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Langley outlines Microsoft 365 migration plan; Whidbey Community Foundation grant will cover most upfront costs
Summary
City staff presented a phased IT modernization plan to move email and files to Microsoft 365 (.gov). A Whidbey Community Foundation grant will cover about 75% of one‑time costs; staff target an email cutover weekend in May or June and later phases for file sharing and telephony.
City staff presented a multi‑phase IT modernization proposal to replace an end‑of‑life physical server and migrate the organization to Microsoft 365 and a .gov domain. The mayor's presentation described projected savings compared with replacing the physical server, and noted the Whidbey Community Foundation grant will cover roughly 75% of one‑time costs.
The project will roll out in phases: email migration (phase 1) over a weekend in May or more likely June 12, file‑share migration targeted for July/August (phase 2), then telephony migration in August/September (phase 3). Staff emphasized that email will be inaccessible during the cutover weekend and that multifactor authentication will be required after migration.
Council members asked about contractor support, training time, license allocations and how SharePoint collaboration interacts with open‑meeting rules. Staff said contractors and the city's IT provider will support cutover and that not all commission members will receive full 365 licenses; staff will define permissions for shared access. Officials cautioned adoption will include an expected learning curve and that some post‑cutover training and assistance will occur on site.
