Learn How to Migrate from Google Workspace to Office 365 Environment
Synopsis: Are you stuck in moving Google Workspace to Office 365? Go through this write-up, it provides complete insights into the pitfalls of manual methods as – manually migrating from Google Workspace to Office 365 is a complicated and risky task. Hence, it describes a timesaving solution for a seamless switch to Office 365.
Table of Contents
If an organization is unsatisfied with its G Suite subscription, the next question in the minds of administrators is how to migrate from Google Workspace to Office 365 environment. However, the problem is that the traditional methods fail to deliver timely and accurate results.
As a result, organizations have to extend the downtime and face potential revenue losses. This does not have to be the way to deal with an inter-cloud transfer like during the switch from Google to Microsoft. So in this write-up, we will explain what are the manual methods why are they problematic, and how a professional remedy avoids all the issues. So let’s first start by finalizing the need for conducting a migration.
Why Shift from Google Workspace to Office 365 at All?
- Mergers and acquisitions: These occur when an organization buys out another, or two interested companies join together. After this happens IT admins must coordinate to bring the entire workforce from their target here it’s Google Workspace to the destination which is Microsoft 365.
- Internal requirement change: Companies always want to improve the productivity of their employees. So if they feel that Microsoft’s cloud solution provides better value, they might look to change their existing provider.
Other reasons derive from these core tenets. Next up we discuss how PowerShell assists in this task. However, before getting into the solution it is suggested to go through a comprehensive migration checklist to Office 365 to ensure minimal disruption,
How to Migrate from Google Workspace to Office 365 Using Powershell Commands?
Step 1. Establish a link to PowerShell’s Exchange Online setup
Note: You need to have the Google Workspace super admin credential with you. Without it, you won’t be able to perform a connectivity check between the endpoints.
Step 2. Once the PowerShell is live, type the following:
Test-MigrationServerAvailability -Gmail -ServiceAccountKeyFileData $([System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes("C:\\filepath\\adminkeyfile.json")) -EmailAddress [email protected]
Step 3. Perform a self-verification to see if the connection is successful or not. Once successful, use the command with your modifications
New-MigrationEndpoint -Gmail -ServiceAccountKeyFileData $([System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes("C:\\filepath\\adminkeyfile.json")) -EmailAddress [email protected] -Name gmailEndpoint
Step 4. Prepare a new batch for migration within Microsoft 365. Re-connect to the PowerShell Exchange Online version. And continue with the answer to how to migrate from Google Workspace to Office 365 environment.
Step 5. Prepare a CSV with all users in a row-wise format. The header row can only contain
EmailAddress: This is mandatory and needs to be filled with the primary email address for the M365 mailbox
Another optional header is Username use it only when the Gmail primary email address does not match EmailAddress.
Step 6. After you save the CSV execute the command:
New-MigrationBatch -SourceEndpoint gmailEndpoint -Name newGmailBatch -CSVData $([System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes("C:\\sourcepath\\gmaildata.csv")) -TargetDeliveryDomain "o365.domain.com"
Step 7. Admins can start the current migration batch using the command:
Start-MigrationBatch -Identity newGmailBatch
Step 8. To see the status of the batch type:
Get-MigrationBatch -Identity newGmailBatch
Step 9. If the output that you receive after the previous command is Synced, Then end the migration by using:
Complete-MigrationBatch
Shift Google Workspace to Office 365 Manually Via Exchange Admin Center
Step 1. Open EAC, visit Migration and press Add migration batch.
Step 2. Under Add migration batch:
- Enter a new batch name
- Select mailbox migration, verify with Exchange Online, & hit Next
Step 3. Under Select the migration type screen, choose Google Workspace (Gmail) migration, then hit Next.
Step 4. In the Prerequisites for Google Workspace migration screen, toggle Manually configure your Google Workspace for migration and do this.
- Make a Google Service Account
- Set project API Usage
- Give service account access to Google tenant
- Once done, hit Next.
Step 5. Inside Set a migration endpoint screen pick any one from the following:
- Select the migration endpoint: pick a premade migration endpoint present on the drop-down list.
- Create a new migration endpoint: first-time users need to pick this option.
Step 6. How to migrate from Google Workspace to Office 365 using the new migration endpoint:
Step 6.1. Visit the General Information page, and fill out the following :
- Migration Endpoint Name
- Maximum concurrent migrations
- Maximum concurrent incremental syncs
- Once done, hit Next.
Step 6.2. In the Gmail migration configuration screen, do this:
- Type the email address you want for Google Workspace.
- Tap Import JSON. In the window that appears, browse for the JSON file and Open it.
- Once the endpoint is successfully created, it will be listed under the Select Migration endpoint drop-down. Select it & click Next.
Step 7. Prepare a CSV like the one explained in the PowerShell step. Inside the Add user mailboxes screen, click Import CSV file and browse the folder where the CSV is.
Step 9. Inside the Move configuration screen, pick the Target delivery domain, verify details then press Next.
Step 10. Inside the Schedule batch migration screen, verify details, click Save, then Done.
Step 11. In EAC
- Under migration, pick the batch.
- Press Complete migration batch
- On the Details pane, press Confirm. Migration batch completion is indicated when the status updates to Completed.
Best Practices While Moving Google Workspace to Office 365
These points will show you how to migrate from Google Workspace to Office 365 in the best possible way.
- Add any new users directly to the target and as users to reduce the mail frequency temporarily.
- Disable the Default MRM Policy and Archive policies if you go with the manual method. As it can cause false positive failure notice.
- Keep TTL as short as possible to resume regular mailbox functionality quickly.
- Only go through the PowerShell method if you have a thorough understanding of the cmdets.
- Schedule the migration during off hours to avoid in-house interference.
- Keep the local infrastructure ready, and make sure no other demanding background tasks are running.
- Prepare an AI-generated user list to carry out a synthetic migration. Do this instead of a real pilot project to test out the migration. This eliminates user data loss.
- One of the easiest best practices is to simply skip over the manual methods. For that, you need not go anywhere else, as we have a solution right here.
Automated Alternative Way to Manual Cloud Data Transfer from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365
End the struggle with the question of how to migrate from Google Workspace to Office 365 environment with the SysTools G Suite to Office 365 Migration Tool. The tool is designed specifically to handle all inter-cloud transfer requests. With an intuitive interface, it only takes minutes for admins to get familiar with the setup. So, admins can quickly get to the main task of switching user data locations. Users face minimal interruption as the tool can automate all the manual steps. Now let’s discuss the steps in detail.
Software Steps to Migrate from Google Workspace to Office 365
The steps to use the tool are as follows.
Step 1. Start by installing a copy on your machine. Launch it, select G Suite (now Google Workspace) as the source, and Office 365 as the destination.
Step 2. Mark the boxes next to the Workload you want to move from Google Workspace to Office 365. If you want, there is a Date Filter for selecting the workload timeline.
Step 3. Then go to the Source page, where you add the admin email, service account, and the p12 certificate for the project. Press Validate, wait for the green signal and hit Next.
Step 4. Likewise, on the target screen, enter the admin email and application ID for Office 365 Validate and press Next.
Step 5. On the user mapping portal, select any one option out of Fetch Users, Import CSV, or Download Template.
Step 6. On the preview page check the user list and mark the ones you want to move. Apply priority to the user selection. Validate and Press Start Migration.
Feature Set of the Modern Cloud Switching Utility
These are some of the unique features you get access to after choosing it as your migration agent.
- Mark only the user-item type you want to move and keep the rest as they are. Giving next-level customization during cloud platform change.
- Within the Workload toggle, there are specialized buttons to move permissions and group data alongside the usual mail, calendar, contacts, and documents.
- Apply the date filter independently to each workload. Use it to bring only the historical user data you want at the destination.
- Use the admin account credentials to carry out migration from the workstation of your choice. This alone makes the tool the best answer for how to migrate from Google Workspace to Office 365 family.
- Get a user list by pulling it directly from the source, adding your premade CSV, or using the sample in the tool to make a custom list and uploading it.
- The advanced user selection portal gives the admin the freedom to pick and choose the members they want to move.
- With the priority options, admins can test out their synthetic migration by marking the artificial user accounts they made.
- A list of re-run options covering all possible migration scenarios. A delta run for items that popped up inside the source during the first pass. Re-try failed to move the data that was left after the initial run. And redo the complete migration in rare situations where migration ends abruptly.
- With the reporting feature, admins have access to a summarized report for a quick overview and detailed reports for individual user-level analysis.
Conclusion
For users who were struggling with a query regarding how to migrate from Google Workspace to Office 365, the content in this write-up should suffice. We gave them a well-thought-out strategy on the method to bypass the manual method. If admins choose to equip themselves with the tool discussed above, they can switch cloud providers in no time. So we once again emphasize that to conduct an error-free migration, it is best to choose a professional tool.