Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 Migration: A Complete Guide for Perth Businesses

We're fielding a steady stream of calls from Perth businesses asking about moving from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 - usually driven by a need for proper desktop Office apps, tighter Windows integration, or security controls an insurer or client is now asking about. Unlike migrating between two email systems generally, moving off Google Workspace specifically involves converting Docs, Sheets, and Slides, restructuring Gmail labels into Outlook folders, and rethinking how your team collaborates day to day. Here's exactly what the process involves.

Why Perth businesses move from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365

Google Workspace is a perfectly capable platform, and plenty of businesses stay on it happily. The businesses that move usually have one of a few specific drivers:

• Desktop Office apps. Staff who rely on advanced Excel features (pivot tables, macros, complex formulas) or Word mail merge often find Google Sheets and Docs too limited once workflows get complex.
• Windows-first environments. Businesses running Windows PCs, line-of-business software that expects Outlook, or industry-specific tools built around the Microsoft ecosystem.
• Security and compliance requirements. Cyber insurance questionnaires, client procurement processes, and frameworks like the Essential Eight are frequently written with Microsoft 365 terminology - Conditional Access, Intune, Defender - which makes reporting and audits simpler on Microsoft's platform.
• Growth and complexity. As a business scales past a handful of staff, SharePoint's document libraries, permissions, and Teams' integration with the rest of Microsoft 365 often suit more structured operations better than Google's flatter Drive model.

If you're still weighing up whether to move at all, our comparison of Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace covers pricing and features side by side.

What actually moves - and how it changes

Email and Gmail labels

Every mailbox - user, shared, and any functional inboxes like info@ or accounts@ - migrates to Exchange Online. Gmail's label system doesn't exist in Outlook, so labels convert into folders. Emails that had multiple labels applied in Gmail can end up duplicated across matching folders, so it's worth telling staff their inbox will look different, not broken, on the first morning.

Google Drive files

Files move from Google Drive into OneDrive and SharePoint. Native Google file types (Docs, Sheets, Slides) are converted into Word, Excel, and PowerPoint format as part of the migration. Simple documents and spreadsheets convert cleanly. Sheets that use Google-only functions - QUERY, IMPORTRANGE, ARRAYFORMULA, Google-native add-ons - need manual review, since Excel doesn't have direct equivalents for all of them. We recommend identifying your handful of most business-critical spreadsheets and checking those specifically before cutover.

Calendars and contacts

Google Calendar events and Google Contacts migrate into Outlook Calendar and Outlook People. Recurring meetings generally carry across correctly, but any calendar shared with external Google accounts outside your organisation will need to be re-shared through Outlook after the move, since sharing permissions don't transfer across platforms.

Google Groups

Google Groups used for internal distribution lists convert to Microsoft 365 distribution lists or shared mailboxes, depending on how they were used. Groups that double as a shared inbox (where multiple people reply from the group address) are better rebuilt as a shared mailbox in Microsoft 365 rather than a simple distribution list.

Meet links and calendar invites

Existing Google Meet links in past calendar invites will stop working once your domain's mail routes to Microsoft 365. Any recurring meetings need their links regenerated in Teams before cutover, or staff will hit dead links on their first meeting after the switch.

The migration process, step by step

1. Assessment and licensing. Confirm total mailbox count, Drive storage volume, and which Microsoft 365 plan fits your team - see our guide to Business Standard vs Business Premium if you're unsure which tier you need.
2. Domain verification. A TXT record is added to your DNS to prove ownership of your domain to Microsoft 365, ahead of any mail routing changes.
3. Pre-migration data copy. Email, Drive files, calendars, and contacts are copied into the new Microsoft 365 tenant in the background while staff continue using Google Workspace normally - no disruption at this stage.
4. Staff account and device prep. Microsoft 365 accounts are created, MFA is pre-enrolled for every user, and Outlook or the Microsoft 365 apps are installed ahead of cutover so the switch itself is just a login, not a fresh setup.
5. Cutover. A final incremental sync catches anything sent since the pre-migration copy started, then DNS MX records are updated so new mail routes to Microsoft 365 instead of Google.
6. Post-cutover monitoring. The old Google Workspace environment is kept active for 24-48 hours to catch any mail still in transit during DNS propagation, and to give staff a safety net while they get used to Outlook.

This mirrors the general phases in our email migration guide, but with the Google-specific conversion steps above layered in.

Common problems specific to Google to Microsoft moves

Staff resistance to Outlook

Gmail and Outlook are laid out differently enough that staff who've only ever used Gmail can feel genuinely lost for the first few days. A short walkthrough of Outlook's layout - where search lives, how folders work versus labels, how to set up rules - saves a lot of support tickets in week one. Our Outlook for Gmail users quick-start guide covers exactly this.

Chromebooks in the mix

If part of your team is on Chromebooks, they'll be limited to the web versions of Word, Excel, and Outlook rather than full desktop apps. This is usually fine for basic use but worth flagging early if anyone relies on advanced Excel features - they may need a Windows or Mac device as part of the move.

Broken spreadsheet formulas

The single most common post-migration support call is a spreadsheet that "used to work" and now throws an error in Excel. Google-specific functions don't have a direct Excel equivalent and need to be rebuilt using Excel formulas, Power Query, or VBA depending on complexity.

Third-party app integrations

Any app that connects via "Sign in with Google" or uses Gmail SMTP credentials - accounting software, booking systems, marketing tools - needs to be reconnected to Microsoft 365 after cutover. These are easy to miss until the integration silently stops working.

What it costs and how long it takes

Cost depends mainly on user count, total data volume, and how much cleanup or spreadsheet remediation is needed. We've broken this down in detail in our guide to Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration costs. For timing, most Perth businesses with 5-30 users complete the full project - assessment through to post-cutover monitoring - in 2-4 weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

For related reading, see our guides to Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace and Signs It's Time to Switch from Google Workspace.