Sound familiar?
- Your clients send Word and Excel files and Google Docs keep mangling the formatting
- You need desktop Excel for macros or Power Query
- Your accountant or a key client works entirely in Microsoft 365 and Teams
- You want Intune device management and Conditional Access
- You are paying for both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365
Key facts
- Gmail, Google Calendar and contacts move with the Google Workspace migration built into the Exchange admin centre
- Google Drive and shared drives move to OneDrive and SharePoint with Microsoft Migration Manager
- Google Docs, Sheets and Slides are converted to Word, Excel and PowerPoint during the move
- Gmail labels become Outlook folders; a message with several labels can appear in several folders
- Google Forms, Sites and Apps Script do not migrate and need rebuilding or replacing
- Google Workspace is only cancelled after mail flow and files are checked
Why businesses switch
Google Workspace is a good platform, and we support it too (see Google Workspace support). The businesses we move to Microsoft 365 usually have a specific reason: they live in desktop Excel, their clients and suppliers send Office files all day, they want Teams, or they need device management through Intune and the security features in Business Premium. If you are still deciding, read our Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace comparison first.
What moves, and how
| Microsoft 365 | How | |
|---|---|---|
| Gmail | Exchange Online mailbox in Outlook | Google Workspace migration batch in the Exchange admin centre |
| Google Calendar | Outlook calendar | Same migration batch |
| Contacts | Outlook contacts | Same migration batch |
| My Drive | OneDrive | Migration Manager, Google Drive source |
| Shared drives | SharePoint team sites | Migration Manager, mapped to sites we create |
| Google Groups | Distribution lists or Microsoft 365 groups | Recreated, members checked |
| Google Chat and Meet | Teams | Not migrated; fresh start in Teams |
The Exchange Online tool needs a Google Cloud project and a service account with domain-wide delegation, which we set up in your Google Admin console and remove after the move. Microsoft's Migration Manager connects to Google through an admin account, scans Drive first and reports problem files before anything moves.
Things that do not move cleanly
We tell you about these at the start, not after the switch:
- Gmail labels. Outlook uses folders. A message with three labels can end up in three folders. Archived mail without a label lands in an archive folder.
- Google Docs formatting. Docs, Sheets and Slides are converted to Office formats. Simple files convert well; complex sheets with Google-only functions such as IMPORTRANGE or QUERY need checking and fixing.
- Forms, Sites and Apps Script. These are not migrated. We help you replace them with Microsoft Forms, SharePoint pages or Power Automate, or with something else if that suits better.
- Sharing. Google sharing links do not carry over. We set access by team in SharePoint instead, which is usually tidier.
- Booking pages and calendar resources. Rooms and appointment schedules are recreated in Outlook or Microsoft Bookings.
The switch-over
- Create the Microsoft 365 tenant, verify your domain and create users with MFA.
- Copy mail, calendars, contacts and files in the background while you keep working in Google.
- Lower DNS TTLs, then change the MX record to Microsoft 365, update SPF to include Microsoft rather than Google, and add Autodiscover.
- Run the final mail sync and a final file pass.
- Set up Outlook, Teams and OneDrive on laptops and phones.
- Turn on DKIM for Microsoft 365 and set DMARC. See setting up SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
- Export an archive from Google with Google Takeout or Vault if you want one, then cancel Google Workspace.
Helping your team through the change
Staff who have used Gmail and Google Drive for years will notice the difference on day one. We plan for that:
- Short handover sessions covering Outlook basics, finding files in OneDrive and SharePoint, and how Teams replaces Google Chat and Meet.
- Shortcuts and habits: how to search mail in Outlook, set up a signature, share a file with a link and co-author a document live.
- Phones: installing the Outlook, Teams and OneDrive apps, and removing the old Google account so mail is not split across two inboxes.
- A first-week check-in to deal with the small things that only show up in real use, such as a missing calendar share or a folder in the wrong place.
Clients on our Complete plan get this ongoing through the included Microsoft 365 helpdesk.
Cost
Each move is quoted upfront after we look at your user count, mailbox sizes and Drive data. The quote covers setup, migration, DNS, device setup and a short handover. Microsoft 365 licences are separate and paid to Microsoft or your supplier; we can advise on which licence each person needs.
Follow-up fixes are £45 an hour + VAT, and the Complete plan at £99 a month + VAT gives your team an ongoing Microsoft 365 helpdesk.
Frequently asked questions
Can you move our Gmail to Outlook without losing anything?
Yes. dijitul uses the Google Workspace migration built into the Exchange admin centre to copy mail, calendars and contacts into Microsoft 365 before the switch, then runs a final sync after the MX record changes. Labels become folders, so mail may look organised slightly differently.
What happens to our Google Docs and Sheets?
They are converted to Word, Excel and PowerPoint files when dijitul moves Google Drive into OneDrive and SharePoint with Microsoft Migration Manager. Most files convert well. Sheets using Google-only functions need checking, and we flag those during the pre-migration scan.
How long does it take to switch from Google Workspace?
A small business is usually planned and moved within one to two weeks, with the email cut-over done out of hours. Large Drive libraries take longer because the data must be copied and converted. dijitul gives you a timeline with the quote.
Will our email address change?
No. Your domain and addresses stay exactly the same. dijitul moves the domain to Microsoft 365 and updates the DNS records so mail flows to the new mailboxes. Aliases and group addresses such as info@ are recreated on the Microsoft side.
When can we cancel Google Workspace?
Only after mail flow, calendars and files have been checked in Microsoft 365. dijitul recommends keeping Google for a short overlap, exporting an archive with Google Takeout or Vault if you want one, and then cancelling to avoid paying twice.
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