This is an interesting discussion. I'll try to help with a few tools that MS and Symantec have worked together to deliver.
Best,
Sean Regan
EV Product Marketing
1. A case Study on EV and Exchange 2010. We encourage customers to upgrade to 2010 and can help with the migration in a number of ways. See the linked doc to learn more about EV support for 2010.
http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?CaseStudyID=4000005430
2. A joint webcast with SYMC and MS on Exchane 2010 and Information Management.
https://www4.symantec.com/Vrt/offer?_requestid=142578&a_id=87302&
Also, I have put together a few lists on Migrations and Information Management for MS. I'll post these here since I dont have them linked yet to help you with your project.
Top 5 Reasons to Archive Now and Simplify Future Migrations to Exchange 2010
1.) Smaller mailboxes = faster migrations: Whether you are using Exchange 2000, 2003 or 2007 the upgrade to Exchange 2010 can be accelerated by using Enterprise Vault. By applying archiving policies to the end user’s existing mailbox, Enterprise Vault can shrink the volume of live mail on Exchange. Throughout this process the end user will maintain transparent access to their archived data. Mailbox migrations, backups and recovery efforts will be accelerated because archiving has reduced the data that resides on the actual messaging server.
2.) End user experience: With any new software deployment, end user experience and acceptance is critical to success. Introduce new policies and minimize the learning curve for Exchange 2010 by deploying Enterprise Vault during the migration. On day one end users will have a transparent Outlook experience that includes the ability manage live, legacy and archived email right from within Outlook - with or without shortcuts regardless if the user is on or. Eliminate mailbox quotas and the need for PSTs without taking away that familiar user experience.
3.) PST elimination now and forever: Deploy archiving now to eliminate PST files by finding, collecting and centralizing them in the archive. Content is single instanced and retention and expiry polices are implemented. When customers deploy Exchange 2010 there will be no PST’s to collect, corrupt or manage. Legacy PST data will still be accessible to end users via the original folder structure and Outlook search. Data can be moved to and from the live mailbox or archive just as if users were working with a PST, only without all of the storage, backup and retention management headaches.
4.) Optimize your new architecture: Right-size your new Exchange environment by maintaining single instance storage (SIS) as you move content from a previous version of Exchange over to Exchange 2010 which no longer offers native SIS. Planning for the storage savings provided by Enterprise Vault with SIS and tiered storage can help customers save money by getting the right mix of tier 1,2 and 3 storage in place prior to Exchange deployment. For Exchange 2010 customers using Database Availability Groups Enterprise Vault can help make Exchange more highly available with less disk by reducing the size of Exchange databases.
5.) Optimize Exchange server performance: Manage the size of your mailboxes and Exchange archives with Enterprise Vault by implementing retention and expiry policies as you deploy. Cut down the number of servers and storage required for your new Exchange deployment and keep Exchange at predictable levels while reducing the costs associated with powering, managing and operating Exchange. Automate the movement of older or larger emails and attachments off to 2nd or 3rd tier storage, reducing storage required for Exchange and accelerating backup processes.
Customer Success Story
To make the transition to Symantec Enterprise Vault efficient and easy, Fenwick & West used the solution’s Microsoft Exchange PST Migrator feature. “When we first started with Enterprise Vault we had several thousand PST files on network drives and on local computers,” says Oliver Rebollido, senior network engineer at Fenwick & West. “It was great to use the PST migrator to migrate all those emails into Enterprise Vault and still maintain the same folder structure. The users had no idea that the PSTs weren’t there, and could find archives as before.” Without PST Migrator, he says, “We would have had to manually copy the emails into Exchange and then archive them. It would probably have taken months, given the amount of email we had.” Oliver Rebollido, senior network engineer at Fenwick & West.
Top 10 Benefits of Symantec Archiving and Backup for Exchange 2010
1. Manageable Mailbox Sizes – Keep Exchange mailboxes at manageable levels with age based and quota based archiving policies. Users get seamless access to the archive presenting archived email as if it were a PST, without the management or headaches associated with PST files.
2. Anytime, Anywhere Access – Seamless access to archived email and archived PST files while offline, within Outlook Web Access(OWA), and on mobile devices.
3. Tiered Storage – Automate the movement of information to the right storage tier, for the right amount of time based on value, age, and size – even place files for long term retention on tape or WORM storage for compliance.
4. Deduplication Everywhere – Introduce efficient single instance storage to Exchange to reduce storage resources whether in remote offices or in the data center across the archive and backups.
5. Improve Migrations & Upgrades -Move older items out of Exchange and into Enterprise Vault to reduce the size of Exchange message stores by up to 90%. The reduction in the size of each message store allows you to move email to Exchange 2010 much faster, providing a reduction in the costs and time required for the migration process.
6. Apply Consistent Policies – Comply with regulations and information governance policies by consistently applying retention and expiry policies to email. There’s no need to keep it any longer than necessary.
7. Reduce Backups – Archive first, then reduce backup windows even further by eliminating brick-level mailbox (MAPI) backups while retaining the ability to quickly recover individual emails and mailboxes.
8. Recover Faster- Reducing the active message store size by archiving means less data to restore in the event of a disaster. Restore complete Exchange servers to any point in time or individual Exchange items within minutes.
9. Find Information Faster – Enable end users to search across live and archived email with native Microsoft Outlook or Windows desktop search tools while giving legal teams the tools to search, discover, review and implement legal holds with no IT dependencies.
10. Manage More Data with Fewer Tools - Information management doesn’t stop with email. Symantec’s information management products work across multiple information sources such as SharePoint, instant messaging, file servers and databases and allows you to centralize backup and archiving processes while applying the benefits of deduplication, retention and expiry.
