How to Migrate from Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace, the India Guide
Saurav Jagdale
Technical Lead, Unico Connect
In this article
Moving a company from Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace is a well trodden path. The tooling is mature, the steps are predictable, and a properly planned migration loses no data and almost no working time. A typical migration in India takes 1 to 8 weeks depending on company size, and the biggest one time costs are rarely the licenses. We have completed 200+ Workspace projects through our Google Workspace practice, and below is the migration process we use, with what it costs in INR and where projects go wrong.
Quick Answer
To migrate from Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace, audit your current tenant, pick a Google Workspace plan, set up your domain on a 14 day trial, configure security, migrate a pilot group first, then move everyone else in stages while both systems run in parallel, switch your MX records and finish with training. Plan 1 to 8 weeks end to end. Budget for temporary parallel licenses, migration tooling at about ₹1,340 to ₹1,680 per user if you use a third party tool such as BitTitan MigrationWiz, and partner support if you lack in house IT. License costs in India start at ₹99 per user per month on the official Google Workspace price list.
Key Takeaways
- A planned migration loses no email, files, contacts, or calendar data, and user facing downtime can be close to zero.
- Plan the budget around parallel licenses, admin or partner time and tooling, since those are the real costs of the move rather than the new licenses themselves.
- Migrate a pilot group first, because most surprises show up in the first 10 users and not the last 100.
- You may not need to pay for tooling at all. Google includes the data import tool in the Admin console for most moves, and the Google Workspace Migrate tool comes with the Standard plan and higher for large or complex estates.
- Run both systems in parallel for 1 to 4 weeks, depending on size, so anything that fails to move can be fixed while the old tenant is still live. Cutting over in one weekend removes that fallback, which is how data gets lost.
Why Indian Companies Switch
Three reasons come up in almost every migration conversation we have.
Cost comes first. Google Workspace in India starts at ₹99 per user per month for the India only Base plan, a self service plan bought directly from Google, against ₹170 for Microsoft 365 Business Basic. At the mid tier the gap inverts on list price, but the AI line changes the total. Gemini is bundled into every Google Workspace plan from Starter up, while Microsoft 365 Copilot Business costs extra at a list price of ₹1,745 per user per month, currently offered at about ₹1,496 on a promotion Microsoft has kept running. For a 100 person team that wants AI for everyone, that difference alone is around ₹21 lakh per year at list price. Our Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 guide has the full comparison, including the cases where Microsoft remains the better fit.
Collaboration style is the second. Teams that live in shared documents, comments and quick video calls tend to fit Docs, Sheets and Meet better than the SharePoint and OneDrive model.
The third is simplicity, meaning one admin console, browser first apps on any device and fewer moving parts to manage.
The migrations that go badly are almost never a technology problem. They are a planning problem: nobody mapped the shared mailboxes, nobody told the sales team their archives were moving, and the cutover happened on the Friday before a product launch. Plan the people part as carefully as the data part and the technology behaves.
Saurav Jagdale, Technical Lead, Unico Connect
What Actually Gets Migrated
| Microsoft 365 | Moves to | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Exchange email | Gmail | Full history, folders become labels |
| Contacts | Google Contacts | Individual contacts, not contact lists |
| Calendars | Google Calendar | Events, recurring meetings, and rooms |
| OneDrive files | Google Drive | Ownership and sharing mapped per user |
| SharePoint sites | Shared drives | Restructured, not copied one to one |
| Teams chats | Google Chat | The data import tool can migrate Teams chat; review its scope limits first |
| Teams meetings | Google Meet | Recurring invites import but keep their Teams links |
| Distribution lists | Google Groups | Aliases stay free, up to 30 per user or group |
Two caveats are worth raising with your team early. Teams chat migration is supported by the data import tool but carries scope and formatting limits, so check what you must retain before relying on it. Deeply customized SharePoint sites also need restructuring rather than copying.
The Migration, Step by Step
Step 1: Audit and map your current setup
List every mailbox, shared mailbox, distribution list, OneDrive, SharePoint site, and third party app connected to Microsoft 365. This map decides how long the move takes and which tools you need, and it shows you where the risk sits. It is also step one of SmoothSwitch, the migration method we run for clients.
Step 2: Choose your Google Workspace plan
Match the plan to what your people need, with headcount as only one input. Base (₹99, India only, bought directly from Google for up to 20 users, without partner migration support) suits small teams that mainly need email, Starter (₹270) suits small teams that want a partner to run the move, Standard (₹1,080) fits most companies, and Enterprise is for advanced security needs. Google also includes the Google Workspace Migrate tool with the Standard plan and higher. Our Google Workspace pricing India page lists current official prices and intro offers, and it has a GST calculator.
Step 3: Set up the domain on a trial
Google Workspace starts with a 14 day free trial. Verify your domain, create the admin account, and build your user list. Leave the MX records alone for now, so mail keeps flowing to Microsoft 365 while you prepare.
Step 4: Configure security before anyone moves
Set the two step verification policy, password rules, sharing defaults, mobile device management and group structures before the first mailbox moves, so every user lands in an environment that is already hardened.
Step 5: Migrate a pilot group
Move 5 to 10 users from one team, ideally including one heavy calendar user and one heavy files user. Let them work in Google Workspace for a week and fix whatever they run into before the rest of the company moves.
Step 6: Migrate everyone in stages, in parallel
Move the rest of the company in batches by team while Microsoft 365 stays live. You have three tooling choices. The data import tool built into the Admin console covers email, Teams chat, OneDrive files and SharePoint Online from Microsoft 365. For large or complex estates such as on premises SharePoint and Exchange there is the Google Workspace Migrate tool, included with the Standard plan and higher. Third party tools such as BitTitan MigrationWiz and CloudM are the third option. BitTitan MigrationWiz lists at $14 per user for mailbox migration or $17.50 per user for a bundle that adds archives, OneDrive files and Teams private chat, about ₹1,340 to ₹1,680 per user at ₹95.8 to the US dollar on 25 September 2026, while CloudM quotes per user. Most organisations run both systems in parallel for 1 to 4 weeks, depending on size. Budget about one extra month of your current Microsoft 365 plan for the overlap, which for 100 users on Business Basic at its ₹170 India list price comes to ₹17,000 plus GST.
Step 7: Switch MX records
Once every batch is verified, point the MX records to Google and new mail starts arriving in Gmail. Keep Microsoft 365 in read only mode for a final overlap window so nothing is stranded.
Step 8: Train, support, and decommission
Short role based training sessions get people using the new tools faster than documentation does. After the overlap window, export anything left behind, cancel the Microsoft licenses, and the migration is complete.
How Long Does It Take?
| Company size | Typical timeline |
|---|---|
| Up to 20 users | 1 to 2 weeks |
| 20 to 100 users | 2 to 4 weeks |
| 100 to 500 users | 4 to 8 weeks |
| 500+ users or heavy SharePoint | 8+ weeks, phased by department |
Timelines stretch because of SharePoint complexity, third party integrations and approval cycles, and only rarely because of mailbox count.
What Does It Cost in India?
Beyond the Google Workspace licenses themselves, set aside budget for four items.
- Parallel licenses. Both systems run together for 1 to 4 weeks, depending on size. Budget about one extra month of your current Microsoft 365 plan for the overlap, which for 100 users on Business Basic at its ₹170 India list price comes to ₹17,000 plus GST.
- Tooling. This is ₹0 if the data import tool or the included Google Workspace Migrate tool covers your scope. Otherwise BitTitan MigrationWiz lists at $14 per user for mailbox migration or $17.50 per user for a bundle that adds archives, OneDrive files and Teams private chat, about ₹1,340 to ₹1,680 per user at ₹95.8 to the US dollar on 25 September 2026, while CloudM quotes per user.
- Admin time. A 50 to 100 person company without dedicated IT support should plan on 40 to 80 hours of admin work for account provisioning, SSO configuration, shared drive mapping and email routing.
- Partner support. If you hand the migration to a certified partner in India, partner support is a one time services fee that depends on the number of users and the volume of data. We compare Google Workspace resellers in India in a separate post.
As a sanity check, a Forrester Total Economic Impact study commissioned by Google found Workspace with Gemini delivered a 416% three year ROI, with the average Gemini user saving about 3 hours per week. You pay the migration costs once, while the gains keep adding up.
Common Pitfalls
- A weekend cutover moves everything in 48 hours with no parallel running, so when something fails there is no fallback.
- Shared mailboxes and aliases get forgotten. They do not belong to any one user, which means per user migrations miss them.
- Treating SharePoint as a copy job misses that shared drives have a different structure, so map it deliberately.
- Nobody plans the training. The tools work on day one, but people reach full speed only after someone shows them the Gmail, Drive and Meet equivalents of their old habits.
- Avoid DNS changes during business hours. Switch MX records in a low traffic window instead, with someone watching mail flow.
How Unico Connect Runs Migrations: SmoothSwitch
SmoothSwitch is our zero disruption migration method, refined across 200+ Workspace projects. We assess and map your current setup, migrate a pilot batch, then stage the full cutover with both systems running in parallel and stay on to support your team after go live. As an official Google Workspace partner we sell at the official Google prices, bill in INR with GST compliant invoices, and provide India based support before, during, and after the move. Start with the official pricing, or talk to us about your current setup.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace migration take?
Most companies take between 1 and 8 weeks. Expect 1 to 2 weeks for teams under 20 users, 2 to 4 weeks up to 100 users and 4 to 8 weeks up to 500 users. Heavy SharePoint usage, many third party integrations or slow internal approvals stretch the timeline far more than the number of mailboxes does.
Will we lose any emails or files during migration?
No. A staged migration copies data while Microsoft 365 stays live, so nothing is deleted at the source until you decommission it deliberately at the end. The risky pattern is a single weekend cutover with no parallel running, which is why we never run migrations that way.
Will our email address change?
No. Your domain and every address on it stay exactly the same. Only the system behind them changes, when the MX records switch from Microsoft to Google.
How much downtime should we expect?
Close to zero for users. Mail keeps flowing throughout, because the MX switch happens only after mailboxes are migrated and verified. The practical impact is each user signing into a new inbox on cutover day, with their history already in place.
What happens to our Teams chats and meetings?
Meetings move as Google Calendar events, recurring invites included, but the data import tool keeps their Teams meeting links rather than converting them to Google Meet. Teams chat can now be migrated into Google Chat with the data import tool in the Admin console. Chat migration has some scope and formatting limits, so we review what must be retained and export archives where the limits matter.
Can we keep some users on Microsoft 365?
Yes. Split domain setups route mail correctly between both systems and are common during long phased migrations. As a permanent arrangement they add cost and admin overhead, so most companies treat them as a transition state.
What does the migration cost beyond the licenses?
Beyond the licenses you pay for four things, namely parallel licenses for the overlap weeks, tooling, admin time and partner support. Budget about one extra month of your current Microsoft 365 plan for the overlap, which for 100 users on Business Basic at its ₹170 India list price comes to ₹17,000 plus GST. Tooling is ₹0 with the Google tools (the data import tool and Google Workspace Migrate) or about ₹1,340 to ₹1,680 per user for BitTitan MigrationWiz at its US dollar list price, converted on 25 September 2026. Admin time comes to 40 to 80 hours for a 50 to 100 person company. If you hand the work to a partner instead, partner support is a one time services fee that depends on the number of users and the volume of data.
Do we need a partner, or can we do it ourselves?
You can do it yourself with the data import tool in the Admin console if you have a capable IT admin and a simple setup (one domain, no SharePoint customisation, under 50 users). Bring in a partner when you have shared mailbox sprawl, custom SharePoint, compliance requirements or no spare IT capacity. The partner cost usually pays for itself in avoided rework and faster adoption.
Which Google Workspace plan should we migrate to?
Standard, at ₹1,080 per user per month, is where most migrating companies in India land. It gives you 2 TB of storage, meeting recordings and Gemini across apps, and it includes the Google Workspace Migrate tool. Base, at ₹99, is bought directly from Google for teams of up to 20 users, without partner migration support. Our pricing page has the full plan details.
Conclusion
Planned properly, a Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace migration is a solved problem. You audit, run a pilot, move people in stages with both systems live, and only then cut over. All the data moves and every address stays the same, while the company keeps working throughout. To decide with real numbers, check the official Google Workspace India pricing for the destination plan and our platform comparison for the decision itself. Look at SmoothSwitch if you want the move handled for you.
