Google Shared Drives to Microsoft 365 Migration Guide
This guide is aimed at experienced system administrators who are capable of connecting to remote systems and using a variety of administration tools.
Overview
This Google Shared Drives Migration Guide shows you how to migrate your Google Shared Drives (formerly Team Drives) to Microsoft 365. You can migrate to Microsoft Teams, SharePoint Online sites, or Office 365 Groups.
Cloudiway uses Google Drive APIs to read the source and a mix of Microsoft Graph APIs and CSOM calls to push the data to the target. All network operations are performed over TLS 1.2.
Migration Targets
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View Solution PagePrerequisites
To perform the Google Shared Drives to Microsoft 365 Migration, you need to configure both a Google Service Account and an Entra ID Application.
Google Workspace Requirements
Cloudiway uses a Google Service Account with domain-wide delegation to access Google Shared Drives. You have two options:
If you prefer to create the Service Account manually, you will need:
Google Cloud Project
Create a project in Google Cloud Console
Service Account
Create a Service Account with domain-wide delegation
Drive API Scopes
Enable Drive API with full access to Shared Drives
JSON Key File
Download the JSON key file for authentication
Microsoft 365 Requirements (Target)
Cloudiway uses an Entra ID Application with Application Permissions to access Microsoft 365:
App Registration
Create an application in Microsoft Entra ID
API Permissions
SharePoint → Sites.FullControl.All and Microsoft Graph → Group.ReadWrite.All
Admin Consent
Granted by a Global Administrator
Certificate Authentication
OAuth 2.0 client credentials flow with certificate
What is Migrated
The following items are migrated during a Google Shared Drives to Microsoft 365 migration:
Limitations
The following items are NOT migrated:
- "Commenter" permissions (no equivalence in Office 365)
- External shared links
- Google-specific file formats (converted automatically)
Migration Process
The Google Shared Drives to Microsoft 365 migration is a six-step process:
Step 1: Create Connectors
For Cloudiway to migrate your Shared Drives, it needs to be able to communicate with both your source Google Workspace and target Microsoft 365 tenants. To do this, Cloudiway uses connectors.
You will need to set up a connector for each source tenant and each target tenant.
Navigate to Connectors
Go to Connectors > New in the Cloudiway platform.
Create Google Workspace Connector (Source)
Select Google as connector type, set a connector name and select Drive. Configure the OAuth authentication.
Create Microsoft 365 Connector (Target)
Select Microsoft 365 as connector type, set a connector name and select Drive. Enter your SharePoint Administrator credentials.
Test Connections
Click Test to verify both connectors are working properly.
Step 2: Import Group List
To perform the migration, navigate to Sites > Group List. There are three ways to populate the list of Shared Drives to migrate:
Option 1: Get List
Use the Get List option to automatically discover all Shared Drives:
Click Get List
In the Group List, click on Get List.
Select Connector
Select the Google Workspace source connector, then click GET.
Assign Target Connector
Once the list is retrieved, select the entries, click on MANAGE > Assign Target, and select your Microsoft 365 target connector.
Option 2: CSV File Import
If you have a CSV file of all your Shared Drives, you can upload the file to Cloudiway:
Click Import
Click on MANAGE > Import.
Select File and Connectors
Select the CSV File, the Source and Target Connectors, then click Upload.
Option 3: Manual Entry
You can manually add the details of a Shared Drive to your list. Due to the lengthy URLs, we recommend you only use this option if it's impossible to run Get List.
Get the Shared Drive URL
Go to Google Drive, open the Shared Drive, and copy the URL and ID from the browser address bar.
Create Entry
In the Group List, click on MANAGE > Create and fill in all details for the Shared Drive.
Step 3: Specify Your Destination
The platform gives you the flexibility to migrate to a large choice of targets and gives you the possibility to reorganize your data.
Migration Options
You can migrate your Shared Drives:
- To different team channels
- To different channels within a team
- To different SharePoint sites
- To different libraries within a SharePoint site
- To different folders within a SharePoint library
Migration to SharePoint Sites
Enter Site URL
Enter the URL of the SharePoint site.
Library Name (Optional)
Enter the optional Library Name. Leave empty to migrate to the default document library of the site.
Folder Name (Optional)
Enter the optional Folder Name within the library.
Migration to Teams
Enter Team Name and Email
Enter the team name and email address.
Channel Name (Optional)
Enter the optional Channel Name. Leave empty to migrate to the default "General" channel of the team.
Add a Prefix to the Target
You can add a Prefix to the Target Site Name and Target URL (for SharePoint) or to the Target Name and Target Email Address (for Teams/Groups).
Select Objects
In the Group List, check one or multiple objects.
Add Prefix
Go to MANAGE then click on the "Add Prefix" button. Enter the Prefix in the pop-up then SAVE.
Step 4: Global Settings
Configure your global migration settings. Most of the settings below have sensible defaults for Google Shared Drives migration.
Migration Settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Migration of Permissions | Enable | Migrates file and folder permissions. All users must be in the mapping table. |
| Migrate Version History | Enable | Migrates the last 3 versions of each file. |
| Migrate to | SharePoint | Determines where files are migrated. We recommend migrating to SharePoint. |
| File Management | Keep existing | When migrating to an existing destination, determines the behavior when files already exist on the target. |
| Membership Migration | Enable | Migrates team members. |
| Conversation Migration | Disable | Enables the migration of channel Conversations. |
| Planner Migration | Disable | Enables the migration of Planners (not applicable for Google source). |
Save Your Settings
Click on the Save button at the bottom of the screen to update your global settings.
Step 5: Pre-Processing
The pre-processing tool creates the site or team at the target if it doesn't already exist. This step is mandatory before starting the migration.
- Creates the team and channels at the target
- Creates the SharePoint sites and libraries
- Uses the Graph APIs and gives the owner role to the migration account
- Migrates membership and ownership
Perform an Audit (Optional)
The audit is optional and purely informative. It consumes the Cloudiway license. You do not have to run it, unless you wish to see how many files and folders you have in the source Google Shared Drive.
The audit reports:
- Number of files for each folder
- Number of folders
- Number of Members (Permissions)
To audit a Shared Drive, in Group List, select it and click on MIGRATION > Audit.
Run Pre-Processing
To pre-process a Shared Drive:
Select Shared Drives
In Group List, select the Shared Drives you want to pre-process.
Run Pre-Processing
Click on MIGRATION > Pre-Processing.
Wait for Completion
Wait for the pre-processing to complete before starting the migration.
Step 6: Run Migration
After pre-processing is complete, you can start the migration.
Select Shared Drives
In Group List, select the Shared Drives you want to migrate.
Start Migration
Click on MIGRATION > Start.
Monitor Progress
The migration will start as soon as there is a free spot on the platform. Click on the team in the list to monitor your migration.
Delta Migration
Cloudiway supports incremental migration (delta passes). Every time you restart the migration:
- Only items that haven't already been copied to the target will be migrated
- Items that have been modified in the source will be updated in the target
- You can submit as many migration passes as you want for 3 months within your license quota
Troubleshooting
Cloudiway provides an extensive knowledge base with many resources, including common error messages, video guides, and downloads.
Knowledge Base
Please visit the knowledge base here: https://help.cloudiway.com/
Common Issues
Shared Drive not appearing in Get List
Ensure the migration account has full access to the Shared Drive. If using domain-wide delegation, verify the service account has the correct scopes configured.
Permissions not being migrated
Check that all users are included in the mapping table. Any missing email address will result in permissions not being converted.
Pre-processing fails
Verify the target connector credentials are correct and that the migration account is a SharePoint Administrator.
Migration is slow
For large migrations, consider creating multiple connectors to parallelize the migration. Contact Cloudiway consulting services for assistance with performance optimization.
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