How to migrate your team from one messenger to another
The decision to migrate from one team messenger to another is quite challenging and brings various difficulties along the way. However, if you wish to find a better team messenger alternative, start with the reasons for migration:
- Price and licensing. Price increases while your team grows. Still, a less expensive team messenger does not mean a better team messenger. To find a more affordable solution, consider self-hosted apps that offer perpetual licenses.
- Security and privacy. You may need a business messenger with stronger compliance or worry about data being stored on third-party servers. In this case, you may look for solutions with self-deployment.
- Integration needs. The requirements to integrate with other business apps or web portals may require a specific API.
- Lack of features. Sometimes, the requirements of some features may be quite critical and force migration to a different team messaging app.
- Scalability and performance. If your current system cannot handle the number of users you have or limit the data storage, it may be necessary to go with a more reliable solution or select the one that you can host on-premises.
How to choose a better collaboration tool for your team
Right after you have defined the main reasons for migration to a different business messenger app, you need to start looking for an alternative that will satisfy your current business needs. First of all, what are your main requirements for the app? Carefully list them and then start looking for business messenger alternatives.
Another important step is to decide what kind of data you wish to transfer: only user accounts, chat conversations, files, or other configurations.
After making a decision, you can start testing your new messaging app and gradually transfer your data there.
Next, you need to notify your team about changes and provide installation guidelines, login details, and user manuals. The training and support with a new team messenger may be necessary, depending on the complexity of the workflow.
After the team collaboration tool migration, you need to run both systems in parallel for a short overlap to ensure a smooth transition and that no information is lost during the process. It is also necessary to double-check permissions and reconfigure them, as team messaging apps are not identical, and user permissions can be quite complicated, making them unavailable for direct transfer.
How you can migrate to Virola Messenger
Virola is a secure self-hosted business messenger with a rich set of collaboration tools such as task board, video and audio meetings, screen sharing and remote control, multiple text message formats, live avatars, and many more. There are several ways to import users to Virola Messenger:
- Import from a directory service
- Import from JSON
- User self-registration
While allowing users to join via a self-registration link, you ensure a secure process where users define their passwords and are automatically added to specific groups. With the help of Virola permissions, you can create group chat rooms where new users are added automatically right after the registration process. It's the most secure way to create your new communication environment.
In addition, for selected groups, you can get group chat room links and send them to those users who are supposed to join them. Deep links functionality in Virola is a convenient way to automate the user management process.
The bottom line
Switching to a new team messenger isn't just a technical exercise. It's a chance to refresh how your people communicate, collaborate, and protect information. By planning ahead, communicating clearly, and moving data and users in a structured way, you reduce disruption and build trust in the new platform.
Handled well, team collaboration tool migration doesn't feel like a burden. It becomes an upgrade. The result is a tool your team actually wants to use — with stronger security, better features, and a smoother workflow.