file and check “Replace duplicate with items imported” and click Next.
6. Put the password (if you want, otherwise skip it) and hit Ok.

Note: When the Exchange server is offline or you are not connected to the server, then this time given technique will not work. In that case, simply use the OST to PST converter tool for exporting OST files into PST format.

Stage 2: Upload OST Files to Office 365 Account

After migrating the OST file to PST, you can upload the PST file to Office 365 using Network Upload Method:

1. Admin requires to install Azure AzCopy app that will migrate PST file into Outlook web app and copy the SAS URL, which is a network combination URL for the Azure saving location in Office 365 and SAS key. Due to SAS key admin get the access to move PST files into the Azure storage location.
2. Then, admin can easily import the PST files in Azure storage location in the cloud. AzCopy.exe tool will transfer PST files in Office 365 cloud account. AzCopy.exe app will move PST files in Office 365 cloud platform.
3. Admin can view the complete of the uploaded PST emails that are moved in Office 365 webmail by configuring the Azure Storage Explorer.
4. After importing the PST emails in Exchange online database, the admin has to make a CSV file that will define the mailboxes for which is the PST files are migrated in OWA account.
5. In the last step, the admin will make an import job in Office 365 that use information from CSV file to move PST files to the user mailbox.

Limitations & Drawbacks of Manual Solutions

• Time-consuming and too-long procedure to perform for moving Outlook offline folder file to Office 365
• A required of complete technical knowledge to perform the procedure
• Not workable for bulk data migration from OST to PST in Office 365

Solution 2. Alternative Solution for Moving Outlook Offline Folder File to Office 365 

As we can understand that the above-explained solution is very complex, difficult, and time-taking. So if you are not aware of the Azure Copy application, then I will recommend you use OST Converter Tool. It offers a very easy and simple GUI that is easy to understand by any user or professional user for uploading in a few clicks only. The best thing about the tool is it provides advanced facility to view the selected OST files in a software preview pane. It is a very easy and trusted application that gives 100% assurance of success to the users. Through this OST Converter Software, one can convert your data from the OST folder including emails, calendars, contacts, notes, tasks, appointments, formatting, and attachments into Office 365 without any changes. It also supports various file formats such as PST, PDF, MSG, EML, MBOX, NSF, Exchange Server, Hotmail, Gmail, G Suite, and many more.

The Final Lines

In this article, we have explained two different solutions for moving Outlook offline folder file to Office 365 cloud account. The first method is a lengthy and time-consuming process. To perform these steps, you need technical knowledge to follow these steps. So, you can choose the second method, it is an instant solution for moving Outlook offline folder file to Office 365 accounts. If you have any doubt about the second method, then you can try the demo edition of OST to Office 365 software that helps you to understand how to perform OST emails to Office 365 by converting the first 25 items from the OST mailbox to Office 365 account.