This post is a reminder that Microsoft Online Services has maintenance scheduled for this weekend.

There are a lot of questions regarding the upcoming transition from Business Productivity Online Suite to Microsoft Office 365, and we want you to know we’re listening.

You can find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions by downloading the transition FAQ, but take a look below as we highlight some of the more pressing questions and concerns. From watching blog comments, forum discussions, and feedback from our customers, here are a few specific questions you’ve been asking:

Q. Will I have to pay more for Office 365?

No. Office 365 will not change anything related to your subscription pricing or renewal date, with three exceptions:

1. The SharePoint Online Deskless Worker offering will be phased out. Microsoft will contact all customers who are subscribed to the SharePoint Online Deskless Worker and offer them Office 365 Kiosk—which includes both SharePoint and Exchange—for the same price.
2. The Live Meeting Standalone service will be replaced with a Lync service including both conferencing and instant messaging.
3. The Extra Storage offerings will be offered for free to all customers.

Q. What has changed between the current BPOS system requirements and the new system requirements of Office 365?

The key changes in system requirements are:

• Office 2003 is not supported
• Office Communicator 2007 R2 with Office Communications Online will no longer be supported
• Internet Explorer 6 will no longer be supported

Q. How can I make sure Microsoft can communicate with me about my transition?

For each subscription that a customer has, make sure that contact details for both the “Account Owner” and “Service Administrator” are up-to-date.

1. “Account Owner” and “Service Administrator” can be checked at the Microsoft Online Customer Portal (https://mocp.microsoftonline.com) by clicking the “Subscriptions” tab and “View Subscription Details” in the
   “Actions” column
2. Make sure that the email accounts specified for “Account Owner” and “Service Administrator” are monitored regularly.
3. Make sure that the domain “@email.microsoftonline.com” is marked as safe, to prevent the possibility of communications from Microsoft Online Services being blocked or filtered.

While we realize that many BPOS customers are eager to move onto the new Office 365 service and start using all the new features, we strongly recommend that you wait until we are ready to transition your tenant for you.

We have received a number of Support calls from customers and partners who have tried to migrate their data from BPOS to Office 365 by themselves. Please be aware that if you attempt a manual migration, emails sent to your domains will be returned to sender as undeliverable until Support can delete your domain from BPOS and you can re-create in Office 365. This email outage could last as long as 24 hours (possibly longer if many customers are asking Support to delete their domains at the same time as you).

What should someone do who is eager to move from BPOS to Office 365?

Ideally, you would wait to be transitioned by the Office 365 team. However, if you are an expert in Exchange server migrations, comfortable with PowerShell scripts, and just can’t wait a couple of months, here’s what you need to do.

(Please note that manual migration is not supported, manual migration will stop mail flow for at least 24 hours, and customers with Exchange Hosted Archiving will lose all archived data).

1. Ensure all of your computers meet the Office 365 system requirements.
2. Sign up for an Office 365 account. Do NOT add any other domains at this point
3. Run the Office 365 online desktop setup tool on all desktop PCs.
4. Back up all of your users’ mail to .pst files using Outlook.
5. Remove all vanity domain information from BPOS.
1. Remove all production domain e-mail addresses from any accounts using them. Here's an example. Your production domain is contoso.com. You have a user, Joe, with the e-mail addresses This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Remove the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it e-mail address, as well as any other e-mail addresses in the system that end with contoso.com.
2. Remove your production domain from BPOS.
6. Contact BPOS Support, and
1. Tell them you wish to have your production domain removed from FOPE.
2. Ask them to check in the Office 365 environment to see if Microsoft has already copied your domain(s) and users to a pre-transition tenant. If this has happened, your domain(s) will need to be removed from Office 365 as well
7. Wait 1 day for Support to remove your domains. You will receive no inbound email for this period.
8. Sign in to your Office 365 admin account and add your production domain to Office 365.
9. Add your users to Office 365.
10. Import the .pst files you made in step 3 into the appropriate user mailboxes using Outlook.

There will be a feature allowing domains to be deleted in FOPE without a call to Support, but it will take some time before this option is available. Please keep an eye on this blog for further updates.

Final note: I have personally seen some creative workarounds in the BPOS community to the email outage that inevitably occurs while FOPE is deleting your domain. They’re not perfect, and Microsoft doesn’t support them (nor have we tested them).

Now that Office 365 has launched, we’re preparing to start transitions in September 2011, and we’ve updated the Transition Guide and Transition FAQ to provide you more information about what to expect between now and September 2012.

Here’s a summary of the key actions you should take.

1)   Review the transition guide.

This comprehensive overview covers all aspects of the transition process. Download the transition guide for in-depth information on everything from system requirements to the specific steps required for administrators and current users.

2)   Learn the key changes.

Some of these system requirements may require you to upgrade your PCs before you transition. Make sure your business is ready for Office 365 and the new Microsoft Online Services by noting the following key changes:

• Outlook 2003 / Office 2003 is not supported
• Internet Explorer 6 is not supported
• Office Communicator 2007 R2 must be upgraded to Microsoft Lync
• Office 365 Desktop Setup is required (replaces the Sign-In Application)

Review all of the Office 365 and Microsoft Online Services system requirements. In addition, make sure all your desktops are up to date for the necessary end-user requirements. You can find this information in the transition checklist for administrators.

3)   Understand the Office 365 password policy

To make the transition to Office 365 as seamless as possible for your users, we will synchronize their current passwords with Office 365 whenever they change their password. This means that the new Office 365 password policy now applies to your existing subscription. Review the Office 365 password requirements to understand the changes.

4)   Download the transition checklist

Start your transition prerequisites - The tasks required to configure your desktop environment can be found in the detailed transition checklist for administrators.

5)   Check out your new subscription offer

The following table summarizes how Microsoft Online Services and BPOS subscriptions will map to the new Microsoft Online Services offerings after transition. All active subscriptions will be transitioned to the new offers while maintaining your current price through the end of your subscription term.  Learn more at the Office 365 website.

What happens next?

Microsoft will begin contacting customers and partners this summer with September and October 2011 transition dates. Each month, we'll send out more transition scheduling notices. For more information about scheduling, please check out the transition FAQ.

Processing timeframe

The transition schedule is designed to best accommodate all customers and their needs, and that could mean your transition won’t be scheduled for several months. Don’t worry if you don’t receive a transition date immediately.

Stay up to date

The transition center is the place to learn anything and everything about the transition process and all that Office 365 can do for your business.

Microsoft Online Services is ready to support you through a smooth transition to Office 365. If you have questions, contact our IT-level support, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Also, be sure to take a look at the transition forum – the answers you need are likely already available.