Why It’s Time to Migrate PST Files to Microsoft 365—Especially with the New Outlook

Why It’s Time to Migrate PST Files to Microsoft 365—Especially with the New Outlook

With Microsoft rolling out the New Outlook, organizations are rethinking how they manage legacy email data—especially PST files. If your business still relies on personal storage files (PSTs) to archive or access old emails, now is the time to move forward. At Data Icon, we help organizations modernize their data landscape—and migrating PSTs to Microsoft 365 is a key step.

What’s Changing in Outlook?

The New Outlook for Windows is leaner, cloud-connected, and focused on modern productivity. But with that comes a major change: PST file support is being phased out. You won’t be able to open or import PSTs directly in the new experience. For IT teams and data managers, this isn’t just a UX shift—it’s a data accessibility issue.

Why PST Files Are a Problem

PSTs were a decent workaround in the early 2000s. Today, they’re a liability:

• Data Loss Risk: PSTs stored on local machines are vulnerable to corruption, accidental deletion, or hardware failure.

• Compliance Challenges: It’s nearly impossible to centrally manage or audit PSTs across users.

• Limited Accessibility: In a remote-first world, files trapped on desktops are useless to hybrid teams.

Microsoft 365 Solves This—If You Make the Move

Microsoft 365 offers secure, compliant, cloud-native storage for email data. By migrating PSTs to users’ online mailboxes or archive mailboxes, you:

• Centralize data for compliance and discovery

• Eliminate corruption-prone local storage

• Enable anytime, anywhere access

• Improve Outlook performance by reducing legacy data load

How Data Icon Helps

At Data Icon, we don’t just migrate—we modernize. Our PST to Microsoft 365 migration service is designed to:

• Scan and locate PSTs across the environment (no staging)

• Assess data volume and risk

• Map and migrate to the correct mailboxes

• Preserve metadata and compliance requirements

• Minimize end-user disruption

The Clock Is Ticking

With Microsoft making PSTs a thing of the past, clinging to old file-based systems only increases risk. Migrating now is about future-proofing—and ensuring your users have seamless, secure access to their historical data within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

Let’s talk about how we can help you make the move—before you’re forced to.

If you are still using PST files, now is the time to consider making the transition to Microsoft 365. With its powerful features, cloud-based infrastructure, and ongoing improvements, M365 provides a future-proof solution that can help your business stay agile and secure in an ever-changing digital landscape.

Are you ready to migrate your PST files to Microsoft 365? Contact us today to learn more about how we can help streamline your migration process and unlock the full potential of M365.

Data Focused. Data Experts. Data Icon.