Client name withheld for privacy.
Summary
IT Engineering Pro, a Microsoft Partner and Melbourne IT services company based in Oakleigh, moved an investment company’s email from basic outdated cPanel hosting to Microsoft 365. The firm’s email had not been working properly for some time and staff had been struggling with it. It was also being charged both annually and monthly for its old email, and its hybrid team was made up of mainly Mac users, which made the email migration more complex. We moved them from old, traditional, outdated hosting to Microsoft 365, ended the double billing and reduced the firm’s email costs.
- Unreliable email fixed after the firm had struggled with its old email service for some time
- Email migration to Microsoft 365 from basic outdated cPanel hosting, delivered by us, a Microsoft Partner
- Investment firm with hybrid users, mainly on Mac
- No more hidden add-on costs: a provider charging around triple its advertised price, through add-ons for every feature, replaced by one Microsoft 365 subscription
- Email backup and archiving first, so no emails were lost when the server changed
- Mac email migration: every Mac checked and set up individually, including mail stored locally
- Outlook for Mac and Apple Mail connected to the new Microsoft 365 mailboxes
- Email security improved with multi-factor authentication and SPF, DKIM and DMARC
1. The client profile
| Industry | Investment company |
|---|---|
| Staff | Hybrid user, mainly on Mac |
| Old email | Basic outdated cPanel hosting email |
| New email | Microsoft 365, purchased directly |
| Goal | Stop paying twice for email, and move to a secure, professional business email platform without losing any mail |
2. The problem
- The firm's email services were not working properly, and staff had been struggling with them for some time.
- The firm was with a mass-market email hosting provider that advertised a low price, but charged extra for each feature as a separate add-on. By the end, the real cost was around three times the advertised price.
- Those add-ons were billed both annually and monthly, which made the bill complex and left the firm with no clear picture of what it was paying for.
- Basic outdated cPanel hosting offered limited security for a business handling sensitive client and financial information.
- The team was hybrid and mainly on Mac, with email set up in different ways on different machines.
- Changing email servers without a backup could have meant losing all of the firm's existing emails.
- Some mail was likely stored only on individual Macs, so it could be missed by a standard server-to-server migration.
3. Our email migration process
Step 1: Domain and email settings audit
We reviewed every mailbox, the firm’s domain and DNS settings, and its existing hosting and email charges, so we knew exactly what needed to move and what the firm could stop paying for. The audit showed how the add-ons had stacked up: features the firm needed had each been charged separately, pushing the real cost to around three times the price originally advertised.
Step 2: Mac audit
We checked each Mac to see which email app it used and where mail, contacts and calendars were stored, including any mail kept in local folders on the computer rather than on the server.
Step 3: Back up and archive every mailbox
Changing email servers meant that, without a backup, all of the firm’s existing emails could be lost when the basic outdated cPanel hosting was switched off. Before changing anything, we backed up and archived every mailbox, so the firm’s full email history was protected no matter what happened during the migration.
Step 4: Set up Microsoft 365
As a Microsoft Partner, we set up Microsoft 365 directly with Microsoft, verified the firm’s domain and created a mailbox for each user, with the right licence for each person.
Step 5: Migrate the email
We copied each mailbox from the basic outdated cPanel hosting to Microsoft 365, then moved any mail stored only on individual Macs, so nothing was left behind.
Step 6: Switch over and secure
We updated the firm’s DNS records to send email to Microsoft 365 and set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC to protect the domain against spoofing. Multi-factor authentication was turned on for every account.
Step 7: Set up every workstation
We connected Outlook and Apple Mail on each workstation to the new Microsoft 365 mailboxes, checked that mail, contacts and calendars were all in place, and removed the old email accounts.
4. Email migration results
| Area | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Email platform | Basic outdated cPanel hosting email | Microsoft 365 business email |
| Email reliability | Not working properly for some time | Reliable Microsoft 365 email |
| Email costs | Around triple the advertised price, through add-ons billed annually and monthly | Lower costs, with one Microsoft 365 subscription |
| Mac setup | Set up differently on each Mac | Every Mac on Microsoft 365, set up the same way |
| Email security | Basic hosting email security | Multi-factor authentication, SPF, DKIM and DMARC |
| Email history | At risk of being lost when the server changed | Backed up and archived before migration |
| Mail stored on Macs | At risk of being missed | Found and moved to Microsoft 365 |
5. Email migration FAQs
Email bundled with web hosting is often basic, with limited storage, weaker spam and security protection, and billing tied to the hosting plan. Microsoft 365 gives each user a business mailbox, shared calendars and contacts, stronger security and one clear subscription.
Some mass-market email hosting providers advertise a low starting price, then charge separately for features most businesses need, such as extra storage, spam filtering, backups and security. Once those add-ons are included, the real cost can be two or three times the advertised price, and the bill becomes hard to understand. A clear plan like Microsoft 365 bundles these features into one per-user subscription.
It can be. Each Mac may use Apple Mail or Outlook for Mac, mail can be stored locally in folders on the Mac rather than on the server, and contacts and calendars may sit in different places. Every Mac needs checking and setting up individually so nothing is left behind.
Not with proper planning. Every mailbox should be backed up and archived first, then copied to Microsoft 365 before the switch, mail stored only on individual computers is found and moved, and the change of mail routing is timed to avoid gaps.
Yes. Microsoft 365 works on Mac through Outlook for Mac, Apple Mail and the web, and includes Mac versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams, depending on the plan.
Investment firms send sensitive client and financial information by email and are frequent targets of email fraud. Secure business email with multi-factor authentication and proper email authentication helps protect clients and the firm’s reputation.
Yes. IT Engineering Pro is a Microsoft Partner and migrates business email to Microsoft 365 for businesses across Melbourne, including Mac-based teams and investment firms, from our office in Oakleigh. We start with a free consultation and a fixed, upfront quote.
Email not working? Get email migration to Microsoft 365 in Melbourne
IT Engineering Pro is a Microsoft Partner that fixes business email problems, providing email migration, Microsoft 365 setup and Mac IT support for businesses in Melbourne, including investment and financial services firms. We provide a free consultation and give fixed, upfront quotes. Our team also handles managed IT, remote technical support and on-site support across Melbourne.
Call +61 3 9570 4742 · info@itepro.com.au · Request a free quote
IT Engineering Pro, 172 Warrigal Rd, Oakleigh VIC 3166. Open Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm.