Google Groups to Microsoft 365 Groups Migration Guide

Introduction

This article will guide you through the process of migrating from Google Groups to Microsoft 365 Groups. This migration requires several prerequisites for successful completion, including Google Vault licenses and pre-provisioning of the destination groups, which may impact the migration timeline. Review this document carefully before beginning the migration process.

Items located in the root folder of the mailbox are not migrated.

MigrationWiz

MigrationWiz is a migration tool, not a syncing tool. If changes are made at the source after migration, they will not sync to the destination, nor will changes made at the destination sync to the source. We do not have “live” monitoring of changes (as with a sync agent) and we cannot handle scenarios such as conflict resolution without user interaction.

Prerequisites

It is important to note the following prerequisites in order to have a smooth migration:

  • The source administrator must have a valid Google Vault license before proceeding with the migration project.

  • Microsoft Groups and all members at the destination must be provisioned by the customer before migration. MigrationWiz does not auto-provision the Microsoft Groups and members at destination.

  • Google Groups requires “Conversation History” to be enabled for conversations to be kept. A collaborative inbox has “Conversation History” enabled by default. However, it is recommended to verify this in the Group’s setting.

Limitations

Some of the following limitations are an inheritance from the APIs used as well as the capabilities of the destination.

  • Nested Groups which are members of other Groups are not migrated.

  • Conversation tags like “Star”, “Abuse”, “Report”, “Locked” are not migrated due to lack of data from Source extract. Conversations with these tags are migrated, however.

  • Collaborative Inbox features like “Assign to me”, “Assign to someone”, “Mark as completed”, “Mark as duplicated” and “Mark as no actions” are not migrated as these are not supported in Microsoft Groups. The conversations are migrated.

  • Conversations under “Moderated” or “Pending” are not migrated due to lack of data from the source extract.

  • In MigrationWiz, Google Groups messages are exported and migrated individually to the Microsoft Groups destination, while the Google Groups app shows the number of threads and messages within the thread. There will be a mismatch of migrated item counts between what is indicated in MigrationWiz and Google Groups itself.

  • In a multi-pass scenario, MigrationWiz does not need to apply a new RecipientMapping Advanced Option to members who were already migrated in the first pass.

    • The user needs to reset the item before carrying out the migration in order for RecipientMapping to implement the new mapping to members who were migrated in the first pass.

  • In a multi-pass scenario, MigrationWiz will not be able to identify and re-migrate a deleted member in the destination groups if the user has manually removed the member from the destination group, reset item and run a multi-pass migration.

    • User can check the “Do not search Destination for duplicates” option to overwrite all previously migrated members during a multi-pass migration to ensure that all members are migrated if changes have been made.

64381b65-25f0-4ff9-baf7-cd409bd4e630.png

Which Items Are and Are Not Migrated

The following section provides information which items are and are not migrated in this scenario, as well as information on how those items will appear on the destination. 

Migrated

  1. Google Groups Members

    • Google Groups member roles and permissions

      • Google Groups “Owner” >> Microsoft Groups “Group Owner”

      • Google Groups “Manager” >> Microsoft Groups “Member”

      • Google Groups “Member” >> Microsoft Groups “Member”

  2. Google Groups conversations

    • Conversation metadata

    • Conversation attachments

    • Conversation labels

      • Migrated as Category in Microsoft Groups

Not migrated

  • Collaboration Inbox features like ‘assignment of task’ and ‘status of tasks’

  • Conversation tags like “Star”, “Abuse”, “Report”, “Locked”

  • Conversations marked under “Moderated” or “Pending”

  • Nested Group as member of another Group

  • Google Spaces
  • Google Spaces Chats

Prepare the Source Environment

Google Groups Endpoint

This endpoint requires your tenant service account to be set up and Google APIs be enabled. 

Prerequisites

  • Subscription to Google Cloud Platform

  • Google Super Administrator account

  • Ability to set up a service account on the G Suite tenant

  • Service account must be set up before the MigrationWiz project is created

  • Administrator must have Google Vault access privileges

Create a Google Project

  1. Go to the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Console and sign in as a super administrator. Choose one of the options below:

    • If you haven't used the Google Cloud Platform Console before, agree to the Terms of Service and click Create Project.

    • If you have used Google Cloud Platform Console before, at the top of the screen next to your most recent project name, click Down to open your projects list. Then, click New Project.

  2. Enter a project name and click Create.

Enable APIs for Service Account

  1. From the Google Cloud Platform Console, click Menu () > APIs & Services > Library.

  2. Enable the following APIs by selecting the specific API and clicking Enable. Repeat for each API:

    • Groups settings API

    • Google Vault API

    • Admin SDK

Make sure that the respective services are enabled within the Google tenant. You can control services for your users by following the instructions on this page: G Suite and Google Services Access.

Create Customer Tenant Service Account

  1. From the Google Cloud Platform Console, click Menu > IAM & Admin > Service accounts.

  2. Click Create Service Account and enter a name.

  3. Click Create.

  4. Assign the role of Owner to the new Service Account by selecting Owner from the Role drop down menu.

  5. Click Done.

  6. You will now be returned to the "Service Accounts" page. 

  7. On ‘Service accounts' page, click vertical ellipsis “⋮” under 'Actions’ column for the service account created above, and click on Manage Keys.

  8. Click + Add Key.

  9. Click Create New Key.

  10. Make sure that JSON is selected as "Key Type."

  11. Click Create.

  12. Click Close.

    • Make sure that you download the key as a JSON file and make a note of the name and location of the file. This JSON file will be used when setting up the migration endpoint in the Mailbox Migration project.

    • The JSON file must contain information in the following fields: “type”, “private key”, and “client email”. If these mandatory fields are empty the file upload during endpoint creation will fail.

  13. From the service account that was set up in Step 3: Create Customer Tenant Account.

    • Find the Unique ID field for that service account by clicking the Column Display Options “|||” button in the right upper corner above Actions

    • Select the Unique ID checkbox.

    • Click Ok.

    • Copy the unique ID number. This is the Client ID number that will be used in a later step.

      • This Client ID should be considered similar to Administrator account passwords and handled securely.

Setting the Scopes for the Migration

From the Google Admin Dashboard:

image-20211019-062846__1_.png
  1. Click on Security

  2. Click on API Controls

  3. On the API Controls page, locate section Domain-wide delegation

  4. Click on Manage domain-wide delegation

  5. Click on Add new

  6. In the client Name field, enter the Service account Unique ID

  7. For OAuth scopes, enter the scopes listed below:

    1. https://www.googleapis.com/auth/apps.groups.settings

    2. https://www.googleapis.com/auth/admin.directory.group.readonly

    3. https://www.googleapis.com/auth/admin.directory.domain.readonly

    4. https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_only

    5. https://www.googleapis.com/auth/ediscovery

    6. https://www.googleapis.com/auth/admin.directory.user.readonly
  8. Click Authorize.

Assigning Google Vault privileges

  1. User must be Super Administrator user, and signed in as one.

  2. Sign in to Google Admin Console.

  3. In the Overview page, click on Admin Roles.

  4. Click on Create a New Role.

  5. Enter the Name and Description for the role, click Continue.

  6. Find and expand the list on Google Vault, select the following:

    1. Manage Matters

    2. Manage Searches

    3. Manage Exports

    4. View All Matters

  7. Click Continue

Prepare Destination Environment

Microsoft 365 Endpoint

  1. Create an account in Office 365 to be used for migration or use the global admin account for the tenant.

  2. Create the Office 365 Group, if it doesn't already exist.


Modern Authentication Requirements For O365 Groups

There are additional permissions required for this project type that differs from a regular mailbox project involving O365 (steps 25 - 28 in the dropdown below). If you have already set up Modern Authentication for a mailbox project, you will still need to perform the steps below as well.

Exchange Online EWS Modern Authentication Requirements (click on this box to expand required steps)

The option listed below apply to the destination tenant when they are Exchange Online, in regards to Exchange Web Services (EWS) in mailbox or Group. Use a Global Administrator for the configuration steps.

 

For setup steps that include images, see under Enabling Modern Authentication for EWS between MigrationWiz and your Exchange Online Tenant in the following KB: Authentication Methods for Microsoft 365 (All Products) Migrations

Important: Failure to perform the steps for one of the two required options for your Microsoft 365 endpoints, can result in failed jobs with 401 errors like the following in your project: Http POST request to 'autodiscover-s.outlook.com' failed - 401 Unauthorized


Regardless of the option selected, the administrator account being used for the project needs to be excluded from any MFA/2FA policies or Conditional Access policies that can block access for the administrator account. This requirement does not apply to the items or users being migrated in the project.

Of the two options available, the more recommended is the Modern Authentication option, as it is more secure. Configuring Modern Authentication to work with MigrationWiz will be the default method by October 2022 of this year, due to Microsoft discontinuing support for Basic Authentication in Exchange Online. The following Microsoft documentation outlines this change in more detail. Should you have additional questions on how this change may impact your tenant, please contact Microsoft to assist with providing that information: Deprecation of Basic authentication in Exchange Online

Regardless of the option selected, the Azure Security Defaults must also be disabled in the tenant. (This is often enabled by default for all new Exchange Online tenants and there is no workaround for this requirement). For steps on where to enable/disable the Azure Security Defaults, see Enabling security defaults in the following Microsoft documentation. To disable, set Enable Security defaults to No: Security defaults in Azure AD

Steps for enabling MigrationWiz to use Modern Authentication using Exchange Web Services in the tenant

Note: While this will allow us to connect to EWS using Modern Authentication, you will still need to have PowerShell allowed for basic auth

  1. Log in to the Azure AD admin console with a Global Administrator login.
  2. Select Azure Active Directory in the Azure Active Directory Admin Center.
  3. Select App Registrations, which is found under Manage.
  4. Select New Registration at the top of the screen.
  5. Give the app a distinct name. You can change this later if necessary.
  6. Select the Accounts in any organizational directory button.
  7. Under Redirect Uri, select Public Client (mobile & desktop) and set it to urn:ietf:wg:oauth:2.0:oob
  8. Click Register.
  9. Go back to App registrations.
  10. Select the App you just created.
  11. In the Overview, you will find a ClientId (aka Application) and Directory (Tenant) ID.
  12. Copy both of these to another application, such as Notepad, for use later in this process.
  13. Under the Manage menu, select Authentication.
  14. Set the option Allow public client flows to Yes
  15. Click Save.
  16. From the Manage menu, select API permissions.
  17. If API permission named User.Read under Microsoft Graph is already present, this can be removed. The Microsoft Graph API is not applicable to this project type and is not used.
  18. Select Add a Permission.
  19. Select APIs my organization uses

  20. Scroll down and select Office 365 Exchange Online

  21. Then select Delegated Permissions

  22. Select EWS

  23. Check the box under EWS for EWS.AccessAsUser.All.
  24. Click Add permissions. This permission only allows the OAuth application (MigrationWiz) to be associated with EWS.
      1. Important: This does not grant access to all mailbox data.
  25. Repeat steps 17 and 18
  26. Search “Microsoft Graph”
  27. Then select Delegated Permissions
  28. Select below permissions and click “Add Permissions”
    1. Directory.ReadWrite.All
    2. Group.ReadWrite.All
    3. GroupMember.ReadWrite.All
    4. User.Read.All
  29. Click Grant admin consent.
  30. Click Yes to confirm the settings.
  31. In MigrationWiz, select the project that needs to be configured for Modern Authentication.
  32. Click the Edit Project menu.
  33. Select Advanced Options.
  34. Under Support Options enter the ClientID and TenantID information you saved earlier in the following format when enabling Modern Authentication for the Destination:
    • ModernAuthClientIdImport=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx
    • ModernAuthTenantIdImport=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx 
      • Enter the specific ClientID and TenantID for your tenant in place of the xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx.
  35. Run a Verify Credentials to confirm that MigrationWiz can connect using Modern Authentication. 
  36. Click on the item that was verified. There will be a message in the MigrationWiz Migration Information page that Modern Authentication is being used. This message will show in the “Migration Errors” box; however, it is not an error. This is just a message confirming that Modern Authentication is now active and being used for the connection.

MigrationWiz Steps

Licenses

The Google Groups to Microsoft 365 Groups migration is supported by the Mailbox and User Migration Bundle (UMB) License types. Either may be purchased. Descriptions of each license type can be found in our Licensing guide, which is linked below.

Purchasing a License

  1. Sign in to your BitTitan account. 

  2. In the top navigation bar, click Purchase.

  3. Click the Select button and choose the license type you need.

  4. Enter the number of licenses you want to purchase. Click Buy Now.

  5. Enter a Billing address if applicable.

  6. Click Next.

  7. Review the Order Summary and enter a payment method.

  8. Click Place Your Order.

​​Licenses are released once payment has been received:

  • If you purchase via credit card, licenses will be available immediately upon payment.

  • If you purchase via wire transfer (100+ licenses), licenses will be available once payment has been received and accepted.

  • We do not accept purchase orders, because of processing overhead.

In both cases, you will be notified by email that payment has been accepted and licenses will be available in your account upon notification.

For more information on licensing, including coupon redemption and other licensing types, see our Licensing FAQ.

Set up a Mailbox Migration project

  1. From the MigrationWiz dashboard, click Go To My Projects.

  2. Click Create Project.

  3. Select a Mailbox migration type. 

  4. Click Next Step.

  5. Enter a project name and select a Customer from the list.

    1. If the customer hasn’t already been created, you can do so here.

    2. To create a new customer, click New, provide required details including primary email domain and company name, and click Save.

  6. Click Next Step.

  7. Select Google Groups endpoint from the source drop-down menu.

    • If an endpoint has not been created, click New.

      1. Enter a name in the Endpoint Name field.

      2. Select Google Groups from the Endpoint Type drop-down menu.

      3. Upload the JSON file for your service account setup.

      4. Provide a valid super administrator email address for G Suite account which matches the end user domain.

  8. Select the Microsoft 365 destination endpoint from the destination drop-down menu.  Note: do not select the Microsoft 365 Groups endpoint

    • If an endpoint has not been created, click New.

      1. Enter a name in the Endpoint Name field.

      2. Select Microsoft 365 from the Endpoint Type drop-down menu.

      3. Enter the SharePoint top level domain URL (Although the SharePoint URL would not be used in the Google Groups to Microsoft 365 Groups migration, we recommend it as a good practice and for future development)

      4. Enter the administrator credentials, Administrator username and password.

        mceclip0.png
  9. Click Save, Go to Summary then click Save Project.

Add migration line Items

Add the accounts that will be migrated, which are also referred to as items, to a project using one of the following options:

  • Quick Add: This option allows you to add items o​ne at a time. Provide an email address for source and destination for each.

image-20211026-005616.png

  • Bulk Add: This option allows you to add multiple items at once by copying and pasting from a spreadsheet or by importing a CSV file. The domain names at the Source and at the Destination might be different. Make sure to provide the right information in the project. If they are different, it's best to modify these in your CSV file, and then use the Bulk Add feature to import the users into the dashboard.

5756c469-8098-4f91-9d6d-21b9d8d06196.png

  • Auto-discover: This option allows you to generate a list of Google Groups as MigrationWiz will automatically discover all the relevant Google Groups available under the Google Administrator provided in the Source setting. Once the discovery process is completed, you can click on “Import Items” or choose to download the CSV file for edits.

 

Advanced Options

Under the source/destination tab of the project's Advanced Options, ensure that Use Impersonation to Authenticate has been unchecked under the destination.  Migrations to O365 Groups will not work with impersonation.

The following advanced options may be useful for your migration. 

Advanced options under Support tab

  • RecipientMapping - Use this Advanced Option to map source email addresses to destination email addresses. The field on the right is a RegEx applied to the recipient email address. You can use more than one remapping expression.

  • UseHashMapRecipientMapping - Use this Advanced Option together with Recipient Mapping to increase performance when mapping large numbers of recipients.

  • VaultPollTimeoutInMilliseconds=28800000 - Timeout for Vault export process in milliseconds
  • ModernAuthClientIdImport=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx - Modern authentication client ID support for tenants not using legacy authentication (basic authentication). The masked value to be replaced as per the steps earlier in this guide.
  • ModernAuthTenantIdImport=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx - Modern authentication tenant ID support for tenants not using legacy authentication (basic authentication). The masked value to be replaced as per the steps earlier in this guide.

image-20211026-012454__1_.png

  • EnableExternalMember=1 - Use this Advanced Option to enable the migration of external members within Google Groups. All external members will be migrated to the destination Microsoft Groups as a “Member”. By default, external members will be migrated as-is from source to destination (eg. user1@external.com (source) >> user1@external.com (destination)

    • User can use the RecipientMapping Advanced Option together with this to map the external member’s domain with a different domain.

Verify Credentials

  1. Open the project containing the items you wish to validate​.

  2. Select the line items you wish to validate.

  3. Click the Start button in your dashboard.

  4. Select Verify Credentials from the drop-down list.

  5. Once complete, select the Status section and view the results of the verification.

Performing the Migration

Complete each step in order.

Trial migration

This verifies that your setup has been done correctly and that items will migrate as planned.

  1. Select the line items you wish to migrate.

  2. Click the Start button from the top.

  3. Select Trial Migration.

  4. Click Start Migration.

Pre-Stage pass

This pass speeds up the migration by migrating the oldest items first, minimizing the time users are unable to access their accounts and reducing the possibility of errors.

  1. Select the line items you wish to migrate

  2. Click the Start button from the top

  3. Select Pre-Stage Migration

  4. Under the Migration Scheduling section, from the drop-down list, select 90 days ago

  5. Click Start Migration.

Full pass

  1. Select the line items

  2. Click the Start button from the top

  3. Select Full Migration

  4. Click Start Migration

Run Retry Errors

Look through the user list and click any red "failed migration" errors. Review the information and act accordingly.

If problems persist, contact Support.

Was this article helpful?
0 out of 0 found this helpful