Understanding Sync Policies

Sync policies are the core configuration in CloudM Continuity. A policy defines which users to sync, which item types to include, and how often to sync them. This article explains how policies work before you create your first one.

What is a sync policy?

A sync policy is a set of rules that tells CloudM Continuity:

Setting	What it controls
Item types	Which data to synchronise (mail at launch)
Username suffix	Optional suffix appended to usernames when Google Workspace accounts are created
User query	Which M365 users are included in the sync (by group, department, or individual selection)
Domain	The Google Workspace destination domain for this policy
Sync frequency	How often delta syncs run, set as a value and unit (e.g. 1 Hour, 6 Hours, 2 Days). The minimum interval is determined by your licence tier.
Deletion delay	How long CloudM Continuity waits before deleting a user's Google Workspace account after they are removed from Microsoft 365 (in days)

Once a policy is enabled, CloudM Continuity automatically begins matching users, provisioning Google Workspace accounts where needed, running the initial bulk sync, and then continuing with scheduled delta syncs.

How policies relate to connections

Before creating a policy, your source (Microsoft 365) and destination (Google Workspace) connections must be configured and tested. The source and destination platforms are determined automatically from your configured connections — you do not select them when creating a policy.

• If a connection becomes invalid (e.g. expired credentials), all policies will be affected
• Ensure your connections are working before enabling policies

How policies relate to licences

Your licence controls what your policies can do:

Licence setting	Impact on policies
Sync frequency tier	Determines the maximum sync frequency available. A Basic licence limits policies to weekly sync; Standard to daily; Premium allows hourly.
User limit	The total number of users across all policies. If exceeded, sync continues but an overage warning is displayed.
Data types	Only licensed data types can be selected. Unlicensed types are hidden in the policy configuration.

Active policy limit

Only one policy can be active at a time. You can create multiple policies, but only one can be enabled. If you enable a new policy, you will be prompted to deactivate the currently active one first.

The policy lifecycle

A policy moves through these states:

State	Description
Draft / Disabled	Policy is configured but not active. No syncing occurs.
Enabled	Policy is active. Users are matched, provisioned, and synced on schedule.
Paused	Policy was previously enabled but has been disabled. Existing synced data is retained, but no new syncs run.

Enabling and disabling a policy generates a distinct audit log event, making it easy to track when sync was started or stopped.

What happens when a policy is enabled

1. User matching — The backend queries Microsoft 365 using the policy's user selection rules to identify matching users
2. User provisioning — For any matched M365 user without a corresponding Google Workspace account, an account is created automatically
3. Initial sync — The last 30 days of mail data is migrated from M365 to Google Workspace for each matched user
4. Delta sync — After the initial sync completes, incremental syncs run on the configured schedule to keep data up to date

You can monitor this entire process from the Continuity Dashboard's sync pipeline view.

Next steps

• Creating a sync policy — Step-by-step guide
• Defining user selection rules — How to target specific users