Migrate from Thread to Zoho Desk

Thread Conversations are multi-message chronological message chains. We export each message as a separate record with timestamp, author, channel metadata, and the shared conversation identifier, then map each message to a Zoho Desk Comment attached to a Zoho Desk Thread. The original conversation identifier is preserved as a custom field rt_conversation_id__c on the Zoho Thread for audit and cross-reference. Channel metadata (email, chat, social) maps to Zoho's channelType field on the Thread.

Thread Tickets carry status, priority, assignee, and PSA-linked fields when the ConnectWise integration is active. Status maps directly to Zoho Desk ticket.status, priority maps to ticket.priority, and assignee maps to the Zoho Desk agent lookup. PSA reference fields (ticket-to-work-order IDs) do not have a native Zoho Desk equivalent; we preserve them in a custom field rt_psa_ref__c on the Ticket for manual reconciliation by the customer's admin.

Thread User records (display name, email, role, team assignment) map directly to Zoho Desk Agent records. Role assignments map to Zoho Agent Roles (Agent, Supervisor, Admin) using a crosswalk built during discovery. Agent email is the dedupe key. If a Thread user has no corresponding Zoho Desk Agent provisioned at migration time, the record is held in a reconciliation queue pending admin provisioning.

Thread Teams group agents and set routing rules. Zoho Desk uses Departments for agent grouping and routing. We create a crosswalk table during mapping that maps each Thread team slug and name to a Zoho Desk Department. Department routing assignments for incoming tickets are documented separately for the admin to configure post-migration because routing rules are workflow-based and not migrated as code.

Thread Reviews include source platform, star rating, review text, response status, and linked ticket reference. Zoho Desk does not have a native review aggregation module; reviews live in the Help Center as customer-submitted feedback. We create a Help Center article record for each review and attach the review body and star rating as custom fields (rt_review_source__c, rt_star_rating__c). Agent responses to reviews become Comments on the linked Zoho Desk Ticket rather than native Help Center responses.

Thread agent responses to reviews are queued for migration only after the parent review record is confirmed in Zoho Desk. The response text migrates as a Comment on the linked Ticket record. This dependency sequencing prevents orphaned response text that has no associated review context in the destination. The original review-star rating and source platform are preserved in custom fields on the Ticket for customer service context.

Thread Integrations with HubSpot CRM, Mailchimp, and Google Sheets expose connection metadata and sync state. These do not migrate because Zoho Desk has its own native integrations for HubSpot CRM and Mailchimp. We export the integration configuration as reference data and provide a setup guide for the customer admin to reconnect these integrations in Zoho Desk post-migration.

Thread Response Templates are canned replies used by agents. Zoho Desk supports Macros (canned responses with variable placeholders) from Standard tier onward. We export the full template vocabulary and map template content and shortcut codes to Zoho Macros. If Zoho Macros are not available in the customer's purchased Zoho Desk tier, we flag this and recommend manual template documentation for copy-paste use.

File attachments within Thread conversations are stored on the Thread CDN. We download all attachments, rename them with conversation and ticket identifiers, re-host them to the customer's designated file storage (Zoho Docs or external), and link them to the corresponding Zoho Desk Ticket Comment record. Attachments exceeding Zoho Desk size limits (25 MB per file) are flagged for the customer to host externally with a link inserted in the comment.

Thread Tags applied to tickets and reviews allow categorization and reporting. We export the full tag vocabulary and map it to Zoho Desk Tags. Tags that exceed Zoho Desk character limits are truncated with a suffix noted in the mapping spreadsheet. Tag-based reporting does not migrate as dashboards; we deliver a tag inventory with Zoho Desk tag names for the customer admin to rebuild reports.

Thread allows custom fields on tickets and conversations. These vary by account configuration. We export the complete custom property schema alongside the data, map each field to a Zoho Desk Custom Field of equivalent type (text, number, date, picklist), and pre-create the custom fields in Zoho Desk before data import. Fields with no Zoho Desk equivalent are documented as custom field gaps for the admin to assess post-migration.

Thread Channels (the review source channels: Google, Facebook, Trustpilot, etc.) are the originating pipeline for review data. Zoho Desk does not have a native multi-channel review aggregator. We document the full list of active Thread channels and map them to Zoho Desk's supported communication channels (email, phone, chat, social) or flag them as channels requiring a Zoho Desk Add-on or third-party integration to receive reviews post-migration.