How to Migrate Emails from Outlook to Gmail: IT Admin Guide

Migrating from Outlook to Gmail can involve various use cases like switching totally from Microsoft 365 and embracing Google Workspace or using the former suite with the latte.. But regardless of the use case, it is crucial to have a proper plan to ensure your company and IT team do not go wrong in any area.

In this post, we will discuss some of the key considerations you should keep in mind when migrating Outlook to Gmail.

Choose a Migration Tool That Meets the Email Migration Needs

Choosing the right migration tool is crucial to the success of your Outlook to Gmail migration. Compare various features like migration speed, user interface, security, etc, of the email migration tools and opt for the one that meets all the criteria.

CloudFuze is one of the most popular and reliable email migration tools that are capable of seamlessly migrating emails from Outlook to Gmail (and other service providers like Yahoo, Zoho Mail, etc.).

Determine Which Emails You Need to Migrate

Before migrating your emails from Outlook to Gmail, you should decide which emails you want to move. If you have a large number of emails in your Outlook account, organize them by creating folders and moving only the necessary emails to Gmail.

This can considerably reduce the migration timeline and be beneficial for companies that require quicker data transfer from one email service provider to another.

Check Compatibility

Make sure that the migration tool you choose is compatible with your version of Outlook and Gmail. Some tools may not work with older versions of Outlook or with the newest version of Gmail. Also, certain migration tools may only support certain file types, such as PST or CSV files. If you have emails saved in a different file type, make sure that the migration tool you choose can handle it.

Backup Your Data

Before starting the migration process, it is important to backup all of your Outlook data. This will ensure that you have a copy of all your important emails and attachments in case anything goes wrong during the migration process.

Syncing Calendar and Contacts

Simply migrating emails is not enough for a thorough email migration that replicates all the aspects of Outlook in Gmail.
In addition to emails, migrating other essential elements, such as calendar events and contacts, is crucial. Syncing these elements ensures your workflow remains unaffected after switching to Microsoft Outlook.
It is essential to utilize a reliable email migration tool like CloudFuze to transfer all emails and associated features securely and with no downtime.

Preserve Distribution Lists

As Outlook’s shared mailboxes and distribution lists allow for sending emails to a large number of users in one go, it is imperative to preserve them during migration to Gmail. However, replicating shared mailboxes and distribution lists manually can be a cumbersome task. Therefore, it is essential for your IT team to utilize an email migration service that offers these capabilities to ensure a smooth transition.

Incremental Migration

When your organization’s internal IT team plans to migrate Outlook to Gmail, it is essential to transfer the incremental changes added during the migration. Delta or Incremental migration is particularly helpful in cases where users continue to use their old email platform during the migration process.

As the users receive new emails, they can migrate them to the new platform without interrupting the user’s workflow. It also ensures that the data on both platforms is up-to-date and in sync, preventing any missed or lost emails.

To perform an incremental data transfer during an Outlook to Gmail email migration, it is crucial to use an email migration tool that supports this feature.
CloudFuze is an email migration tool that offers this capability, allowing users to select which folders or labels they want to migrate and whether to migrate all emails or only the ones that have changed since the last migration.

Pilot Run

Before migrating all your emails, test the migration process by moving a small number of emails first. This will help you identify any issues that may arise and allow you to make adjustments before moving your entire email account.

Verify the Migration

After the migration is complete, verify that all of your emails and attachments have been successfully transferred to Gmail. Check if you have preserved the folder structure and migrated all contacts and calendar events.

Validating Migration Reports

Validate the email migration by checking the reports of each migration batch to confirm the critical data transfer. Review key metrics, such as the number of mailboxes migrated, calendar migration status, and any conflicts that may have arisen.
You can also check out this exhaustive email migration checklist that can assist your internal IT teams in transferring email data from one service provider to another.

If you are ready to start your email migration journey, why wait? Take the first step towards a seamless email migration from Outlook to Gmail with CloudFuze.

Leverage the exclusive email migration tool from CloudFuze or use the email migration feature along with user and data migration service.