Migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365

If you are thinking of migrating from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365, you can follow the simple steps below to migrate emails, contacts, and calendars from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 mailboxes without any disconnection.

What to do?

1. Google Workspace administrator credentials
2. Administrator access to Office 365
3. Access to DNS management
4. Azure AD account for user migration

Try a Proven Tool for Instant Migration:
The manual method is lengthy and complicated. So, the administrators can opt for a professional tool as an alternative. You can get the professional solution here – G Suite to Office 365 Migration. The tool provides a much simpler process for migration of emails, contacts, calendars, docs all at once. Give its free version (allows migration of 2 accounts) a try.

How to migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365?

1. Create a Google Workspace service account

Open https://console.developers.google.com/

In the dropdown list, create a new project

Click on Credentials-> Create Credentials, then click on service account from the dropdown menu.

Enter a name and description for the service account, then click CREATE

Leave everything as it is in the next step and press Continue.

Now click on “+ CREATE KEY” option and select JSON as the key type.

The key in JSON file format will be downloaded to your computer. Keep it safe and don't share it with anyone as we will use it later.

Record client_id from downloaded file

You will need this customer ID later.
You will also need this JSON file.

2. Allow access to the mail, calendar, and contact API of the service account you created

Go to https://admin.google.com/

Click on **Security **from the dashboard

Expand Advanced Settings and click the Manage API Client Access link.

In "Client Name", enter the client_id obtained from the service account file and add the scope below

• https://mail.google.com/
• https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar
• https://www.google.com/m8/feeds/
• https://www.googleapis.com/ auth / gmail.settings.sharing
• https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive You should see that these ranges have been added to this client ID

3. Create a subdomain alias

Go to https://admin.google.com/ac/domains or expand the side menu, you can access it from the Domains extension account

Choose a hosted domain

Click Add domain alias and give it a name, then press Continue and verify domain ownership

Now, in the "Domain Verification" section, you will get the TXT record that needs to be added to the primary domain from the DNS management.

To do this, go to the DNS management section of the primary domain from the domain provider (like Godaddy.)

Then press the "Save" button. It takes about 10 minutes to propagate this setting. Note that depending on the TTL setting, this propagation can take a long time.

Click VERIFY in the Google admin DNS verification section.

We recommend that you use this method to verify the domain. If that doesn't work, try the alternative method from the "Alternative Methods" tab and follow the instructions.

You will now see the domain alias you created in the managed domains list. Select "Ignore Google MX settings" from the domain alias, then select "I use another mail server"

You just have to configure it on the GOOGLE WORKSPACE side. Now let's set up in MICROSOFT's 365 management center

4. Configure MX records for domain aliases in the MICROSOFT domain configuration.

Go to https://admin.microsoft.com/

Click "Settings >> Domains"

Click on + Add domain and enter the same subdomain that you used as your primary domain alias in the Google Workspace domain settings.

Select this option - I’ll add the DNS records myself.

Choose Exchange

The MX Records are now available. Now, we will configure the MX record in the subdomain. Refer the image:

Make sure you add the subdomain alias instead of @ in the host section.

If your primary email address is misconfigured, this is a crucial part.

Note that depending on the TTL setting, this propagation can take a long time.

After verification, we can now start the process to migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 mailbox

5. Mailbox settings

Before synchronizing emails, calendars and contacts, you will need the mailboxes provided by the Exchange Management Center for all AD users.

Go to Exchange Administration from https://admin.microsoft.com Administration Center or go to https://admin.exchange.microsoft.com/

Go to your mailbox settings

Create a mailbox for each user you want to migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365.

When you create a mailbox, be sure to select the same subdomain you created and add your MX records to it.

6. CSV file

Now what you need to do is to create a CSV file that contains EmailAddress and Username. The format of the CSV file must be the following.

In this case, EmailAddress is the user's email address in Exchange admin, and Username is the Google Workspace email address.

7. Start the migration

Go to Exchange Administration from https://admin.microsoft.com Administration Center or go to https://admin.exchange.microsoft.com/

Go to Migration -> Batch

Create a new migration batch

Enter the name of the migration batch and click Next

Select the type of migration, G Suite (Gmail migration), then click Next

Since we've already covered the prerequisites in the previous steps, click Next in the G Suite prerequisites section.

Create a new migration endpoint

Name the migration endpoint as a subdomain

Here, "maximum concurrent migration" refers to the maximum concurrent number of mailbox transfers, and "maximum concurrent incremental synchronization" refers to the maximum number of mailboxes with incremental content synchronization.

This is the default and you can set it as your choice based on the number of mailboxes to migrate.

Click Next.

Configure Gmail Migration

Here, specify an email address with super administrator access to the Google Workspace organization and import the JSON file.

This JSON file is downloaded when setting up a service account on GOOGLE WORKSPACE.

Add user's mailbox

Here, you need to import the csv file created in the previous step.

Move configuration. Here, set the target delivery domain as a subdomain. It will show itself in the drop-down list.

Schedule the batch migration based on your preferences. You must select a recipient from the mailbox to receive the report.

Press Save and the migration will start based on the migration batch startup configuration.

You can check the synchronization of your emails by logging into your email account [e-mail] from https://outlook.office365.com/

Now, when all your mailboxes on Office 365 have been synced and you want to transfer all your primary email addresses from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365, all you need to do is

• As we specified for the subdomain, create the main/primary domain via the exchange admin
• Replace the MX record of the main domain
• Perform domain Verification
• Click each mailbox on the Exchange mailbox

Then from "Manage Email Address Types", change the subdomain record to the primary domain.

This completes the process to migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365. The IT administrators can choose whichever process, this one, or the professional tool given in the link as per their choice.

My Other Post:

• Step by Step Migrate Office 365 to G Suite