Updated:
On Redmond Magazine, an article was launched that announces the new Version of QMM (QMM 8.10). The Software is not yet available for download (actual by May, 12th 2013), but promises the single-hop Migration from Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2013 which can make a difference for many large IT customers when comparing with Microsoft native approaches.
Due to the Redmond Magazine article:
“One of the exciting things we can do with this product…is the ability to migrate in a direct single-step migration from Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2000 into the new version of Office 365 or Exchange 2013,” said Ron Robbins, a product manager at Dell, in a phone interview. “It’s one thing that Microsoft is not able to support, given the fact that they don’t support legacy platforms that long and the fact that their native migration solutions don’t migrate directly from those platforms any longer.”
See the full article here:
http://redmondmag.com/articles/2013/04/24/updated-migration-manager-for-exchange.aspx
With the actual version of Quest Migration Manager for Exchange®, migrating mailboxes from Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2013 will require a 2 hop migration process. You have to install an Exchange 2010 transition server into your existing Exchange 2003 environment. You will then perform a 1st hop as an Intra-Org Exchange migration to move the mailboxes to the Exchange 2010 server. The 2nd hop will be an Inter-Org Exchange migration to the target Exchange 2013 organization.
Although there is special software from Quest available to support the 1st hop, Migration Manager for Exchange Intra-Org Edition, the procedure is still a bit long winded.
Good news:
The plans of Dell/Quest Software are that the next version of Quest Migration Manager for Exchange will support a single hop migration from Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2013 in Inter-Org Exchange migration scenarios directly without the requirement of a transition server.
The new version is awaited for Q2/2013.
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