20 April, 2025
12 Min Read
Let me guess, you’re using Microsoft Office 365 right now, but you’ve been hearing all the benefits about Google Workspace. Maybe your team wants easier file sharing, smoother real-time collaboration, or you’re just tired of Outlook giving you a headache every Monday morning.
Whatever your reason is, you are not alone. Many businesses, small and large, are making the switch from Office 365 to Google Workspace.
But now you’re thinking, “Okay, I want to switch… but how do I even start? What about all my emails, files, users? Will I lose anything?”
Well, you do not need to worry at all.
In this step by step guide, I will walk you through everything you need to know to successfully migrate from Office 365 to Google Workspace even if you are not a tech expert.
Whether you run a small business, a startup, or manage IT for your company, this guide is written in simple, clear language that anyone can understand.
So grab a cup of tea (or coffee, if you’re like me 😀), and let’s dive into the smooth and secure process of moving from Office 365 to Google Workspace and yes without any stress.
Before we jump into the actual migration steps, let us take a moment to understand why you might want to move to Google Workspace from Office 365.
Both Office 365 (now called Microsoft 365) and Google Workspace offer powerful tools for communication, collaboration, and productivity. But which one fits your team better?
To make it easier to decide, I have broken down the key features and differences between these two popular platforms in a simple comparison table below.
Please take a careful look into this table so that you can get a clear idea about what the actual differences are and which one is better.
| Feature | Google Workspace | Microsoft Office 365 |
| User Interface | Clean, minimal, and beginner-friendly | Familiar but slightly complex for new users |
| Collaboration | Real-time editing in Docs, Sheets, Slides | Co-authoring supported, but not as smooth as Google Docs |
| Cloud Integration | 100% cloud-native with strong syncing across devices | Offers cloud + desktop combo, not fully cloud-native |
| Offline Access | Limited (via Chrome extensions) | Full-featured offline access with desktop apps |
| Storage | Google Drive offers scalable cloud storage options | OneDrive with good storage, varies by plan |
| Communication Tools | Gmail, Google Meet, Chat | Outlook, Microsoft Teams |
| Desktop Applications | Mostly browser-based | Full suite of desktop apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.) |
| Security and Admin Tools | Strong built-in security with easy admin controls | Advanced security and compliance for enterprises |
| Learning Curve | Easy to learn, perfect for teams of all sizes | Requires some training, especially for new users |
| Pricing | More budget-friendly, especially for small businesses | Can be costly depending on features and plans |
After reading this, hope you will get a solid idea which platform is best for your business use case. As you are already reading this step by step guide so I assume that you have tried office365 and are not satisfied so you have decided to migrate to Google Workspace.
So, let’s now focus now on how effectively and efficiently we can migrate from office365 to Google Workspace.
Let me be honest, it is definitely not a straightforward process and easy to do. You have to be very careful while following all these steps.
If you do not carefully do all these, chances are very high that mistakes will happen and you can lose your data.
So, before following each step please take a full backup of all your data to prevent any data loss in case anything goes wrong.
Here is the step by step process which you can follow to take backup of each user’s Outlook, Contacts, Calendars, OneDrive data.
First of all you have to collect all the user’s outlook and password which data you want to migrate from office365 to Google Workspace.
Once you get the list you have to log in to each platform using the credentials and manually take backup using the below steps.
Most users access their Microsoft 365 emails through Outlook, so we can use Outlook to export all your emails into a file that you can store safely.
How to Export Emails to PST File?
Outlook will create a .pst file which contains all your emails. That’s it.
Contacts are very important, especially for businesses. Losing them means losing potential clients, partners, or team connections.
How to Export Contacts from Outlook?
Now you have all your contacts saved as a .csv file that’s it.
Calendar events include meetings, reminders, and important schedules. Here’s how to export them.
How to Export Calendar from Outlook?
This will give you a .csv file with all your calendar events. That’s it.
If your organization is using OneDrive to store files and folders, you should download all the files before switching to Google Drive.
How to Download OneDrive Files?
It will create a ZIP file and download all your files. Once downloaded, you can unzip the folder and later upload those files to your Google Drive manually or using a migration tool.
If your company is using SharePoint or Microsoft Teams for storing documents or collaboration, you should also download those files.
How to Backup SharePoint Files?
For Teams files, go to the Files tab of each channel, and download them the same way.
I know these steps are overwhelming.
No worries. we’ve got your back! We are experts in Microsoft 365 data backup and migration. If this process feels too technical or time-consuming, you can hire us to do everything for you safely and efficiently.
Once backup is done. Now let’s go to the next step.
Before initiating the migration, ensure that all users in your organization have corresponding accounts in Google Workspace.
To ensure that emails are directed to Google Workspace, you’ll need to update your domain’s MX (Mail Exchange) records.
Replace existing MX records with Google’s MX records. It is really important to ensure that all the MX records are configured correctly in the domain’s DNS settings. If you make a mistake here you won’t receive any email to these addresses. So be careful on this step.
To allow Google Workspace to access Office 365 data, specific permissions must be granted.
With the preparations complete, you can now begin the data migration using Google’s Data Migration Service (DMS).
Security is very important when migrating sensitive business data like emails, contacts, calendars, and files. One small mistake or weak setup can lead to data leaks or loss.
Here is how to make sure your migration is secure.
Make sure the person doing the migration is using an administrator account in both Office 365 and Google Workspace. Admin accounts have full access to all user data, which is needed for a smooth migration.
While setting up the connection in Google Workspace’s Data Migration Service, make sure you are using Exchange Web Services (EWS). It uses secure HTTPS connections.
Also, use App Passwords or OAuth authentication if possible. These are more secure than basic passwords.
Google Workspace gives you a migration log where you can check if any email failed to migrate. It is good practice to download these logs after the migration to keep a record.
Once all data has been moved, your job is not fully done. You need to make sure everything works properly and that no data is missing.
Here is a checklist you can follow.
Send test emails from both internal and external accounts to see if emails are landing correctly in the Google Workspace inboxes.
Log in to a few user accounts and confirm:
Make sure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are updated in your domain DNS settings to avoid emails landing in spam.
These records help email services verify that your emails are coming from a trusted source.
Let your team or staff know about the migration. You can send them a simple guide on how to log into their new Gmail account, where to find old emails, and how to set up their mobile devices.
After migration, you need to make sure the Google Workspace environment is ready for daily use.
Create groups like [email protected] or [email protected] if needed. You can also create aliases for users who had multiple email addresses in Office 365.
You can allow users to access their Gmail, Calendar, and Drive from their mobile phones. For security, use Google Mobile Device Management (MDM) to set up basic policies like screen lock, data wipe if lost, etc.
If your users want to use Google Drive just like a folder on their computer, you can install Google Drive for Desktop. It syncs files directly to the cloud.
Migrating from Microsoft Office 365 to Google Workspace might sound like a big task, but if you break it down step by step, it becomes much easier to understand and manage.
If all these steps feel too technical or time-consuming for you, do not worry. You do not have to do it all alone.
At Nexyel, our expert team has helped many businesses smoothly migrate from Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace without any data loss or downtime.
We handle everything from start to finish, user setup, email migration, DNS configuration, and post-migration support, so that you can focus on running your business, not stressing over technical work.
Reach out to us today and let our team make your migration experience simple, secure, and worry-free.
Contact us now and we are just one message away.
If the process is done properly, no data should be lost. But it is always a good idea to take a backup before starting.
It depends on how many users you have and how much data needs to be moved. For small companies, it can be done in 1-2 days. For large companies, it might take a week or more.
Yes, if you follow the steps carefully. But if you are not confident, it is better to get help from an IT person or use a third-party tool.
Mostly no. But after the migration, users may need to:
