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No matter the size of your firm or organization, migrating its data from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 or Office 365 can be performed relatively straightforwardly and step-by-step. Given that neither Google nor Microsoft wants you to leave them as clients, there's no one-click migration solution. But doing so painlessly is possible if you have a sound understanding of the steps you need to take and the right combination of time, talent, and resources to execute your migration plan.
When implementing your plan, great care must be taken to perform each step thoroughly, using the right tools and making adjustments as necessary. Before initiating a migration, your firm's IT leadership should strategically assess whether you have the in-house expertise, time, and resources to complete a successful migration and, if not, whether you need a reputable managed service provider to help.
Assessing your in-house capacity begins with understanding the migration process. You'll first need to determine whether you intend to migrate users manually or automatically. When you do so manually, you'll need to establish Outlook accounts for each user and take specific steps to import their Google data into those accounts. Doing so automatically means you'll be using a software tool to move all user data from Gmail to Outlook at once. In many cases, automatic migration may be less time-consuming. However, finding the right third-party tool to migrate your data reliably can be challenging. Using the wrong tool will cost you data and time spent retrieving what's been lost.
Many third-party software applications claim to make the migration process more efficient and secure. But some are more time-consuming than manual migration, not to mention more expensive. And some may be carrying malware that can make a relatively straightforward process a nightmare.
Before you start, your administrator must ensure that they own the Microsoft 365 or Office 365 domain used for the migration. Next, two-step verification must be enabled on all Gmail user accounts and passwords created, allowing Gmail users to connect to their Outlook accounts.
You'll then begin creating users in Microsoft 365 or Outlook 365 that match those of the Gmail users you wish to migrate. You'll need to create a migration file, which is easily done using Microsoft Excel. You'll also need to know each account's passwords, which will likely require you to reset all passwords in the Admin console and provide users with temporary ones. Log in to the Google Workspace admin panel, open Excel, and create a worksheet that includes each user's email address in column A, username in column B, and password in column C. Use the following headings for columns A, B, and C in row 1: EmailAddress, UserName, and Password. Then save the file in CSV format.
Depending on the number of accounts, you can migrate them all at once or in batches. Your migration file must be limited to 50,000 rows and a 10 MB file size. But even within those limits, it's usually preferable to migrate a large number of users in batches. Batch migration allows you to ensure that all data is being migrated completely and course, correct in case of errors. To migrate your users in batches, partition your migration file into smaller CSV files, each comprising a batch of users you intend to migrate.
Next, you'll need to create what's called a migration endpoint. A migration endpoint refers to a configuration of settings and credentials necessary for a server containing mailboxes to be moved to Microsoft 365 or Office 365. To do so, you'll need to open the Exchange admin center, select Migration endpoints, and select New. On the subsequent Select the migration endpoint page, select IMAP, then select IMAP server to imap.gmail.com when prompted on the IMAP configuration page. You should see an Enter general information page where you'll name your migration point.
Next, you'll use your migration file to move your mailboxes. In the Exchange admin console, you'll navigate to Recipients, then migration, Migrate to Exchange Online from the New icon. Then, you'll select IMAP migration configuration then Next. You'll be prompted to select your migration file (or the first batch migration file you intend to use), after which you'll be prompted to select your migration endpoint. Select the migration endpoint you created, then click Next. Then, when prompted on the Start the batch page, select Automatically start the batch. You'll see Synching appear as the status when the migration starts and Synched when the migration has been completed successfully. Make sure to go to Microsoft 365 or Office 365 to verify that your users have moved over and send test emails to these users.
Often, IT staff and administrators encounter delays in migration if there are errors with the usernames or passwords in the migration file or other aspects of the migration process cause Google to suspect that unauthorized access of Google accounts may occur. If this is the case, you may need to:
You also may encounter duplicate accounts or "One or more items failed to import" as an error. You may also find your migration effort timing out due to bandwidth issues. Or you may find that certain classes of messages have failed to import. And these are just the kinds of errors you may encounter when you migrate users and their mailboxes from Gmail to Outlook. Understand that separate processes are necessary to migrate Gmail Contacts and Calendar data to Outlook. While those steps are also relatively straightforward, IT staff often encounter problems.
If you're moving from Gmail to Outlook and hope to do so painlessly and affordably, Grok Technology Services, LLC is the right MSP partner for you. A Microsoft partner, our firm is built on the foundational principle that great IT comes from understanding your brand and business inside and out. When we work with clients on Gmail to Outlook migrations, we spend time understanding your business so we can help you configure Microsoft to suit your business's unique processes, workflows, and needs. Our experienced team members work with your in-house staff to ensure that your migration is completed efficiently, painlessly, and at an affordable price.
Contact us today if you're a Tennessee-area business that needs support moving to Outlook or managing any of your other Microsoft / Office 365 applications. Let's schedule a time to discuss how Grok Technology Services, LLC can help you improve your performance, productivity, and profits.
