How to Migrate AWS WorkMail to Zoom Mail: An Admin’s Guide

With the official announcement that Amazon is ending support for WorkMail in March 2027, IT administrators are on the lookout for a suitable replacement. In their search, one name keeps popping up, which is Zoom Mail. At just $4/user/month, you get a 50GB mailbox with unified calendar and future-proof AI tools. But how to migrate Amazon WorkMail to Zoom Mail exactly?

Don’t worry, I have assembled the perfect guide to help you out in this situation. Here you will find not one, not two, but four different methods to switch servers the same way I did during the AWS WorkMail to Zoho transition, complete with a step-by-step guide and problems to watch out for.

Before jumping into migration methods, I always recommend creating a secure backup of your Amazon WorkMail data. With the upcoming EOL, only migration can become risky and lead to data loss. Unfortunately, there is no manual method available for the same. Still, there are tools like SysTools Amazon WorkMail Backup Tool that help you export emails with attachments to local storage or other formats. Having a local copy helps you to recover data easily if anything goes wrong.

So, without further ado, let’s start with the most basic method first.

Route 1: Forward Emails From AWS to Zoom

This process is for immediate short-term routing that redirects incoming messages from Amazon WebMail to Zoom Mail. To set up on a single account, do these steps:

• Step 1: Sign in to AWS WorkMail, look for the gear icon in the upper right corner, and click it.
• Step 2: Choose the Email rules option and click on New.
• Step 3: Type a suitable name like “AWS to Zoom transporter,” enable the Active rule box, and under the condition select “When the message is received from (select specific senders) or is sent to (your address)”.
• Step 4: Then, in the Actions field, select the “Forward the message to” or the “Redirect message to” option. (I prefer the latter).
• Step 5: Type your Zoom Mail as the recipient address and save changes.

Now this method has significant gaps, which is why I don’t recommend using it:

First of all, the rule only applies to upcoming messages; you cannot move existing WorkMail data to Gmail or anywhere else with it. That means all of your email messages that were in the server before the rule remain as is. You have to manually forward them yourself.

The rules die when the EOL happens. Sometimes secondary features like this might get shut off sooner than the actual EOL, so you lose your messages anyway. Moreover, AWS rules are not able to forward messages if you are in BCC.

Route 2: Move Amazon WorkMail Data to Zoom Mail Server via Clients

Desktop clients are widely used as a way to access emails without a browser. Many such clients are pre-installed in your work machines and allow you to add multiple email accounts. So this creates a second use case for these clients, which is to act as a bridge between the two platforms. Here is how you do it:

• Step 1: Install any desktop client if you don’t have it already and open it.
• Step 2: Add your AWS WorkMail account using the official IMAP settings and wait for the emails to sync to your local machine.
• Step 3: Repeat the step for the Zoom Mail account as well.
• Step 4: Then manually drag-and-drop all AWS WorkMail into the Zoom Mail inbox and wait for the client to upload the data to Zoom.

Gaps you need to watch out for:
You are as fast as your PC: Although the desktop client can move messages between two accounts, this is not what they were made for. So this process puts a lot of strain on your PC’s hardware. If you have a machine that has a bit of mileage on it, you may crash it.
There is no way to monitor what was moved and what’s left, so you may end up with duplicate mail or miss some emails entirely.
IT admins must manually configure this on a per-user basis, requiring direct access to everyone’s machine.

Zoom, being a relatively new player in the email business, has a built-in import mechanism that can serve as a doorway for your AWS WorkMail emails.

Route 3: Zoom’s Native Import Facility to Bring in AWS WorkMail Data

Zoom offers a self-service option that admins can opt for the transfer. You don’t have to pay for this facility; it comes with your Zoom subscription. Here are the steps to use it:

• Step 1: Log in to your Zoom web portal with an administrator account.
• Step 2: Find the Domain Management option, then switch over to the Bulk Migration tab.
• Step 3: Make the mapping list (don’t add more than 50 accounts) with AWS WorkMail as the source and Zoom as the destination.
• Step 4: Start the import process and keep an eye on the status from time to time.

Unfortunately, this process has significant gaps that might hinder your transition speed:

Strict Batch Limit: Zoom puts a hard ceiling on the number of accounts that can be part of a single batch. Currently, it is at 50. For organizations with a small number of users, this is not much of an issue, but for enterprises with thousands of accounts, this is a deal breaker.

No Pre-Migration Health Checks: Zoom offers no facility to diagnose any errors in the source or target environment. So if there are any problems, you would only learn about them when the migration breaks midway.

All or Nothing Type of Migration: With this import option, you can’t pick and choose what gets transferred and what is left. You either migrate everything or nothing at all. Organizations that are planning to use this migration time as a cleanup operation will not get the opportunity to do so.

All these drawbacks mean you need something that can truly automate the transition. Safe to say I have the exact solution you are looking for.

Route 4: Professional Software to Simplify the WorkMail to Zoom Mail Transfer

As admins are worried about whether or not these manual processes will be fast enough to move all data before the EOL, I present a solution that will surely help you exit the AWS WorkMail service ASAP. It is none other than the highly rated SysTools Amazon WorkMail Migrator software.

Engineered from the ground up to handle high-volume transfers without compromising on security. Use this no-code GUI-only tool to create a direct high-speed bridge between the soon-to-expire Amazon WorkMail and the new Zoom Mail server.

Available as a free trial, you can test its capabilities yourself.

Step-by-Step Process of Using a Tool for AWS WorkMail to Zoom Mail Migration

Step 1. Begin by installing a copy on your machine, whether it is a Windows or a Mac. Then, in the setup screen, keep the IMAP endpoint selections as is. Same for the email workload; if you only want to move a fraction of the total email message history, put a start and end date, then press Next.

Step 2. In the source screen, toggle the drop-down and select the Amazon WorkMail option (note this is only valid if your server resides in imap.mail.us-east-1.awsapps.com). For a different location, choose the Others option and fill in the Server URL and port number. Press Validate and hit Next.

Step 3. Then, the destination option, too, you have to toggle the server list dropdown and choose Others. Type the Zoom Mail IMAP details, validate them, and press Next.

Step 4. Use the provided CSV template to create the source-to-target mapping, then upload the Template back into the tool for further processing.

Step 5. Finally, view the entire list of users, make selections, apply priority, validate, and hit the start button.

What Makes the Tool Ideal for Admins

Bypass Batch Size Limit: Unlike the manual methods, which stunt your concurrent transfers, this tool allows you to map the entire user list in one go with its CSV mapping facility. Combine it with the built-in concurrency slider to maximize network utilization.

Zero-Downtime Cutovers: In this tool, you get a highly advanced Delta Migration mode. It allows you to capture every last email that arrived after the initial run began. This ensures that no data is left behind in the source AWS WorkMail when you move it to Zoom.

Puts You in Complete Control: Admins can decide whether or not to keep legacy data part of the transfer or discard it completely with the help of the date filter. On top of that, the tool contains user-level selection to prioritize VIP Executives ahead of other accounts.

Conclusion

Here, I taught you several ways to migrate Amazon WorkMail to Zoom Mail. Among these, the professional tool stands out. This is because, unlike the manual method, the tool offers an effortless exit well before the EOL. So choose it and safely transition from the AWS email to the Zoom Mail platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does Zoom really have an email service? When did that happen?
People were introduced to Zoom when it exploded in popularity during the pandemic era, thanks to its video conferencing app. It has since made strides into becoming a full-fledged workplace productivity suite with a dedicated email service, which went live on November 8, 2022.

Q: Is Zoom the right choice for my organization, which used AWS WorkMail before?
Yes, it is, being one of the most affordable business email solutions. If it helps, Zoom has a large list of organizations that trust it for email management.

Q: What happens to the WorkMail folder structures when I move to Zoom?
Depending on the route you choose for the transfer, you either have to make the entire folder structure yourself or the folders replicate on their own. The latter is only possible when you deploy the automated migration tool. Apart from the folder structure, the tool also keeps your Read/Unread statuses and important flags intact.