Migrate Google Docs to Office 365: Best Practices for IT Teams
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Written By
Aradhya Jain -
Approved By
Shivam Rathore -
Updated on
July 2nd, 2026 - Read Time
6 minutes
User Query: Our company has used Google Workspace for years, but we’re moving to Microsoft 365. We have thousands of Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and folders. Is there a safe way to migrate everything without losing formatting, permissions, or important files?
Introduction: Migration of Google Documents to Office 365 is the process of migrating your documents from Google Apps to Microsoft Office products like OneDrive for Business or SharePoint Online. Large document libraries, complex folder structures, shared files, and permission settings require a more reliable solution. This blog explains the manual method and a professional DRS Softech Google Workspace Backup Tool to migrate Google Docs to Office 365.
How to Transfer Google Docs to Office 365?
Google Docs operates in its own file formats, which are usually translated to Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint during the migration process.
Manual Method to Migrate Google Docs to Office 365
Many migration techniques can be applied, and the most effective one will depend on the volume of files. A manual technique will be appropriate if you have only a few files to migrate.
1st Method: Download and Upload Individual Files
- Sign in to your Google Drive account.
- Open the Google Docs file you want to migrate.
- Click File > Download > Microsoft Word (.docx).
- Save the downloaded file to your computer.
- Log in to your Microsoft 365 account.
- Open OneDrive and upload the downloaded file.
2nd Method: Export Multiple Files with Google Takeout
- Open Google Takeout and sign in with your Google account.
- Click Deselect all and select only Google Drive.
- Choose the folders or files you want to export.
- Select the preferred export options and create the export.
- Download the generated ZIP file to your computer.
- Extract the downloaded archive.
- Upload the extracted files to OneDrive or SharePoint Online.
Limitations of the Manual Google Docs to Office 365 migration
- Manually downloading and uploading thousands of files takes a long time.
- Shared permissions and access settings are not migrated automatically.
- There is no option to migrate multiple Google Workspace (Formerly G Suite) accounts simultaneously.
- No advanced filters to migrate specific folders or documents.
- The risk of missing files increases during manual migration.
- Additionally, manual migration requires continuous monitoring and user intervention.
Professional Tool to Migrate Google Docs to Office 365
For a quick and large number of data migration, use the DRS Softech G Suite Backup Tool. This tool helps users to migrate a single file or multiple files. It supports bulk migration, maintains the folder hierarchy, and provides advanced options to migrate only the required data. Highly compatible with all Windows and Mac versions. Also, it has a simple interface, which means every user can easily use it. You can export Google Workspace to PDF and other formats.
Simple Steps to Migrate Google Docs to Microsoft 365
- Download and install the DRS Softech Google Workspace Backup Tool.
- Enter your JSON credentials or p12 file to authenticate your G Suite account.
- Click on the Google Docs that you want to migrate. Click on Next.
- Choose Office 365 as the Saving Format and enter its details to Sign In.
- Lastly, apply advanced features and filters as needed. Press Start Export.
Real-Life Scenario
The marketing firm in Texas chose to move from Google Docs to Office 365 because it had hired more employees. It had 180 employees working for it and more than 75,000 Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides documents. Manual downloading and transferring each of the documents would have required weeks and would have involved a higher risk of data loss.
The IT department use the G Suite Backup Tool for data migration to Office 365. The process took several days on the weekend through the application of the bulk migration and date filter options without losing any data and keeping the original folder structure intact.
Conclusion
In this technical blog post, we explored several methods to migrate Google Docs to Office 365. The manual method is useful for migrating a small number of Google Doc files. However, it has several limitations, such as being time-consuming, limited features, risk of data loss. Therefore, it’s best to use the professional tool. It supports batch migration with multiple advanced features and no data loss. If you have any questions about the tool or process, feel free to ask.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ans. You can convert Google Docs to Office 365 by using the manual method or a professional DRS Softech Google Workspace Backup Tool. For small conversions, use the manual method. Alternatively, use the professional tool for bulk with multiple advanced features.
Ans. It depends on file size. The professional tool takes less time than the manual method. A few documents may take only a few minutes, while migrating thousands of files can take several hours.
Ans. The DRS Softech tool offers an option to migrate Google Docs to Office 365 (Online Archive, Public Folder, Primary Mailbox, or SharePoint Online). It maintains the original email formatting and structure.
Ans. By using the Date Filter for the Google Workspace Backup Tool. You can apply a date filter for selective email migration between the Start Date and End Date.
Ans. Yes. A reliable migration tool transfers your documents through a secure process and helps ensure no data loss during migration. It also maintains the integrity of your files throughout the transfer.
Ans. No. The DRS Softech Google Workspace Backup Tool uses secure authentication to connect to your Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 accounts. Your login credentials are not permanently stored by the software.
Ans. Yes. The software supports bulk migration, allowing administrators to migrate thousands of Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and other files from multiple user accounts in a single operation.
Ans. Yes. If the migration is interrupted due to a network issue or system restart, the DRS Softech Google Workspace Backup Tool allows you to resume the migration without starting the entire process again.
Ans. Yes. The DRS Softech Google Workspace Backup Tool supports migrating data from multiple Google Workspace domains into a single Microsoft 365 tenant, which is an ideal solution for mergers, acquisitions, and business consolidations.
