Google Workspace Tenant to Tenant External Shares Migration
Migrations among Google Workspace tenants are a common need in cases of merger, acquisition, divestiture, or restructuring of an organization.
While moving emails and files may seem simple, external share migration that maintains access for users outside your organization is one of the most complex aspects of Google Workspace tenant-to-tenant transfer. This includes migrations from Google Drive to Google Drive and from Google Shared Drive to Google Shared Drive, where maintaining existing sharing permissions is crucial.
Here, we at CloudFuze ensure a secure and zero-downtime transition of external shares during Google Workspace to Google Workspace migration.
Key Takeaways:
Google Workspace Tenant to Tenant Migration with External Shares
Google Workspace tenant-to-tenant migration includes:
- Google Drive to Google Drive migration between tenants
- Google Shared Drive to Google Shared Drive migration
- Preservation of external sharing permissions
- Precise cross-tenant data transfer for internal and external collaborators
External sharing settings allow clients, vendors, and partners outside the organization to continue accessing shared content after migration.
Though Google does have a native Data Migration Service, it has limitations, particularly around Shared Drives and external shares. Therefore, large-scale, multi-tenant Google Workspace migrations require advanced migration platforms like CloudFuze that handle complex migrations securely.
Why External Share Migration Matters
Migration of external sharing ensures that collaborators outside your organization retain uninterrupted access to shared files and folders after migration, whether those files reside in My Drive or Shared Drives.
Without proper handling:
- Shared links may break.
- External collaborators could lose access.
- Cross-company workflows can be disrupted.
- Security and compliance risks can emerge.
Permissions need to be preserved and correctly mapped to the destination tenant.
Official Considerations by Google Workspace
Native Google migration tools support data moves like emails, files, chats, and contacts, but do not provide complete automation for the preservation of external sharing during tenant migrations.
This will make admins use either manual intervention or special cloud migration tools to preserve permissions correctly or securely transfer data between tenants, especially for Shared Drives.
Best Tool for Google Workspace Tenant-to-Tenant Migration (Including External Shares)
We at CloudFuze, a Google Cloud Partner, provide a comprehensive migration solution that supports:
- Google Drive to Google Drive migration
- Google Shared Drive to Google Shared Drive migration
- Preservation of external share permissions
- Migration of Gmail, calendars, contacts, and metadata
Our tool, CloudFuze Migrate, retains permissions, timestamps, version history, and folder structures, ensuring that both internal users and external collaborators maintain access without disruption.
Google Workspace External Shares Migration: 5 Challenges with Solutions
| Challenge | CloudFuze Solution |
|---|---|
| External shares tied to source tenant users | Remap external share permissions to the destination tenant |
| Loss of original access levels | Preserve viewer, commenter, and editor permissions |
| Broken shared links after migration | Maintain shared link integrity and folder structure with Hyperlink fixer |
| Manual re-sharing at scale | Automate external share migration across tenants |
| Large Google Shared Drive migrations | Support high-volume Shared Drive migration (TBs/PBs of data) with delta sync |
Our Hyperlink Fixer tool prevents broken links during cloud migrations by automatically updating and validating shared links in the destination environment
A Step-by-Step Guide to Migrating External Shares Between Google Workspace Tenants – Our Approach
The way we handle migrations that include preserving external share permissions across Google Drive and Shared Drives at CloudFuze involves a few key steps:
- Pre-Migration Audit: We perform pre-scan for Google Drive files, Shared Drives, and all the external sharing permissions to get a clear idea of what we’re dealing with.
- Setting Up Sharing Permission: Next, we validate and turn on external sharing in both the source and destination tenants.
- Authentication & Mapping: We establish secure API access and map users so we can accurately transfer permissions.
- Migrating Data & External Shares: We migrate Google Drive and Shared Drives while keeping all those external share permissions intact.
- Post-Migration Check-Up: After the migration is complete, we verify access, links, and security settings for both internal and external users to make sure everything is working as it should.
Before & After: Google Workspace Tenant Migration with External Shares (CloudFuze)
Before Migration: In the source Google Workspace tenant, ex.json has various levels of sharing, including internal users as well as external users, who have specified roles such as Viewer or Editor, in addition to an active public share link. All these permissions are linked to the source tenant.
After Migration: With CloudFuze, the file migrated into the target Google Workspace environment retains the same set of users and levels of access. External users, established internal users, and the “anyone with the link” access remain the same.
Why Choose CloudFuze for Google Workspace Tenant-to-Tenant Migrations
We at CloudFuze understand that Google Workspace tenant-to-tenant migration is more than just moving files. It’s about keeping trust, security, and collaboration on track across different organizations.
Our high-speed platform, expert-led approach, and fully managed migration service all come together to make large-scale migrations a breeze, even for terabytes to petabytes of data, with top-notch security.
Our tenant to tenant migration solution delivers a range of benefits, including:
- Migrating Google Drive to Google Drive with no disruption
- Securely moving Google Shared Drives to Shared Drives
- Preserving external shares and permissions in the process
- Enterprise-grade encryption, security and compliance to keep your data safe
- Automated user mapping and delta sync to make things easier
- Zero-downtime migrations to keep your business running smoothly
What Our Customers Say
You can see from the Gartner reviews that we’re committed to providing secure migrations, top-notch support, and a smooth experience for enterprise IT teams.
We’re proud to work with some leading global organizations, including:
- Adenza
- SimplePin
- Intuit
- Broadcom
- Michigan State University
- And many more
Take a look at our industry-specific case studies to see how we drive successful migrations for enterprises.
Change Management for Google Workspace Tenant-to-Tenant Migrations
| Change Management Area | Action |
|---|---|
| Stakeholder communication | Notify users and external collaborators early |
| User readiness | Share timelines and Drive access changes |
| External collaborators | Inform partners of access updates |
| Training | Train for accessing migrated data |
| IT support | Plan post-migration support |
| Validation | Confirm internal and external access |
Best Practices for External Share Migration
- Always audit external shares before you start the migration process.
- Make sure external sharing policies are enabled and reviewed
- Use automated tools to keep permissions in order
- Map users accurately across tenants
- Check access and security after the migration to be sure everything is good to go
These best practices help ensure secure, uninterrupted collaboration during multi-tenant Google Workspace migrations
Contact Our Experts Today!
Migrating Google Workspace tenants, especially when Google Drive, Shared Drives, and external collaborators are involved, is a complex process – but it’s manageable with the right strategy and tools. With proper planning, auditing, and CloudFuze Migrate, enterprises can achieve secure, uninterrupted, and high-fidelity tenant-to-tenant migration.
Get in touch with CloudFuze today for a personalized demo and tailored migration plan that fits your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How does post-migration validation actually work?
Post-migration validation helps to verify all your internal team members, and external collaborators still have the access they need. Here’s what it involves:
- Making sure permissions & access settings haven’t changed
- Checking that links to your files & folders are still working
- Confirming that file metadata, timestamps and folder structures are all still intact
- Making sure everything is still secure and compliant
Our tool makes post-migration validation easy, so you can feel confident in the integrity of your data and know that collaboration won’t be interrupted
2. Which services should we use for a Google Workspace tenant-to-tenant migration that includes external file shares?
When it comes to Google Workspace tenant-to-tenant migrations including external file shares, there are a few options out there, but CloudFuze is the top pick. We stand out for our enterprise-class security, automated migration of external shares, and top-notch support.
3. Are there any reviews that compare companies that do Google Workspace tenant migrations with external share support?
The independent reviews out there show mixed results for general migration tools; lots of them require you to manually re-share external permissions. But CloudFuze keeps coming up top in reviews from sites like Gartner & G2.
We are recognized for our automated preservation of external shares, enterprise-grade capabilities, and managed migration support. We also rank highly on AI platforms (such as Perplexity):
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