The following article outlines important considerations to keep in mind during the migration process from Google Workspace to Google Workspace using CloudM Migrate.
Drive
Externally Owned Data
Behavior
CloudM Migrate is unable to migrate any documents owned externally due to the lack of access to external Google Workspace instances. Consequently, any documents owned by external users to the Google Workspace instance will require re-sharing to migrating users after the migration process.
It is important to note that any documents owned internally with external sharing will maintain their permissions.
Recommendations
Any documents owned by external users will need to be re-shared back to the migrating users after Go-Live.
Orphaned Files and Folders
Behavior
If a migration has non-migrating users, external users or users who have deleted folders that house other users data, this could cause orphaned items post migration.
Files and folders that are orphaned will be migrated to the root level of the destination.
Recommendations
Before proceeding with the migration process, it is recommended that customers perform thorough checks on their environment to verify the absence of the specified scenarios.
To minimize any potential impact, it is advised to confirm that all users in the source environment who possess necessary data are included in the migration scope, or any externally owned items should be reassigned to migrating users to maintain the integrity of the data structure after migration.
Deleted files that were shared with you
Behavior
If a user deletes a file that has been shared with them, causing the file to become invisible in their account without actually deleting the source file or the sharing rights, these files will reappear in the "Shared with me" folder after the migration process.
Recommendations
If the end user wishes to locate that particular file, they will need to search within the "Shared with me" section. It is important to note that the "Shared with me" section displays all files and folders that have been shared with you by others, so it may contain a large amount of content.
Document Version History
Behavior
The migration of document version history from Google Workspace to Google Workspace is not currently supported by CloudM Migrate.
Recommendations
Users who have been migrated will not have the capability to undo any modifications made before the Go-Live date of their new account.
Prior versions should be generated before the migration if deemed necessary. It is essential to manually copy any critical information from the revision history as it will not be transferred during the migration process.
Metadata
Behavior
- The last modified date will be retained.
- The creation date will be adjusted to the date of file migration.
- Shared dates will be reset to the date of file migration.
Linked Files
Behavior
Hyperlinks to other Google files will become outdated during the migration process. This occurs because the files are assigned new URLs. It is important to consider the following implications:
- Embedded links, files, charts, etc., will no longer be functional as they will continue to point to the original file on the source domain. You will need to update these links to refer to the newly migrated file on the destination domain.
- External applications, such as Slack, will still refer to older versions of documents from the original source.
- Google Forms will no longer be connected to their response sheets.
Recommendations
After going live at the destination, migrated users will be required to update the hyperlinks within the documents on their new accounts.
To generate a comprehensive list of all document mappings, you have the option to activate the "Record Document Mappings" feature in Step 4 (Config Settings) > Advanced Settings > Reporting. For further details on this functionality, please refer to the article below.
Bin
Behavior
Items located in the Bin, will not be migrated.
Starred files and folders
Behavior
Files and folders that have been marked as starred in your source accounts will not be starred automatically in your destination account.
Recommendations
The end-users will have to star files and folders post migration.
Google Photos
Behavior
Google Photos are not supported for Migration by CloudM.
Recent View
Behavior
End-users may observe alterations in the Recent view of their My Drive, where files may no longer be displayed in the correct sequence. This occurrence is anticipated as the tool necessitates accessing documents for migration purposes, which may result in their appearance in this section.
File Comments
Behavior
Users will be notified via email regarding documents on which they have previously provided comments or have been mentioned in the comments during the migration process.
Comments will be migrated by the document owner 'On Behalf Of' the original commenters, unless the comments are located within a Shared Drive. In such cases, the comments will be attributed to the CloudM migration admin account. More information on this can be found in the article below.
Migrating Google Drive Comments
Recommendations
Notify end-users that they may receive notifications during the migration process.
Shared With Me View
Behavior
The "Shared With Me" view in Google is dynamically populated based on the files and folders that have been shared with your account. It is important to note that CloudM Migrate does not directly migrate from the "Shared With Me" view. Consequently, the items may not be located in the same structure at the destination if not all users are included in the migration process.
Shared Drive Membership
Behavior
When migrating Shared Drives, it is necessary to include a Default Organiser in the list of members for the destination Shared Drive for each Shared Drive being migrated. If the option 'Remove Default Organisers' is chosen, the tool will automatically eliminate these organisers during the initial migration. Nevertheless, if multiple migrations are conducted, the organiser will persist in any subsequent migrations.
Recommendations
If the specified Default Organiser should not be present on the membership of the Shared Drives, then they should be removed post migration.
Shared Drive Settings
Behavior
In order to successfully migrate Shared Drives, it is necessary to enable external sharing on the source Shared Drive.
Recommendations
This setting must be configured before migration using the Google Admin console.
Shared Drive Limits
Behavior
All Shared Drive limits are detailed in the below documentation from Google.
Shared drive limits in Google Drive
Recommendations
Ensure you are aware of the above limitations when planning your migration to Google Shared Drives.
Email Settings
Behavior
Canned responses, filters, and mailbox customizations will not be migrated and will need to be configured in your new mailbox.
Recommendations
The migrated users will need to reconfigure any preferred settings in their new accounts. Existing email filters can be exported from your original email account as an XML file and then imported into your new destination account by navigating to the "Filters and Blocked Addresses" section under "Settings."
Signatures
Behavior
Email signature and out of office will migrate as-is. However, note that images in signatures do not migrate (plain text only).
Recommendations
The end user is responsible for recreating any formatting after migration.
Snoozed Emails
Behavior
Snoozed emails are migrated. However, they will no longer retain their snooze rule association.
Recommendations
End user to replicate any snoozed email rules post migration if required.
Calendar
Meeting Links
Behavior
The hyperlinks included in calendar invitations will not be migrated and will require manual recreation for all calendar events containing a Google Meet link. Following the migration, external users will not have visibility of the newly created meet link.
Recommendations
When dealing with migrated events that include a Meet link and where you are the host, it is necessary to substitute the Meet link with a new one. To accomplish this, you should first edit the event, eliminate the existing Meet link, save the changes, and then proceed to edit the event again to insert the new Meet link. In the case of meetings involving external attendees, it is advisable to re-send invitations to these participants. This is because the migration tool is unable to update the new meeting link in the calendars of external users.
Recurring Meetings
Behavior
Recurring appointments and exceptions are transferred to Google Workspace. In cases where a recurring appointment needs to be divided into multiple appointments, they are typically linked; however, the recurrence rule cannot be modified within Google Calendar. Child events will inherit all the attendees from the primary event.
Recommendations
Ensure that all attendees are correctly re-added to any recurring child meeting occurrences after the migration process.
Secondary and Shared Calendars
Behavior
Secondary or shared calendars will only be migrated if the original owner can be identified during the migration process. Secondary calendars will be removed upon the deletion of a domain from Google Workspace. It is advisable to migrate secondary calendars before removing the domain from the source Workspace environment.
Recommendations
Kindly review the sharing settings to ensure that information is shared appropriately, particularly with external contacts. In the event that the user possesses older calendars that were previously hidden prior to the migration, these calendar items may reappear. Subsequently, the user can choose to either hide or delete them.
Calendar Sharing Notifications
Behavior
Users will be notified via email about the sharing of a calendar with them during the migration process.
Recommendations
This is a standard procedure within the migration process, and users who have been migrated are kindly advised to disregard the notifications. There is no specific action needed on their part.
Attachments
Behavior
By default, calendar attachments are not migrated. However, you can enable this feature in Step 2 (Destination Platform) > Advanced Settings > Calendar by activating the "Migrate Attachments" option.
Subsequently, attachments will be transferred to a designated folder within the users' My Drive. A specific name for this folder can be designated in the "Migrate Attachments Folder" setting. The attachments will be linked directly from the appointment to the files in Drive.
The "Appointment Attachment Document Sharing" setting provides the option to specify whether the attachment should be shared with the appointment attendees.
Recommendations
Please enable the aforementioned settings if you wish to migrate calendar attachments to the destination.
Contacts
My Contacts vs. Other Contacts
Behavior
The default migration behavior will result in the migration of users' 'Other Contacts' into the 'My Contacts' section.
Recommendations
No action required. This behavior helps ensure that users' experience with Google Workspace is replicated after migration. For example, user email addresses are automatically suggested when composing emails.
Chat
Google Chat
Behavior
At present, when the "Migrate Chat" feature is activated, classic Hangouts chats predating mid-2021 will undergo migration. These chat records will be transferred as emails to the designated user mailbox.
Migration of new Google Chat records is not supported at this time.
Keep
Google Keep
Behavior
The migration of Google Keep notes is not currently supported.
Recommendations
Users are required to download and then upload their Keep notes manually.
Sites
Google Sites
Behavior
Migration of Google Sites is not currently supported.