From Microsoft 365 to Workspace in 8 weeks.
Zero email downtime, when done right.
Migrating from M365 to Workspace is mostly about preparation. The cutover weekend is the easy part if the previous five weeks went well. Below is the four-phase playbook we ship with every migration engagement, with the timeline expectations buyers should hold us to.
Each phase has explicit gates and deliverables.
Phase 1 ends with a documented GO/NO-GO decision. Phase 2 ends with both environments operational in parallel. Phase 3 is the cutover weekend. Phase 4 is decommission + optimization. The total elapsed time is 8 weeks for a typical 100-300 person organization.
- 01
Discovery + decision
Week 1Audit current environment, validate the M365 → Workspace decision is right for your specific situation.
- Mailbox + Drive content inventory
- Workflow analysis (where M365 fits well, where Workspace would fit better)
- Identity strategy decision (Cloud Identity primary, federated, or hybrid)
- License modeling (Business Starter/Standard/Plus vs Enterprise)
- GO/NO-GO decision with concrete trade-offs documented
- 02
Foundation + parallel sync
Weeks 2-4Stand up Workspace tenant, configure security baseline, sync content alongside the existing M365 environment.
- Workspace tenant provisioned + branded
- Cloud Identity (or federated SSO) configured
- OU + Group structure deployed mirroring your org chart
- 2-Step Verification + Advanced Protection for high-risk users
- Vault retention policies set BEFORE first data lands
- DLP rules deployed (PII / PCI / PHI patterns)
- Mailbox + Drive parallel sync running
- 03
Cutover + parallel-run
Week 5Cutover weekend with mail flow flip + final delta sync. Both environments stay live for one week post-cutover.
- Mail flow MX records flipped Friday evening
- Final mailbox + Drive delta sync over the weekend
- Both M365 + Workspace stay live for 1 week parallel-run
- Help desk staffed at 2x normal level Monday-Wednesday
- M365 set to read-only Friday after cutover
- 04
M365 decommission + optimization
Weeks 6-8Decommission the legacy environment, harvest license costs, run user adoption + Gemini AI rollout decisions.
- M365 tenant decommissioned + license costs returned
- User training delivered (live + recorded for ongoing onboarding)
- Workspace AI (Gemini) rollout decision based on use cases
- Quarterly governance cadence handed over to internal IT or our managed service
Migration is mostly preparation. The cutover is the reward.
The migrations that fail in the news skipped the parallel-sync phase. The migrations that succeed plan for two weeks of overlap so any sync issues surface before the cutover weekend, not during it.