Migrate Amazon WorkMail to Zoho Mail with Speed & Safety

The recent announcement regarding the upcoming AWS WorkMail shutdown has put IT departments in a frenzy. One excellent candidate to replace Amazon WorkMail is Zoho. So much so that it is mentioned by name as one of the three options in the official EOL announcement. So, to help my fellow IT admins with their AWS WorkMail to Zoho Migration, I have created this playbook.

It contains every possible pathway to quit AWS WorkMail and adopt Zoho as the main enterprise email infrastructure. So if you need guidance or you are stuck mid-way through your project, this guide will help you. Let us start off with traditional methods that even a single account user can attempt.

Two Manual Methods of Transferring Amazon WorkMail to Zoho Mail

Most people who have used email are already familiar with what I am about to describe. To forward mail, you open an existing message, click on the forward button, enter the destination address in the To field, and press Send. Repeat for all others. For all upcoming emails, you can set an auto-forwarding rule.

Using this method cannot replicate the folders. Plus, email metadata gets altered, making the emails non-viable in corporate environments.
Another manual AWS WorkMail to Zoho migration strategy involves configuring both the source and destination accounts within a desktop client. Every machine already has one installed, and you also have options like Thunderbird.

However, this method has problems of its own. If you don’t have a high-end machine, you may have to deal with frequent freezes in the desktop client. It also becomes highly susceptible to connection timeouts.

Furthermore, an IT department cannot centrally manage or audit this AWS WorkMail to Zoho migration process. So it becomes increasingly difficult to guarantee complete data availability across the organization.

For enterprises with thousands of users, moving isn’t as simple; they must prepare their home environment first.

Do this Before Migrating AWS WorkMail to Zoho

Inform existing contacts by means of broadcast email messages and utilizing an OOO (Out Of Office) auto-replier. Combine it with a forwarding rule that redirects messages to the new account if you plan to use a DIY method to perform the transfer.

Zoho’s method has a few hidden limitations that you should know about, which I will cover in depth.

Native Method of Migration

Phase 1: AWS IAM Setup

• Log in to the AWS IAM Dashboard.
• Navigate to Users > Create user. Enter a username.
• Select Attach policies directly > apply AmazonWorkMailFullAccess.
• Select the created user > Create access key (Use case: “Other”).
• Download the .csv file containing the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key.

Phase 2: Zoho Console Setup

• Sign in to the Zoho Mail Admin Console > Data Migration.
• Click Start data migration. Enter a configuration name.
• Select the Amazon WorkMail protocol.
• Input the Access Key ID, Secret Access Key, and AWS Region. Click Authenticate.
• Choose Storage and Scope.
• Type the settings name.
• Select the data types to transfer (emails, contacts, calendars).
• Choose All Folders or define specific folder paths. Set the date range.
• Set the maximum concurrent connection limit.
• Set the storage pause threshold (80% or 95%). Click Create.

Phase 3: Execution

• Ensure all destination Zoho accounts already exist without licensing errors.
• Select the newly created migration profile.
• Click Add (for manual entry) or Import (for CSV upload) to map source AWS addresses to destination Zoho addresses.
• Click Start Migration.

The Only Professional WorkMail to Zoho Migration Method You Need

SysTools AWS WorkMail Migrator is a state-of-the-art solution for all situations where you have to move your organization’s Amazon WorkMail data elsewhere. It is entirely scriptless; you don’t have to memorize any special syntax to use it, and every single option is a GUI.

 

The tool is available on both Windows and Mac machines, so no matter the device you use, you can install a copy, and it will help you transfer the data. Enterprises evaluating alternative target environments can utilize it to migrate AWS WorkMail to Office 365 or execute an AWS WorkMail to Google Workspace transition. Here are the simple steps to use the tool once you download it on your computer.

Step-by-Step AWS WorkMail to Zoho Transfer

Step 1. Launch the tool, and the first screen you see is the setup zone, where the IMAP endpoints and the email workload are already pre-defined for faster transfer. If you want, you can add a date filter to move a specific slice of the entire email history. It’s entirely optional to set the date filter. Once done, hit the Next button.

Step 2. Then you arrive on the source screen, and here at the very top, there is a drop-down menu containing a list of all major IMAP email providers, including the AWS WorkMail option. Choose it. After that, the tool will automatically fill in the IMAP Server URL and Port number. Press the Validate button so the tool connects to the server, and then press Next.

Step 3. This next page is similar to the previous one. Use the dropdown and select Zoho, and the server details will fill up automatically. Note that the Zoho option available in the list is for Pro Enterprise accounts. If you intend to move to a free Zoho account, then choose others and fill in the Zoho server details on your own. Press Validate, wait for the green signal, and hit Next.

Step 4. In the user mapping screen, you first need to download the CSV template present in the tool. Fill it with the necessary user details, then add it back to the tool.

Step 5. The final step is to review the user list. Select the accounts you want to shift, and apply priority to the VIP accounts. Validate and press Start.

Post Migration

Even after the majority of the data moves to the target platform, there is some portion that is left, usually it is the mails that accumulate during the first run. Unfortunately, Zoho’s manual transfer has no facility to detect and move this type of data, so you have to leave them behind or use export-import techniques. However, if you opt for the tool, you can select the Delta Migration option, and the tool will take care of the rest.

Admins also like a report on how the migration went; while Zoho keeps you guessing by providing a plain file, the professional tool helps to perform a full evaluation. It does so by providing two reports: one that covers the summary of all the data and another consisting of user-level details.

Moving the data is not the end; you also need to change the MX rules that dictate how incoming messages are routed. If not altered in time, your new environment will remain an island with no one knowing that you have already shifted.

Once done, don’t forget to restore the TTL values to their standard value.

Users must be informed of all the developments, including the date after which their AWS WorkMail account will be defunct (i.e., lose the ability to send and receive or even log in to check existing mail).

Admins must ensure that updated IMAP/SMTP settings carry over to all user endpoints, including mobile devices.

Test for and eliminate any routing loops that might have been introduced accidentally. Do this by performing mail flow tests after the AWS WorkMail to Zoho migration is complete.

After a transfer, admins often purge the existing server to prevent leaks, but you can ignore it as AWS WorkMail is about to end soon anyway.

My Verdict

Here, I gave you the best possible strategy to migrate your data from AWS WorkMail to Zoho Mail. Although there are plenty of manual routes, like forwarding or using email clients, none of them are applicable when an entire enterprise has to move its data. The method Zoho provides is also lacking delta sync capability and pre-migration checks. Not to mention the highly complex IAM setup. So the tool acts as the perfect remedy that combines ease of use with highly resilient enterprise-grade migration capability. I encourage you to give it a try and make the transition super easy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why should I not use the drag’n’drop method to move emails from AWS WorkMail to Zoho?

The drag and drop option may appear to be a simple process at first glance, but the moment you attempt it yourself, the limitations become crystal clear. The biggest one is the constant manual involvement in every step of the way. There is no way to automate drag and drop. Plus, this process is unreliable for large volumes of data as it carries the risk of creating duplicates or missing important emails.

Q: Do end users have to pause their work while the transfers take place?

Ideally, yes, but practically, it is not possible. So IT admins should strive to schedule the transfer when a significant period of low user activity occurs. Usually, around long weekends, use a staged approach that migrates a chunk of data every night when the majority of the workers are offline.

Q: Is the manual migration safe?

No, there have been multiple reports of data loss or incomplete migration. Moreover, as the manual migration offers no pre-flight checks, admins and users are in the dark. It is only after the migration ends and users hop onto their new accounts that they can check whether the data migrated correctly or not.

Q: Can I opt out of the IAM validation requirement while using Zoho’s native method?

No, it is a mandatory step without which Zoho won’t be able to detect the account, let alone migrate the data. So if you believe IAM is too much of a privacy intrusion, you can use the professional tool instead. It uses the basic IMAP protocol to carry out the transfer in a safe and swift manner.