Can MIM create mailboxes directly to Exchange online without having a local /onprem exchange server?

IAMUser 6

I'm exploring on getting away from having exchange on premises. Is it possible for MIM to directly create mailboxes to exchange online. Looking at the article below, it shows a couple of options to connect O365 and to SMTP.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-identity-manager/install-mim-service-portal-azure-ad-premium

With those options, is an onprem exchange server still needed?

Thank you in advanced.

Viki Ji_MSFT 4,411 Reputation points

2021-09-17T01:45:15.783+00:00

Hi @IAMUser ,
Welcome to Q&A forum!
Since the tag office-online-server-exchange focuses on general issues about integrating Office Online Server with Exchange Server. I will remove it and add a tag more related to your issue.
Hope you can get a reply as soon as possible.
Kael Yao-MSFT 37,491 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2021-09-17T06:49:42.933+00:00

Hi @IAMUser

I suppose instead of MIM, you may also use Azure AD Connect to sync your on-premises AD accounts with Azure AD, then assign O365 licenses to the accounts to enable mailboxes for them.
However, it is more recommended to have an on-premises Exchange server and set a hybrid deployment for management purposes.
For mote information,please refer to this link: How and when to decommission your on-premises Exchange servers in a hybrid deployment
Kael Yao-MSFT 37,491 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2021-09-22T08:30:48.98+00:00

Hi @IAMUser

Just checking in to see if above information was helpful.

Did the issue get resolved?
Shivam Pratap Singh 0 Reputation points

2023-09-14T14:26:00.54+00:00

I still dont see a proper approach defined for this can we use Powersehll connnector in MIM to create mailboxes in Office 365 directly ?