Setup & Provisioning

Depending on the tool you select you may need to find a dedicated machine to run the migration on premise. On premise tools obviously serve a speed advantage opposed to cloud based tools that need to access the network, however you will want to evaluate the tools based on your infrastructure and requirements.

You will also want to be sure and allocate the necessary storage to your Google Drive service account or individual owner accounts. Be sure to provide some buffer in alloted storage, as moving platforms can often result in different data size calculations.

Enabling Google Apps APIs, creating your service account and mapping users / groups are other common preparations needed depending on your chosen tool requirements.

End user communication plan

A migration from a File Server to Google Drive can often have more of a learning curve for end users in comparison to what you may see in an email migration. This transition requires extra attention in communicating the expectations of the new platform and any adjusted workflow and business processes that may have changed in the replatforming. Visual communications and comparisons over webinar and classroom settings are recommended to educate end users on the differences between the two platforms and the potential adjustments in business workflows.

Migration Phased Rollout

Based on your testing you will want to migrate in phases that are able to be completed in a time period that least interferes with business operations (i.e. the weekend). However you will want to balance this with segments that allow for clear communication of which files should be migrated and which system is the “record of truth” to access certain files after the migration.

For very large data migrations with longer rollouts and multiple phases, a published end user facing document stating which platform is the “record of truth” for which files and folders can be helpful in support during the transition. Once migrated, locking down or moving folders/files in the previous file server location is a common practice to reduce confusion to which system to access the file. This also will surface any end user issues in the migration, alerting IT immediately.

In the likely event you had to migrate in phases, be sure to document and seek feedback in the initial phases and utilize this data to improve upon the timing, user experience, and approach to reiterate and improve on the next phases.

Drive Migration can be a complicated task but a well planned and prepared strategy can help simplify the process. Communicating with end users will help decrease confusion during the migration and allow them to fully use the powerful tools that Google Drive offers.