Why companies move to Google Workspace
The usual reasons are less administration, a per-user price that includes every service, and teams that already work in the browser and on their phones. Often it is an acquisition: the parent company runs Google Workspace, the acquired business still uses Microsoft 365 or a hosting provider with IMAP mailboxes. Sometimes it is simply the wish to switch off an old Exchange Server for good without moving into the Microsoft cloud.
What to expect from the switch and what Google solves differently from Microsoft is set out in the comparison Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365 (German). If you want to go the other way, the matching service is Microsoft 365 migration.
From Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace: mapping the concepts
This is the most demanding route on this page and also the most common. Our software maps Microsoft concepts onto Google in a defined way instead of simply copying them:
- Folders to labels: every Outlook folder becomes a nested Gmail label; Inbox, Sent, Drafts and Trash land in the real Gmail system areas. The read status is preserved.
- Calendars: recurring events including single-occurrence exceptions and attendees are transferred to Google Calendar; shared calendars can be mapped as targets too.
- Contacts: personal contacts and contact groups become Google Contacts and labels.
- OneDrive to Google Drive: files with the full folder structure and shares, up to 50 GB per user included. SharePoint sites and Teams files into shared drives are quoted after the discovery analysis.
- Groups: Microsoft 365 groups and distribution lists become Google Groups, including members and owners.
Not moved automatically: Outlook inbox rules, delegations and "send as" rights, as well as admin roles and security policies. These settings have a different counterpart in Google and are recreated in the target deliberately. The full route is described in the guide Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace migration (German).
From Exchange Server, IMAP hosting or Zimbra
From an on-premises Exchange Server we transfer mailboxes with all folders at the fixed price; calendars, contacts and public folders are taken on request and priced by effort, because depending on the Exchange version and data quality some preparation may be needed. The project fee for on-premises sources is €300 instead of €200, as setting up access takes more coordination. All details are on the page Exchange migration.
IMAP mailboxes from IONOS, STRATO, Telekom or other providers contain emails only; those we transfer with the complete folder structure into Gmail. Calendars and address books that such providers offer separately are not part of the IMAP mailbox and are discussed separately. For Zimbra and Open-Xchange the same applies as for Exchange: emails at the fixed price, calendars and contacts on request. Examples with specific providers are under IONOS to Google Workspace and STRATO to Google Workspace (both German).
Preparing Google Workspace: accounts, licences, domain
In the target we need a created and licensed Google Workspace user for every mailbox and your domain verified in the Admin console. For technical access we set up a service account with domain-wide delegation together with you, through which our software writes only into the target accounts; the account is removed after the project. You obtain the licences directly from Google or a reseller; they are not part of our price. Creating the users and groups is something we take on with you on request.
The MX records remain unchanged on the old system until the cut-over date. Nothing needs to be installed on devices: Gmail, Calendar and Drive run in the browser; anyone who wants to keep Outlook uses Google Workspace Sync for Microsoft Outlook (GWSMO) after the switch; we assist with its setup on request.
Switching over without losing mail
The pre-migration transfers the existing data in the background, several accounts at once, within the limits Google sets for API access. Your team does not notice. On the cut-over date the MX records are switched to Google; the delta sync then transfers every message, event and file that still arrived in the old system since the pre-migration. How to plan the window and set SPF, DKIM and DMARC for Google is covered in the guide email move without downtime (German). The six phases of the project, from initial analysis to handover, are described on the process page.
Data protection when moving to Google
Google Workspace is often viewed more critically than Microsoft 365, although both providers offer the same framework (standard contractual clauses, EU data regions in the enterprise plans). Regardless of that, the migration path is clear: your data runs exclusively via our servers in Germany and the EU; we use no third-party migration service and no cloud outside the European legal area. Credentials and the service account are stored encrypted and deleted after completion. On request we sign a data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR. Whether and how you record the move in your register of processing activities is something to clarify with your data protection officer; this is not legal advice. More in the guide GDPR-compliant cloud migration (German).
Result, proof and price
Before the start you receive a discovery report and a fixed-price quote, you see the result on two or three real mailboxes in a test migration, and after the switch you get a final report that checks every account and every label against the source. For 25 users with emails, calendars, contacts and personal files the price list gives €1,650 net; from 50 users the per-mailbox total drops by 10 %, from 100 by 15 %. The price calculator works out your own configuration immediately, with Microsoft 365 preselected as the source.
