At FortiTech, we love helping businesses upgrade their technology to improve efficiency and address long-standing frustrations. Recently, we worked with a small law firm of five staff to overhaul their IT setup, moving them away from GoDaddy’s Microsoft services to a full-featured Microsoft 365 tenancy for their emails and file storage. This shift opened up new opportunities for the team to work smarter, faster, and more securely. Here’s how it all unfolded.
Why Move Away from GoDaddy’s Microsoft Services?
GoDaddy is often a convenient starting point for small businesses due to its bundled offerings and simple setup. However, for growing businesses like this law firm, GoDaddy’s version of Microsoft services quickly becomes restrictive. Their Microsoft 365 accounts lacked essential features and flexibility, making day-to-day tasks unnecessarily cumbersome.
Some key limitations with GoDaddy’s Microsoft services include:
-
Limited Administrative Controls: Businesses have restricted access to certain admin settings, which can hinder the ability
to customize accounts, manage permissions, or configure advanced security settings.
-
Inflexible Licensing: Upgrading to a different Microsoft 365 plan often requires moving to an entirely new tenancy, making
the process time-consuming and disruptive.
-
Minimal Integration Options: Advanced integrations with other business-critical applications are often difficult, if not
impossible, to achieve.
-
Difficult Migration Process: Transitioning away from GoDaddy’s Microsoft services isn’t straightforward. Their proprietary
setup locks customers into their ecosystem, making it a complex and time-intensive task to migrate mailboxes, calendars, and data to a
standalone Microsoft 365 tenancy.
For this law firm, these limitations were holding them back. They needed a more flexible, secure, and professional-grade solution to support their operations, and that’s where we stepped in.
The Process
Every migration project is unique, and this one was no exception. Here’s how we handled the transition:
1. Initial Consultation and Planning
We started with an in-depth consultation to understand the firm’s challenges and requirements. During this stage, we identified all accounts and data tied to their GoDaddy tenancy and created a detailed plan for the migration. The planning process is essential when dealing with GoDaddy services due to the complexity of extracting data from their ecosystem.
2. Audit and Preparation
We conducted a thorough audit of their accounts, including email addresses, shared mailboxes, and calendars. This allowed us to identify potential pitfalls, such as large mailbox sizes or complex permissions structures. We also ensured the firm’s devices met the requirements for a smooth transition to Windows Professional.
3. Data Migration
Migrating data from GoDaddy’s Microsoft services to a standalone Microsoft 365 tenancy is a delicate process. GoDaddy’s proprietary setup often results in timeouts or errors during data transfers. To address this, we used specialized tools to extract and migrate email, calendar, and contact data securely and accurately. This step required careful monitoring to ensure no data was lost or corrupted during the process.
4. Upgrading to Windows Professional
The firm’s devices were running on a mix of older Windows editions, which lacked support for features like Microsoft account sign-ins and advanced security options. We upgraded all devices to Windows Professional, enabling enhanced security features and better compatibility with Microsoft 365.
5. Setup and Training
Once the migration was complete, we configured their new Microsoft 365 tenancy, including setting up shared mailboxes, assigning licenses, and enabling advanced security features like multi-factor authentication (MFA). We also provided training to help the staff familiarize themselves with their new tools and workflows.
The Outcome
The move away from GoDaddy’s Microsoft services to a full Microsoft 365 Professional tenancy delivered significant benefits for the firm:
-
Greater Flexibility: The firm now has full administrative control over their Microsoft 365 environment, allowing them to
tailor their setup to their specific needs.
- Enhanced Security: Features like MFA and advanced threat protection provide robust security for their data.
-
Streamlined Workflows: The upgraded devices and improved Microsoft 365 features enable the team to collaborate more
effectively and securely, whether in the office or working remotely.
- Future-Ready Technology: With a professional-grade Microsoft 365 setup, the firm is well-equipped to scale their operations as they grow.
Why Choose FortiTech?
Migrating away from GoDaddy’s Microsoft services can be daunting, but with the right expertise, it doesn’t have to be. At FortiTech, we specialise in handling complex migrations, ensuring minimal disruption to your business operations.
If you’re ready to upgrade your IT environment and unlock the full potential of Microsoft 365, give us a call at 1300 778 078. Let’s make your technology work for you.