Mimecast, a service provider specializing in e-mail archiving, security and continuity, is offering six months of free migration services for customers who take the plunge into Microsoft Office 365 or Microsoft Exchange 2010. The deal extends to channel partners looking to move clients to the cloud, too.

The Mimecast Migration Services offering includes a 58-day rolling archive of inbound, outbound and internal e-mail that can be accessed by users at any time via their webmail inboxes. That archive is intended to make sure nothing is lost or unavailable during planned or unplanned server downtime during a cloud migration.

The other half of the migration tool is the Mimecast Mail Transfer Agent (MTA), which enables IT pros to automate which mail gets routed through which server, maximizing control and minimizing the extent to which the user even realizes a migration is occurring.

It’s an extension of the same Mimecast products service provider NaviSite has been using with its own cloud customers. And Mimecast is claiming it’s eating $30 million in costs with this six-months-free deal.

Of course, Mimecast isn’t the only one offering Office 365 onboarding and migration services. But to my knowledge, it’s the only provider giving it away for free.

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