Ready to move between Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace? Use this migration readiness checklist to define data scope, test real workflows and agree on cutover responsibilities before booking the move.
Before You Book a Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace Migration
This checklist is for a business that is considering a move or has already selected its destination platform. If you are still evaluating Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace, start with our Canadian platform comparison: features, cost and fit. Here, the question is what must be ready before you move, not which vendor wins.
Keep a migration decision record
Use the blank worksheet alongside this checklist to map workloads, record pilot evidence and exceptions, name who can proceed or pause, and approve fallback and source-retirement decisions.
Download the blank migration decision worksheet (TXT)
This is a blank planning template, not evidence of completed tests or migration results. No email address, account or upload is required. Complete it locally, keep it private and leave evidence and approvals blank until verified. Do not include passwords, access tokens or private customer data.
1. Inventory the Accounts, Data and Business Workflows
List active staff, shared mailboxes, aliases, groups, service accounts and external collaborators. Record mailbox sizes, calendars, contacts, shared drives, personal files and the people who own each collection. Include departed staff data that must be retained. Do not assume a user count equals a migration count.
Identify workflows that rely on the current platform: forms, scanners that send email, CRM connections, booking tools, spreadsheet macros, document approvals and automated notifications. Assign a business owner to each workflow so the technical team has someone who can confirm it still works.
2. Define What Moves, What Is Archived and What Needs Rebuilding
Create a source-to-destination map for each data type. Ask the migration provider to identify supported content, unsupported items, conversion limits and permission changes for the chosen tools. Chat history, file versions, shared links and calendar behaviour should be checked explicitly, not promised as universally portable.
Record retention and residency requirements before selecting licences or tools. Our platform comparison explains why Canadian data residency needs workload-specific verification. Moving to a new tenant does not by itself establish compliance.
3. Confirm Ownership, Access and the Complete Budget
Keep the business in control of its domain registrar, DNS, billing and administrator recovery accounts. Document who may approve changes and how temporary migration access will be removed. Do not put administrator passwords into an ordinary project spreadsheet or email thread.
Budget for migration tools, overlapping subscriptions, configuration, backup, staff training and post-cutover support as well as licences. Compare exact Microsoft editions separately from Copilot bundles and confirm current Google Workspace terms. Use the Microsoft 365 pricing guide and Google Workspace pricing guide for licence research rather than treating a migration quote as a price comparison.
4. Run a Representative Pilot
Select a small group with different working patterns: someone using shared calendars, a heavy spreadsheet user, a mobile worker and a team that shares files externally. Test sign-in, email delivery, meetings, sharing and the important workflows from your inventory.
Agree on acceptance criteria before the pilot starts. Compare sample source and destination records, verify permissions with actual users and record any exceptions. A tool reporting that a job completed is not the same as a business owner confirming that their workflow works.
5. Agree on Cutover and Rollback Decisions
Write down the change window, DNS owner, final synchronisation steps, user communications and support contacts. Identify dependencies such as domain verification, client setup and email authentication. The exact order depends on the direction of the move and the migration method.
Choose the conditions that would pause or reverse the cutover, the person who can make that decision and how new data created after the move would be handled. Rollback is a plan to test, not a guarantee that every change can be instantly undone. Schedule around the business and allow for disruption.
6. Validate, Support Users and Retire the Old Setup Safely
After cutover, confirm incoming and outgoing mail, calendar invitations, shared resources, mobile clients and key integrations. Check that access is appropriate, temporary migration permissions are removed and backup or recovery procedures are understood.
Keep an agreed support period and an exception log. Do not cancel the source subscription or delete old data until the business has accepted the result and retention requirements are addressed. Deliver ownership records, recovery instructions, known limitations and a clear handoff.
What to Bring to a Migration Scoping Call
- Current and intended platform, user count and approximate data volumes.
- Required workloads, integrations and retention constraints.
- Domain and tenant ownership contacts, without sharing credentials.
- Preferred timing, blackout dates and acceptable disruption.
- People responsible for pilot acceptance and final sign-off.
North Star provides Microsoft 365 migration services and Google Workspace migration services remotely across Canada. Request a migration assessment to define the scope, dependencies and next steps. No fixed completion time or zero-downtime outcome is assumed.