The number of Microsoft partners making migration tools and services available has been growing, responding to the demand for help from customers. One such partner is SkyKick, whose Office Live Switching Application automatically moves a company's website and email, calendar and contacts, including their domain, from Office Live to Office 365.

"We've designed it so that anyone can move their business in just 10 minutes of their time, with no IT experience required," said SkyKick Co-CEO Todd Schwartz via email.

The OLSB closure and migration process hasn't provided good publicity for Microsoft, which is in a dogfight with Google in the market for cloud-based e-mail and collaboration suites. Microsoft's Office 365 competes directly with Google Apps. The small business-segment is an important one in this market, accounting for most of the initial Office 365 sign-ups.

Unsurprisingly, another point of contention for small business customers has been cost, because Office 365 is generally more expensive than OLSB, and having to hire a Microsoft partner to carry out the transition adds to the cost.

OLSB is free, with optional fee-based add-ons. In comparison, the Office 365 plan for small businesses, called P1, costs US$6 per user, per month, and more if customers add the option of Office Professional Plus, an upgrade over the standard Office Web Apps.