Meet the challenges of data restoration  

Restoring data to a protected system often presents unique challenges, such as the target system’s ability to receive large volumes of data and the throttling restrictions for incoming requests. 

New feature: Export Microsoft 365 user mailbox data to a PST file 

To address these challenges, we’ve added a new feature: you can export Microsoft 365 user mailbox data from x360Cloud to a  Personal Storage Table (PST) file, a widely accepted format for Microsoft Outlook. 

Based on our partner feedback, this feature is a game-changer for on-premises archiving and data portability.

NOTE: This feature will initially support Microsoft 365 Mail data exclusively, with a maximum limit of 100 GB per mailbox. Support for Calendar, Contacts, and Google Workspace mailboxes is planned for future updates.

 What are the benefits of PST exports?

• Fast and efficient exports: Quickly retrieve Microsoft Outlook data to save time during urgent situations.
• Simplified offboarding: Easily create offline copies of mailboxes for smooth and efficient employee offboarding.
• Regulatory compliance and audits: Meet regulatory requirements and provide readable mailbox copies for legal or internal investigations.
• Greater flexibility: Export PST files to any desired location, offering flexibility in data storage and restoration.
• Detailed data review: Preview and analyze exported PST contents to identify specific items from backed-up mailboxes before restoration.

1. In the Reseller Dashboard, open the Organizations page and click the name of the organization you want to manage.

 2. Using the left hand navigation menu, click Accounts and navigate to the list of users on the Microsoft 365 Users Accounts page.

3. Select the user whose mailbox data you want to export by clicking that User Name.

The “User details” sidebar will open on the right of the window.

Click the Export user data button to begin the exportation process.

Note: The Export user data button is not available for mailboxes with more than 100 GB of data in backup. We will be releasing support for these large mailboxes in future versions.

 4. An Export User window will open.   

Click the Export button to confirm the operation.

The system will notify you after a successful export initiation.

NOTE: Please be aware that exporting can take a significant amount of time, depending on the amount of data backed up for the exported user account. 

How to monitor export status 

To check the export status, navigate to the organization’s Dashboard and open the Exports tab in the Recent Activity Report section.

 The list of activities contains all exports with the following key details:

• Status will indicate the current state of the export:
  • In Progress: The export is ongoing.
  • Complete: The export procedure has finished, and the resulting PST file is ready for download. The "Export Progress" column shows completion rates.
  • **Partial: The export could not be completed for a part of the selected items. But the other part is available for download. See more details in the "Notes on a partial export"  section below.
  • Failed: The export failed, and the PST file is unavailable. In this case, please contact the Support team.

Other details on this report include:

• Initiated: Date and time the export was started.
• Service: Indicates which Microsoft 365 service data was exported.
• Initiated by: Email address of the user who initiated the export.
• Export ID: Contains the email address of the user whose data is exported.
• Progress: Displays the number of objects successfully exported, e.g., “80% of 100 objects” indicates 80 objects were exported successfully.

**Notes on a Partial export:

• The Partial export status indicates that the system could not export some objects, but the rest were successfully exported and are now available in the resulting PST file.
• The Progress column will indicate the percentage of successfully exported items. 

To review which objects were successfully exported and which were not:

• Click the Partial status link to open the export detail dialog
• Download the  “Contents” CSV file. 
• Review the "Contents" file, which lists all the objects and their export statuses. 

Important: Currently, there is no option to retry exporting a set of failed objects in one click, and the export feature is not available for search results. If problematic objects could not be exported, please contact our Support team.

How to view objects selected for export

Each completed export includes a “Contents” CSV file, which lists the selected objects and their status.

The “Contents” file, available for download in the “Export Detail” dialog, contains:

• Title: subject of the email.
• Folder Path: email location in the folder structure.
• Export Status: indicates whether the object was successfully exported (“Success”) or failed (“Failure”).

 How to download the exported PST data

To download the PST file, click the Download icon in the Actions column of the Exports table.

Additional export details, including archive file size and export completion time, can be found in the Export Detail dialog. To access this, click the Complete link in the Status column.

Note: For quicker downloads, the PST file is archived (zipped). You will need to unpack the zipped archive to access the PST file for further importing into a target system. With large data volumes, the zipped archive will contain several PST files – up to 50 GB each. 

For example: 

• Pstbig@nfrnet.onmicrosoft.com_Mail_2024-10-01_18-27-11.pst
• Pstbig@nfrnet.onmicrosoft.com_Mail_2024-10-01_18-27-11-001.pst
• Pstbig@nfrnet.onmicrosoft.com_Mail_2024-10-01_18-27-11-002.pst  

These PST files can be imported in a random order.

Frequently-asked questions

What is supported? 
This feature currently supports Microsoft 365 Mail data, with a maximum limit of 100 GB per mailbox

Will additional components be supported later?
Support for Calendar, Contacts, and Google Workspace mailboxes is planned for future updates

How can I activate this feature?
The PST export feature requires no config and is available for each Microsoft 365 user account

Will this have additional costs?
No, the PST export feature is included with your x360cloud license

Does PST export include archive mailboxes as well?
No

What type of accounts can do PST exports?
Any M365 account with mailbox data backed up in x360Cloud can export it's data as a PST file.