Learn about Google Vault to Office 365 Migration Process

Read time 5 minutes

Google Cloud Platform is often the preferred choice for beginners and small enterprises due to its user-friendly interface and rapid accessibility. However, as these businesses expand and require more robust cloud solutions, transitioning to a professional platform like Office 365 becomes necessary. In many instances, these organizations seek to migrate various critical data, including G Suite emails, contacts, calendars, and Google Drive files, to Microsoft’s cloud environment, which offers comprehensive enterprise-grade features. Additionally, certain users may also need to transfer Google Vault content to their new cloud location. This blog post is meticulously crafted to guide such users through the optimal process of performing a seamless migration from Google Vault to Office 365.

Some Light on Google Vault

Google Vault plays a pivotal role in G Suite editions (Business, Enterprise, and Education). This web-based service offers a range of functionalities, including data search, storage, retention, and the ability to export essential items such as emails, documents, files, and more from various Google services like Google Drive, Google Groups, and Google Team Drive. Its primary purpose is to meet the organization’s eDiscovery and compliance needs.

Within Google Vault, users have the capability to perform a variety of essential functions, including archiving Google Chats, storing Google Drive files, retaining Gmail emails, conducting searches based on criteria such as account, date range, and keywords, exploring Google Drive files (including media files), and conducting comprehensive audits of user activities within the Google Vault environment.

One of the standout features of the Google Vault application is its export functionality, which proves immensely valuable for users. This feature enables the seamless export of archived or searched emails into different portable file formats, such as MBOX or PST. This capability is set to play a pivotal role in aiding users during the migration process from Google Vault to Office 365.

The next segment covers the migration process in detail.

While there may not be direct methods available for migrating Google Vault data to Office 365, users can leverage the Matter, Hold, and Export features within Google Vault as valuable tools to facilitate the transfer of Google Vault data to the Office 365 environment.

Let us better understand the migration process through the following steps.

1. Log in to your G Suite with the admin credentials.
2. Visit the link https://ediscovery.google.com/ and reenter the credentials. It will launch the Google Vault application page.
3. On the welcome screen of the Google Vault page, click on the CREATE option.
   
4. A new dialogue box “Create new matter” will be opened. Here add any matter name and description, then hit on Create new matter option.
   
5. Provide a name for hold, select Mail as the type to apply on hold, choose Accounts as the user, and enter the account email address. Set any date range as the condition, add Terms if required, and finally click on Save.
   
6. The hold is now created.
7. Now, move to the Search option and click on it.
8. Select the Search filters as Mail, All Data, and Specific Accounts from the drop-down list. Provide the Account email address, Date Range, Terms, etc. Then click on the Search option. Further, click on the Export option.
   
   Note: Select the checkbox Exclude drafts to avoid exporting the emails’ drafts.
9. The Export results page will be opened. Provide any Export name, choose Format as PST.
10. A message will be displayed asking to download Exports within 15 days as after this, it would get automatically deleted.
11. Next, click on the Start export option.
12. The export of Google Vault to the PST file format will get started. Once it is over, click on the Download link against the exported files to download and save it.
    Note: There might be multiple PST files for download when you are exporting from different accounts or when the file size is more than 1 GB.

Now that users have successfully exported Google Vault data to the PST file format on their local system, our ultimate objective is to complete the migration process by transferring this Google Vault data to its new destination within the Office 365 environment.

To import the PST file that you’ve exported to your local system location into Office 365, you have a few manual options available. You can configure your Office 365 account in the Outlook application and then perform the import. Alternatively, you can explore other manual methods for importing PST files into Office 365, such as the Network Upload method or the Drive Shipping method.

While the manual methods mentioned earlier can be time-consuming and pose risks of data loss or corruption due to human error during content migration, an excellent alternative is the use of the advanced Kernel Import PST to Office 365 tool. This tool provides a more streamlined and reliable solution by enabling users to directly transfer PST files to their Office 365 destination mailboxes. Additionally, it offers support for migrations to both on-premises and hosted Exchange Servers, making it a robust choice for a wide range of migration scenarios.

Concluding the Blog

In summary, transitioning from Google Vault to Office 365 is a manageable task when adopting the migration approach outlined in this blog. By combining a manual procedure with a dependable professional tool, users can achieve the best possible results while ensuring a smooth and secure data migration process.