Introduction
Performing a successful Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration involves a structured process of preparing the scope of work, mapping use accounts, and initiating the transfer process.
Your team can streamline these processes by following proper approaches and working with the right migration solutions provider, including us.
As preparation, you can check the strategies and steps we have listed in this detailed guide. We encourage you to check out all the sections of this guide to gain strategic actionable insights.
You can also get started by watching this migration video for a quick walkthrough of all the steps of our migration tool:
Why do Businesses Perform Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 Migrations?
Consolidation is one of the most common use cases for businesses of all sizes and industries to migrate from Google Workspace to Office 365. We have had a lot of business customers leveraging our solutions for their plan to consolidate into Microsoft 365 by moving away from Google Workspace.
Benefits of Migrating from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365
Businesses move from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 for various strategic advantages, such as:
- Simplifying cloud licensing
- Standardization of platforms
- Data governance in a single cloud suite
The more specific benefits largely depend on the migration use cases, such as consolidations, organizational restructuring, and more.
Potential Challenges and Solutions
Challenges often come in the way of performing a successful Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration. Here are some of the common challenges that your team must address:
- Migrating a lot of TBs or PBs of data
- Migrating a high volume of users
- Preserving complex sharing permissions
- Retaining all the metadata
- Maintaining security when the data is in transit
Planning Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 Migration
The better the planning, the higher the odds of a resounding migration success. We have laid the planning framework below that you can follow for your team:
1. Pre-Migration Analysis
First off, it is important that your team performs a thorough pre-migration analysis of the source cloud, Google Workspace. Check all the apps, the usage patterns, and the collaboration between individual users and their teams. Understanding your company’s Google Workspace usage helps your team prepare the scope migration.
2. Preparing the Scope of Work
The next task of the planning phase is to prepare the scope of work which includes everything your company needs to migrate from Google Workspace to Office 365. If your company is planning to migration completely, here are some of the migration paths your team have to prioritize:
Google Drive to OneDrive migration
Google Drive to SharePoint Online migration
Google Shared Drives to OneDrive migration
Google Shared Drives to SharePoint Online migration
Gmail to Outlook migration
Google Chat to Microsoft Teams migration
3. Choosing Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 Migration Tool
The right migration tool plays a critical role in enabling your team to transfer Google Workspace data to Microsoft 365 without any performance or security compromises. Therefore, it is critical to choose a Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration tool that meets your company’s requirements.
At CloudFuze, we offer the industry’s most advanced Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration tool that offers world-class performance, and enterprise-grade security and scalability. Some of the world’s largest enterprises have used our tool to migrate to Microsoft 365 from Google Workspace and other clouds.
Preparing for the Migration
Proper preparedness is a must when it comes to performing the migration in a smooth way and ensuring a seamless switch to Microsoft 365.
1. User Mapping
The accuracy of the Google Workspace to Office 365 migration depends on the user mapping. Our tool offers auto-mapping and CSV mapping options. We recommend using the auto-mapping option for straightforward mapping and the CSV mapping for custom mapping paths.
2. Admin Login Credentials
Before starting the migration, make sure to have the admin login details for both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 ready.
3. Data Backup
Having an extra backup of your company’s Google Workspace data can be helpful in case of unanticipated roadblock during the journey.
Steps to Migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365
Check out all the migrations steps on our webapp. Since Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration involves migration between multiple drives and apps, we have shown Google Drive to OneDrive migration as the example:
Step 1: Login into CloudFuze
First off, log into our webapp. Don’t have an account? Create one here.
Step 2: Add the Google Drive Cloud
Under the Business Clouds section of our webapp’s dashboard, locate the Google Drive cloud and click on “Add Cloud.”
Step 3: Authenticate the Google Drive Cloud
Click on “Continue” to authenticate and authorize the Google Drive cloud to our webapp. By implementing OAuth, we make the cloud authentication process highly secure.
Step 4: Add the OneDrive Cloud
Similarly, add the OneDrive cloud by locating it in the Business Clouds section.
Step 5: Authenticate the OneDrive Cloud
Click on “Accept” to authenticate OneDrive to our webapp.
Step 6: Confirm the Clouds Addition
Toggle to the Manage Clouds tab and check and ensure both clouds, Google Drive and OneDrive, are added properly.
Step 7: Configure the Source and Destination Cloud
Open the Team Migration panel. There, select Google Drive as the source and OneDrive as the destination cloud and click on “Next.”
Step 8: Create User Mapping
Next, map the user accounts to point to OneDrive from Google Drive. You can either use the auto-mapping or CSV mapping option.
Step 9: Choose Migration Options
Choose options that best meet your migration needs. Select the features you want to preserve in the destination cloud and choose the migration job type as one-time when you perform the migration the first time around.
Step 10: Start the Migration Process
After configuring all the parameters, click on “Start Migration” to start the migration process.
Step 11: Monitor the Migration
After the migration process starts, you will be redirected to the Reports dashboard. Check all the status of the ongoing migration jobs. The dashboard will display the “Processed” and “Completed” messages after the users and their data are migrated over.
Post-Migration Activities
After the completion of one-time migration, your team must perform several post-migration tasks to ensure proper completion of the entire migration project.
1. Delta Migration
Incremental changes build up at Google Workspace drives and apps when the users continue working during the one-time migration. It is important to migrate these incremental changes via a delta migration.
2. Migration Validation
Check the migration reports to validate the migration. Make sure to review all the mission-critical parameters, such as the total number of users migrated, the total number of files and folders migrated, file/folder name and long folder path status, conflicts and warnings, and more.
3. Post-Migration Integration
Ensure proper integration of the third-party tools and services with the data you have migrated to Microsoft 365. Almost always, businesses aiming for integration replication install the same or similar apps and services they have used with Google Workspace data from the Microsoft Store.
4. User Onboarding and Go Live
Provide users with proper training prior to onboarding them. After they are ready, onboard them and adopt the Microsoft 365 cloud suite at a full scale.
Conclusion
Are the strategies and steps of this guide insightful to you? If yes, feel free to leverage them in planning your company’s Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration.
Let us do the heavy lifting for your team with our industry-leading migration solutions. With our managed migration service, we handhold your team in every step of the way to ensure 100% success!
Have more queries? Chat with our experts live to get your query answered ASAP. You can also share your migration requirements and goals for a free and no-obligation tailored price quote.