Email Migration Guide

How to Migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365Export the archives, fix the shortcuts, import the PST files

Migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365: inventory the archives, export PST files, handle shortcuts and journal archives, then import into Microsoft 365.

By 📅 Updated: September 7, 2026 ⏲️ 13 min read ✓ Verified against Microsoft's published documentation 🖼️ 5 screens

To migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365, export each archive to Unicode PST files from the Vault Administration Console (right-click Archives, Export) or with the Export-EVArchive cmdlet, keep every PST under 20 GB, then import the files into the users' Microsoft 365 archive mailboxes with the Purview Import service and a mapping file that sets IsArchive to TRUE. Delete the orphaned Enterprise Vault shortcuts afterwards, and send journal archives to dedicated mailboxes or a compliance archive, because Exchange Online has no journaling mailbox. Old ANSI exports, native MSG exports and failed items go through Univik Enterprise Vault Converter first.

Enterprise Vault has been quietly archiving mail for twenty years, and now the server has to be decommissioned. The mailboxes are already in Exchange Online, or about to be. The vault holds years of mail that users still open through shortcuts, plus a journal archive that legal will not let you drop. Veritas never shipped a button that pushes an archive into Microsoft 365, and the product now belongs to Arctera. So the migration is a sequence you run yourself: export, check, import, clean up. This guide walks that sequence with the limits on both sides and the two traps, shortcuts and journals, that stall most projects.

Before You Migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365

TimeDays to weeks
DifficultyHard
CostExport free, Import free
Runs onEV server + Purview

Three kinds of archive live in a vault. Each needs a different route, so find yours first.

User mailbox archives, one per person The common case. Export each archive to PST and import it into the user's Microsoft 365 archive mailbox. Then remove the shortcuts. Start with the export steps → A journal archive of every message sent and received Exchange Online cannot receive journal mail and has no journal store. The data has to land in dedicated mailboxes or a compliance archive such as Mimecast. Read the journal section → Old PST exports already sitting on a share Someone exported years ago, often as 2 GB ANSI files or native MSG. Check them, convert what needs it and go straight to the import. Jump to the import →
Line these up before the first export
  • Vault Administration Console accessThe Export Archive wizard and the Tasks node live here. You need an Enterprise Vault administrator role on the EV server, not on Exchange.
  • Disk space on a share for the PST filesBudget the archive size plus 15 percent. A 3 TB journal archive needs 3.5 TB free before the first file is written.
  • Microsoft 365 licences with archive mailboxes enabledThe Import service can target the archive mailbox only when it exists. Enable Exchange Online Archiving for every user first and confirm the 100 GB per archive import ceiling covers them.
  • The Purview Import role and AzCopyThe mapping file, the SAS URL and the 20 GB per PST rule are covered in the Import PST to Office 365 guide. Read it before the export so the file sizes come out right.
Six words this guide leans on
Archive
One Enterprise Vault container of items for one mailbox, one journal or one shared purpose. The Archives node lists every one of them with type and size.
Shortcut
The small stub Enterprise Vault leaves in a mailbox after it archives a message. It points at the vault. When the vault is switched off, every shortcut breaks.
Export Archive
The wizard in the Vault Administration Console that writes archives to PST files, back to their original mailboxes or into a chosen mailbox.
Export-EVArchive
The PowerShell cmdlet that does the same job for many archives from a script, with -Format PST and -MaxPSTSizeMB switches.
Journal archive
An archive fed by Exchange journaling. Each item is an envelope journal report with the original message attached, so BCC recipients and expanded distribution lists are preserved.
Import service
The Microsoft Purview feature that takes PST files by network upload or drive shipping and writes them into mailboxes or archive mailboxes.

Export Enterprise Vault Archives to PST in 5 Steps

The wizard does one thing well. An Enterprise Vault export to PST writes the full archived items, not the shortcuts, into PST files with the folder structure kept. Everything that follows depends on the size and format choices made here.

1

Inventory the archives in the Vault Administration Console

Open the Vault Administration Console and expand your site down to Archives. The three containers that matter are Exchange Mailbox, Exchange Journal and Shared, the last one holding shared archives for teams and projects. Switch to details view and export the list, because every archive name here becomes a row in your migration sheet and later a row in the Office 365 mapping file. Note the item counts. They are your proof at the end.

You should seeevery archive with its type and size. Archives for people who left years ago are still here. Decide now which of those go to an inactive mailbox in Microsoft 365 and which are out of retention and can be dropped.

Vault Administration Console · Archives inventoryScreen 1 of 5
Swipe sideways to see the whole screen

Step 1The Archives node. One journal archive at 2.9 TB sits next to 386 mailbox archives.

2

Start Export Archive and pick PST files as the destination

Right click Archives and choose Export. The first page asks where the data should go. Pick Export to PST files. The other two options put items back into Exchange mailboxes, which is a way to rehydrate shortcuts but not a way to move an archive to another tenant. On the next page select the archives for this batch. Twenty to forty mailbox archives per run keeps the output folder manageable and the failure list short, and matches the batch size an Office 365 import job handles comfortably.

Vault Administration Console · Export Archive wizardScreen 2 of 5
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Step 2Export to PST files. The mailbox options are for rehydration, not migration.

3

Set Unicode, the PST size and the filters

Choose Unicode. ANSI is still offered and still capped at 2 GB, and a 2 GB ANSI file is the single most common cause of a failed Enterprise Vault export. Set the maximum PST size to about 18 GB (18432 MB). The wizard allows up to 20480 MB for Unicode and rolls over to a numbered file when the limit is hit. The Office 365 Import service wants each PST under 20 GB. Tick the option to keep folder structure. Use the date filter only when you are splitting one very large archive by year on purpose; otherwise leave it clear so nothing is left behind.

You should seean output folder on a share with room for the whole batch. Point it at a UNC path on a server with fast disks, not at a workstation.

Vault Administration Console · PST optionsScreen 3 of 5
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Step 3Unicode, 18 GB parts, folder structure kept. These three settings decide whether the import goes smoothly.

4

Run the export task, or script it with Export-EVArchive

Finish the wizard and watch progress under Enterprise Vault Servers, Tasks. For a few hundred archives, the wizard is slow to drive by hand. The Enterprise Vault Management Shell has Export-EVArchive, which takes an archive ID, an output folder, -Format PST and -MaxPSTSizeMB. Feed it a CSV from Get-EVArchive and it runs through the list, writing numbered PST parts per archive. Native export throughput is in the low hundreds of thousands of items per hour on a healthy server. A 10 million item journal archive is a multi-day job, so plan for it.

You should seeone PST per archive, or several numbered parts for archives over your size limit, plus the export log. Read the log for Failed entries before you move on. A failed archive is usually a corrupt saveset or an item over Outlook's size limit.

Enterprise Vault Management Shell · Export-EVArchiveScreen 4 of 5
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Step 4Export-EVArchive over a CSV of archive IDs. One archive failed with a corrupt store error and goes on the repair list.

5

Attach one exported PST in Outlook and check the item counts

On a PC with classic Outlook, attach one PST from the batch through File, Open & Export, Open Outlook Data File. Check three things. The messages are full items with bodies and attachments rather than shortcuts. The folder names match the archive. The item count across all parts equals the count from Step 1. Do this for a handful of archives per batch. When it holds, the batch is ready for the import.

Classic Outlook · Exported PST in OutlookScreen 5 of 5
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Step 5The exported PST in Outlook. Full messages, original dates, folder tree intact.

What to Do with Enterprise Vault Shortcuts

Every mailbox Enterprise Vault has touched is full of shortcuts. They look like messages, but the body is a stub that fetches the real item from the vault when a user opens it. Move the mailbox to Office 365 and the shortcuts move with it. Switch the vault off and every one of them becomes a dead link. This is the part of an Enterprise Vault migration that generates helpdesk tickets, so sequence it deliberately.

1. Import the archive first
Land the exported PST in the user's Office 365 archive mailbox while the vault is still running. Users now have both the shortcut and the real item.
2. Delete the shortcuts
In the Exchange Mailbox Policy, the Shortcut Deletion tab has Delete orphaned shortcuts and an age based rule. Run the Exchange Mailbox task and it clears them from the mailboxes it still processes.
3. Mailboxes already in Exchange Online
The EV task cannot reach them. Remove the shortcuts with a targeted search and purge on the message class IPM.Note.EnterpriseVault.Shortcut, or use a migration tool that rehydrates them.
4. Then switch the vault off
Only after imports are verified and shortcuts are gone. Keep the EV server powered but idle for a month as a fallback before decommissioning.

The alternative is to use the wizard's Export to original mailboxes option before the mailbox moves to Exchange Online. It restores the archived items into the on-premises mailbox and Enterprise Vault replaces its own shortcuts as it does so. That works for small archives. For a 30 GB archive it turns a 2 GB mailbox into a 32 GB one that then has to be migrated. Most projects import to the Microsoft 365 archive mailbox instead.

Journal Archives and Office 365

An Enterprise Vault journal archive is a different animal. Each item is an envelope journal report: sender, every recipient including BCC and expanded distribution lists, with the original message attached. It exists because a regulator or a legal team asked for it, and it is often the largest archive in the vault by a factor of ten.

When you migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365, this is the archive with no obvious home. Microsoft 365 has no place for it as it is. Exchange Online will not serve as a journaling mailbox and offers nothing to import a journal into. The realistic options are three. Import the journal PST files into holder mailboxes in Microsoft 365 that sit under a retention policy and a legal hold, one per year, since the Import service writes at most 100 GB into an archive mailbox per job. Or send the journal to a compliance archive that understands envelope journals, such as Mimecast, which accepts PST in envelope journal format as non per user data. Or have a migration tool explode the journal, which means writing a copy of each message into every internal recipient's own mailbox. The journal mailbox migration guide weighs the three. Whatever you pick, export the journal archive last with the same wizard and keep the envelope intact.

Import the Enterprise Vault PST Files into Office 365

The import side is the Office 365 Import service, covered in full in how to import PST to Office 365. The Enterprise Vault specific parts are these.

Not every file will be ready for that. Old exports on a share are often 2 GB ANSI PST files. Some are native MSG folders from an Export-EVArchive run with a different format switch. Others are PST files the export log marks as partial. That is where a converter earns its place. Univik Enterprise Vault Converter reads the EV PST exports directly without Outlook. It rebuilds the folder tree, splits the output into Unicode parts at the size you choose and keeps the journal envelope data intact. It also cross-checks the export log, so skipped items are reported rather than lost. Run it on the export share, then hand the parts to AzCopy.

Turn Enterprise Vault exports into import-ready PST parts in one run

Univik Enterprise Vault Converter reads EV PST, MSG and journal exports without Outlook. It rebuilds folders, keeps envelope journal data and writes Unicode PST parts sized for the Microsoft 365 Import service. Nothing leaves the EV server's network.

⬇️ Download Free Trial See All Features →

Windows Server or Windows 11 / 10 · reads exports offline · free trial processes a sample of every archive first

Native Export vs Migration Tools for Enterprise Vault

Four ways to migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365, side by side.

RouteCostShortcutsJournalNeeds EV runningFits
Export Archive wizard + Import serviceFreeManual cleanupPST to mailboxesYes, for exportUp to a few hundred archives, in-house team
Export-EVArchive script + converter + Import serviceConverter licenceManual cleanupEnvelope kept, split to sizeOnly for exportHundreds of archives, old exports, mixed formats
Migration platform (Quest Archive Shuttle, TransVault, Cloudficient)Per mailbox or per GBRehydratedSplit or explodedYes, plus their serversThousands of archives, multi TB journals, fixed deadline
Export to original mailboxes, then mailbox migrationFreeReplaced by EVNot applicableYesSmall archives on mailboxes still on-premises

After the Enterprise Vault Migration

The migration is finished when
  • Every archive in the Step 1 inventory has an import job marked Completed and the mailbox item counts match within the tolerance you set
  • A sample of users can open a 2014 message from their Office 365 archive mailbox with its attachment, and no Enterprise Vault shortcuts remain in their Inbox
  • The journal data is readable in its new home with BCC recipients visible in the envelope. Legal has signed off on the retention settings

Keep the exported PST files and the export logs for the retention period your policy demands, on storage that is backed up. Then decommission: stop the Enterprise Vault services and remove the Outlook add-in from the client build. Take the SQL databases and vault store partitions offline before deleting anything. The wider plan for archives that are not Enterprise Vault lives in the email archive migration guide. If the vault export was produced for a legal case rather than a migration, the Arctera eDiscovery export guide covers that product's own export formats.

Fix Common Enterprise Vault Migration Problems

Three faults stop most Enterprise Vault migrations. Each red You see box has its green Do this repair.

1Export fails with MAPI_E_CORRUPT_STORE or stops near 2 GB

Do this: The output is an ANSI PST that hit its limit, or an existing PST is being appended to. Re-run with Unicode and a fresh output folder. If one archive keeps failing, export it by date range in two halves and read the log for the item that breaks it.

2Users see shortcuts that open to an error after the cutover

Do this: The vault was switched off before the shortcuts were removed. Bring the EV server back online, import the archive PST into the Microsoft 365 archive mailbox, then purge items of class IPM.Note.EnterpriseVault.Shortcut from the mailbox and retire the server again.

3The Import job reports the archive mailbox is not enabled or the file is too large

Do this: One of three limits is in the way: Exchange Online Archiving is off for that user, a part is over 20 GB or the archive already holds close to 100 GB. Enable the archive, split the part or turn on auto-expanding archiving, then retry that row.

Planning an Enterprise Vault exit with a journal archive in the mix? Send our support team the archive count, the journal size and the target for each. We will map out the export order and the PST sizes before you buy anything.

Enterprise Vault migration questions

Can Enterprise Vault migrate directly to Office 365?
No. Enterprise Vault has no built-in push to Exchange Online. The supported native path to migrate Enterprise Vault to Office 365 is to export archives to PST files with the Export Archive wizard or Export-EVArchive, then import them with the Microsoft 365 Import service. Third-party migration platforms such as Quest Archive Shuttle, TransVault and Cloudficient automate the same journey for large estates.
What is Export-EVArchive?
A cmdlet in the Enterprise Vault Management Shell that exports one archive at a time to PST or native format. It takes -ArchiveId, -OutputDirectory, -Format PST and -MaxPSTSizeMB, so a CSV of archive IDs can drive a full export without clicking through the wizard for each one.
What happens to Enterprise Vault shortcuts after the migration?
They stop working the moment the vault goes offline. Import the archived items into the user's Microsoft 365 archive mailbox first, then remove the shortcuts. For mailboxes still on-premises use the Shortcut Deletion settings in the Exchange Mailbox Policy. In Exchange Online, purge the IPM.Note.EnterpriseVault.Shortcut message class.
How do I migrate an Enterprise Vault journal archive to Office 365?
Exchange Online refuses the journaling mailbox role and offers no journal store. The journal PST files go into holder mailboxes that sit under a retention policy, one per year so each stays below the 100 GB per archive import ceiling. Or they go into a compliance archive such as Mimecast that accepts envelope journal PST. Export the journal archive last and keep the envelope.
How large should the exported Enterprise Vault PST files be?
Under 20 GB, which is what the Microsoft 365 Import service recommends. The wizard allows up to 20480 MB for Unicode PST files and writes a numbered part when the limit is reached. Setting 18 GB leaves headroom for an Enterprise Vault export to PST. Never use ANSI, which stops at 2 GB and is prone to corruption.
Is Enterprise Vault still supported?
Yes. The product is now Arctera Enterprise Vault, version 15.2 at the time of writing. Arctera took over the Veritas data compliance business in December 2024 and was acquired by Cloud Software Group in December 2025. Enterprise Vault 12.x reached end of support in January 2024, which is one reason many customers are migrating now.
About This Guide

Written and maintained by and the Univik team, developers of Windows data conversion and recovery software since 2013. The Export Archive options, Export-EVArchive parameters and shortcut deletion settings in this guide were checked against Veritas and Arctera documentation, and the Microsoft 365 Import limits against Microsoft Learn. Last verified September 7, 2026. Need a hand? Contact our support team.

Sources checked: Veritas Enterprise Vault Administrator's Guide, Exporting archives · Veritas, Export-EVArchive PowerShell cmdlet · Veritas, Shortcut deletion in Exchange Mailbox Policy · Microsoft Learn, Overview of importing PST files to Microsoft 365 · Arctera, Cloud Software Group completes acquisition of Arctera

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