Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 Migration: The Real Timeline and Cost

Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 Migration: Timeline and Cost Guide

Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migrations have become one of the most common enterprise consolidation patterns of 2024-2026. Drivers include Microsoft 365 Copilot integration depth, Microsoft Purview-native sensitivity labels for regulated industries, Microsoft 365 Defender stack integration, and TCO advantages at scale.

This guide walks through the complete Google Workspace → Microsoft 365 migration framework as we deliver it for Fortune 500 healthcare, financial services, government, and defense organizations. EPC Group has migrated more than 100 organizations from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 since 2018.

TL;DR — Migration Timeline and Cost

Org Size	Timeline	EPC Group Fixed-Fee	Tools
250 users	8-12 weeks	$80,000-$150,000	Microsoft Native + ShareGate
1,000 users	14-22 weeks	$200,000-$400,000	ShareGate + AvePoint
2,500 users	18-26 weeks	$300,000-$650,000	AvePoint + ShareGate
5,000 users	22-32 weeks	$450,000-$900,000	AvePoint Enterprise
10,000+ users	32-52 weeks	$750,000-$1,800,000	AvePoint + Custom

What's Migrating

Google Workspace → Microsoft 365 migration spans:

• Identity — Google Identity → Microsoft Entra ID
• Email — Gmail → Exchange Online
• Calendar — Google Calendar → Exchange Online Calendar
• Files — Google Drive (My Drive + Shared Drives) → SharePoint Online + OneDrive for Business
• Chat — Google Chat → Microsoft Teams
• Meet — Google Meet → Microsoft Teams Meetings
• Forms — Google Forms → Microsoft Forms or Power Apps
• Sites — Google Sites → SharePoint Online
• Apps Script — Google Apps Script → Power Automate / Power Apps
• AppSheet — AppSheet → Power Apps

Plus device management transition (Google Endpoint Management → Microsoft Intune) and Conditional Access policy redesign.

Phase 1: Discovery (3-4 weeks)

Workspace Inventory

• User accounts and licensing baseline
• Mailbox sizes and growth trends
• Drive content (My Drive per-user, Shared Drives team-owned)
• Workspace usage patterns (active users, dormant users, frontline)
• Apps Script inventory (count, complexity, integrations)
• AppSheet apps inventory
• Third-party SaaS app SSO connections

Identity Discovery

• Google Identity directory analysis
• Group structure and membership
• 2-Step Verification status
• SAML/OIDC connections to SaaS apps
• Service accounts
• Privileged user analysis

Network and Compliance

• Internet bandwidth per office for Microsoft 365 endpoint connectivity
• Compliance requirements (HIPAA, SOC 2, FedRAMP, FINRA, CMMC, GDPR)
• Data residency requirements
• Sensitivity classification standards (Workspace Drive labels → Microsoft Purview labels)
• Regulatory audit log retention

Phase 2: Architecture (2-4 weeks)

Microsoft 365 Tenant Setup

• Tenant provisioning (Commercial, GCC, GCC High, DoD)
• Custom domain registration with DNS planning
• Microsoft Entra ID configuration
• Microsoft 365 license assignment plan (E3, E5, F1/F3)
• Conditional Access policy design

Identity Migration Design

• Google Identity → Microsoft Entra ID with provisioning automation
• SSO migration plan for connected SaaS apps
• MFA enforcement strategy (typically tightens during migration)
• Group structure migration (Google Groups → Microsoft 365 Groups)

Content Architecture

• Drive folders → SharePoint document libraries with metadata enrichment
• My Drive → OneDrive for Business
• Shared Drives → Microsoft 365 Groups + SharePoint sites
• Sensitivity-label mapping (Drive labels → Microsoft Purview labels)

Apps Script and Workflow Migration Strategy

• Per-script triage: convert to Power Automate (typical 60-75%), rebuild in Power Apps (15-25%), retire (10-20%)
• AppSheet apps → Power Apps conversion plan
• Custom integrations evaluation

Phase 3: Pilot Migration (3-4 weeks)

Pilot User Selection (50-100 users)

• Cross-departmental representation
• Mix of technical and non-technical roles
• Pilot use cases covering email, calendar, files, chat, meetings

Pilot Migration Execution

• Identity migration to Microsoft Entra ID with SSO testing
• Mailbox migration via Microsoft 365 Migration Manager
• Drive content migration (sample sites + per-user OneDrive)
• Microsoft Teams setup
• Pilot user training (60-min webinar + self-paced modules)

Pilot Validation

• Email content fidelity (folder structure, labels, attachments)
• Calendar event preservation
• Drive content fidelity with permission preservation
• Apps Script → Power Automate validation (5-10 sample scripts)
• User satisfaction survey

Phase 4: Wave Migrations (8-16 weeks)

Standard wave sequence:

Wave 1: IT and Engineering

• Highest tolerance for issues
• Often power users who can self-service
• Validates migration tooling at scale

Wave 2: Executive and Administrative

• High-priority stakeholders
• Often require white-glove migration support
• Strong governance expectation

Wave 3-N: Departmental Waves

• Sales, Marketing, Finance, HR, Operations, etc.
• Per-wave training scheduled
• Help desk staffing increase for wave week

Per-User Migration Steps

1. Mailbox migration with delta sync
2. Calendar migration
3. OneDrive content migration
4. Microsoft Teams membership
5. License assignment
6. Conditional Access policies escalation (audit → enforce)

Phase 5: Cutover and Decommissioning (2-4 weeks)

Cutover

• DNS cutover (MX records, autodiscover, SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
• Mail flow validation
• Final delta migrations
• Google Workspace set to read-only

Decommissioning

• Apps Script cutover to Power Automate flows
• AppSheet → Power Apps cutover
• 30-90 day Workspace preservation hold for compliance
• Workspace license cancellation
• Final audit of orphaned content

Cost Breakdown — 2,000 User Migration

Component	Cost
Microsoft 365 E5 licensing (annual, 2,000 users)	$1,368,000
Migration tooling (ShareGate + AvePoint)	$35,000-$75,000
EPC Group fixed-fee implementation	$300,000-$650,000
Apps Script → Power Automate conversion (estimated 50 scripts)	$50,000-$120,000
User training (live + self-paced)	$40,000-$80,000
Microsoft 365 Copilot Readiness Assessment	$25,000-$50,000
Total Year 1	$1,818,000-$2,343,000

Year 2+ costs: license renewal ($1.37M) + ongoing managed services ($120K-$300K/year for governance + Copilot enablement).

Note: total cost is roughly 2x Google Workspace Enterprise Plus equivalent at list price. The TCO conversion makes sense when:

• Microsoft 365 Copilot deployment is planned (Microsoft 365 Copilot has no Workspace equivalent at the same integration depth)
• Regulated-industry compliance requirements favor Microsoft Purview-native posture
• Existing Microsoft 365 investment in adjacent products (Power BI, Microsoft Fabric, Dynamics 365) creates ecosystem advantages

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration take?

EPC Group standard timeline: 14-22 weeks for 1,000 users, 18-26 weeks for 2,500 users, 22-32 weeks for 5,000 users. Discovery 3-4 weeks, architecture 2-4 weeks, pilot 3-4 weeks, wave migrations 8-16 weeks, cutover 2-4 weeks.

What's the cost of a Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration?

EPC Group fixed-fee implementation: $200,000-$400,000 for 1,000 users, $450,000-$900,000 for 5,000 users. Plus Microsoft 365 licensing ($36-$57/user/month) and migration tooling ($35,000-$75,000 for ShareGate + AvePoint).

Can I migrate Apps Script to Power Automate?

Yes. EPC Group typical conversion rate: 60-75% of Apps Script logic converts cleanly to Power Automate flows, 15-25% requires Power Apps for full-fidelity migration, 10-20% is appropriate to retire. Each script triage takes 30-60 minutes; conversion takes 2-8 hours per script depending on complexity.

How does Microsoft 365 Copilot compare to Gemini for Workspace?

Microsoft 365 Copilot ($30/user/month on top of M365 license) integrates across SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint with semantic-model grounding via Microsoft Graph. Gemini for Workspace integrates across Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, and Gmail. For Microsoft 365-anchored enterprises with significant Office/Excel/Outlook investment, Copilot is materially more integrated.

What about Google Drive labels — do they migrate to Microsoft Purview?

Drive labels and Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels serve similar purposes but are not directly compatible. EPC Group standard migration includes a label-mapping exercise (Drive label taxonomy → Microsoft Purview label taxonomy) with auto-classification rules to apply Microsoft Purview labels during content migration.

Can I migrate Google Forms to Microsoft Forms?

Most Google Forms migrate to Microsoft Forms with manual rebuild (no direct migration tool exists). For complex forms with conditional logic and integrations, Power Apps is often the better target. EPC Group typical migration includes Forms triage and conversion in base scope.

What about Google Sites — do those migrate to SharePoint?

Yes. Google Sites typically migrate to SharePoint communication sites or team sites. The migration is largely manual rebuild because Sites' page structure differs from SharePoint's modern page layout. EPC Group typical migration includes 1-3 hours per Site for rebuild.

Should I move during the school year if I'm a school district?

For K-12 and higher education, summer break is the standard migration window. EPC Group typical school district migration: discovery in spring, pilot in May, wave migrations in June-July, cutover before fall semester. Year-round colleges with summer terms require different timing.

How EPC Group Delivers Workspace → M365 Migrations

EPC Group has migrated more than 100 organizations from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 since 2018. Every migration includes:

• Microsoft 365 tenant design with Conditional Access baseline
• Microsoft Entra ID identity migration
• Mailbox, calendar, contacts migration
• Drive → SharePoint + OneDrive content migration with permission preservation
• Microsoft Teams setup with Google Chat and Meet conversion
• Apps Script → Power Automate conversion
• AppSheet → Power Apps conversion
• Microsoft 365 Copilot Readiness Assessment
• Role-based user training playbooks
• Post-go-live managed services with monthly governance reviews

For regulated industries (HIPAA, FINRA, FedRAMP, CMMC), every migration includes BAA verification, regulatory-specific control mapping, audit-defensible documentation, and incident response runbook scoped to industry-specific breach notification requirements.

Next Steps

Schedule a 30-minute discovery call at /schedule or call (888) 381-9725. Senior architects (not sales reps) take discovery calls. We'll discuss your current Google Workspace footprint, evaluate migration approach, and outline next steps.

Related reading: SharePoint vs Google Drive Enterprise, Microsoft 365 Migration Checklist 2026, and Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace Enterprise.