How to move from Outlook to Google Workspace without leaving your business email behind

Moving your business email to Google Workspace involves more than opening Gmail. With proper planning, you can retain your domain, transfer supported data and check that everything works before ending your Microsoft subscription.

A South African business can move from Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace and keep an address such as accounts@yourbusiness.co.za. You do not need to move your website to a different host. The key is to plan two separate steps: transferring existing data and directing new email to Google. Google Workspace FAQs

If an outage has prompted the decision, avoid rushing. Migration is a project, not an instant fix for a service interruption.

1. Check where your email is hosted

Outlook may simply be the app your staff use. Your mailboxes could be hosted by Microsoft 365, an on-premises Exchange server or another provider. Identify the source before choosing a migration method.

This guide focuses mainly on Exchange Online, the email service in Microsoft 365.

A personal @outlook.com address is different. You cannot redirect the whole outlook.com domain to Google. Moving to a new business address requires a plan to notify contacts and retain access to the old account.

2. List everything your business uses

Make an inventory of staff mailboxes, aliases, shared addresses, calendars and local archives. Include systems that send email, such as website forms, invoicing software and office scanners.

For example, a five-person business may also use info@ and orders@. Migrating only the five staff accounts could leave important customer messages behind.

Before starting, identify who controls your domain’s DNS, who administers Microsoft 365 and who will manage Google Workspace. Agree on a changeover window, a recovery plan and the data you need to retain. Compare subscription and migration costs, including any period when you need both services.

Do not cancel Microsoft 365 before checking the completed move.

3. Set up Google Workspace

Create the destination user accounts, assign the necessary licences and verify ownership of your domain. Google’s Exchange Online import tool copies data into existing Workspace accounts; it does not create those accounts for you.

For the default import, Google specifies a Workspace super administrator and a Microsoft 365 Global Administrator for the connection. In the Google Admin console, go to Data → Data import & export → Data import, then select Exchange Online. Review the account mappings before starting. Google’s Exchange Online migration guide

4. Choose what to migrate

Google’s Exchange Online import supports email, calendar and contact data. It copies supported information rather than deleting it from Microsoft.

Check the limitations before promising staff that everything will look the same. For example, Exchange folders become Gmail labels, and existing Teams meeting links remain Teams links. Calendar permissions and event attachments need particular attention because the default method does not import them. Google’s compatibility guide

If important messages exist only in an Outlook profile or PST archive, Google also documents Google Workspace Migration for Microsoft Outlook, a separate method with its own requirements. Google’s Outlook import guidance

Assess OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams files separately. Moving mailboxes does not automatically move the rest of your Microsoft environment.

5. Test with a small group

Start with a few representative users, including someone with a large mailbox and someone who relies heavily on calendars or shared access.

Check old and recent messages, attachments, contacts and recurring meetings. Review migration reports for failed or skipped items. Show staff how Gmail labels, search and calendar sharing differ from their previous setup.

6. Direct new email to Google

Once the destination is ready, update your domain’s MX records, which tell other mail systems where to deliver incoming messages, and activate Gmail.

Google says changes can take up to 72 hours to be recognised. Changing MX records directs new mail; it does not itself copy historical messages. Google’s MX setup instructions

Review SPF, DKIM and DMARC too. These authentication settings help receiving systems assess messages sent from your domain. Remember legitimate senders beyond staff inboxes, including accounting software and website forms. Google’s email authentication guidance

7. Check everything before cancelling

Send and receive messages with external accounts. Test aliases, shared access, calendar invitations, phones and automated emails. Investigate migration errors and arrange a final incremental import where appropriate.

Keep the original environment available until the agreed checks are complete. Also consider whether staff still need Microsoft Office, Teams, OneDrive or other services before changing subscriptions.

Need help with your migration? Speak to Saglotech

If your business is considering Google Workspace, contact Saglotech to discuss your email requirements and request a scoped quotation.

Have your mailbox count, current provider, domain details and preferred changeover date ready. Ask for a written proposal covering the agreed scope, account setup, DNS changes, testing, staff assistance and post-migration support, with pricing confirmed before work begins.

Visit Saglotech to discuss your requirements.

Disclosure: Saglotech is promoted here as a related business.

Illustrative archive photograph of a desk, taken on 7 February 2017; not a Saglotech office, customer migration or product screenshot. Photo: LUM3N/Pixabay via Wikimedia Commons, CC0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Workplace-2303851_1920.jpg . Rights: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ . Cropped and resized for display.