Many users are troubled and concerned about the safety of PST files as they are locally stored in the system. So, to protect all the documents and mails from any security threats, a wise option would be to import PST files to Office 365 Shared mailbox. But there exist a few other reasons for such a transition.
Due to organizational compliance issues, PST corruption issues due to oversize issues, local PST files not accessible remotely, etc., you can now look to import PST to Office 365 Shared mailboxes. We will discuss two basic methods for this import along with an automated tool recommendation that makes your PST to Office 365 Shared mailbox import easier.
Methods to import PST to Office 365 Shared mailbox
Below discussed are the two manual approaches for import PST to Office 365 Shared mailbox.
1. Import/Export wizard
With the use of Import/Export wizard in Outlook, this kind of import can be carried out in a few simple steps. But before applying this method, you need to configure your Outlook account. If not configured yet, then go through these instructions.
- Access Outlook and go to the File menu.
- Click on Add account.
- Put in your Office 365 email address and hit Continue.
- Type up your password, click on OK and tap on Finish.
It is now time to import your PST emails to your Office 365 account. Steps are:
- Open Outlook and tap on the File menu.
- Click on Open & Export and tap on Import/Export.
- Select Import from another program or file and click on Next.
- Select Outlook Data File (.pst) and tap on Next.
- Click on Browse to add the PST file. Hit the option Next.
- To upload the entire file, choose the root file and tick mark the checkbox “Include subfolders”. Select the radio button ‘Import items into the same folder’ and give the respective Office 365 ID.
- Tap on the Finish button to begin the Import process.
2. Network Upload method
To import PST to Office 365 Shared mailboxes, you can also use the Network Upload method. We will only provide a brief outlook on this method as it is quite a lengthy and complex process. You can check the detailed documentation for the Network Upload method.
Let us now take a brief outlook on this process.
- Use SAS URL download AzCopy.
- Upload your PST files to Office 365.
- Create the file mapping to import PST.
- Create a PST import job.
- Identify the data you need to import and begin the import process to Office 365 Shared mailbox.
Many users have reported issues with these methods as the Import/Export wizard fails to import a large number of files and Outlook crashes while on the other hand, the network upload method supports bulk import, but it has a limit of 20 GB.
So how do we counter these limitations and get a successful import? The best solution would be to opt for an automated professional utility. We would recommend using the Kernel Import PST to Office 365 tool.
This software simplifies the migration of PST mailboxes to Office 365. Be it individual files or multiple file bulk import, it has got no size limitations and promises full data integrity post-import. You can do efficient mapping with CSV files and even use advanced filters to skip previously imported files, exclude deleted items and empty folders.
After the PST import to Office 365 is done, you can also save the detailed report in CSV format and verify the whole process. Compatible with all the Microsoft 365 plans and PST formats, a free trial version is available for your assistance.
Final words
This blog has compiled the best manual methods to import PST to Office 365 Shared mailboxes in a stepwise manner. The methods are 100% working but with limitations of size, the effectiveness of these methods might come down to a failure in the import process.
To counter these limitations and get a successful import every time, the best way would be to use the professional PST import utility like Kernel Import PST to Office 365. With its advanced import features, wide range of compatibility and easy-to-use interface, this tool should be your ideal solution for all your PST import needs.