Why start with a map
On cutover Monday a user stops by your desk and says: "My Outlook has gone and my files are somewhere called Drive." You need a picture in your head that lets you answer in ten seconds. It should show which Google app replaced which Microsoft app, and which admin console you would open to look into it. This level gives you that picture on one page.
Independence note. This course is independent. Microsoft and Google have not produced, endorsed or reviewed it, and it copies none of their documentation. Console names and paths were checked against each vendor's public pages in November 2026. Admin screens change often, so check the live documentation before you rely on a path.
The one-page map
Pin this next to your monitor. On the left is what the user knew. In the middle is what they meet now. On the right is where support looks behind the scenes.
USER KNEW (Microsoft 365) USER MEETS (Google Workspace) SUPPORT LOOKS IN (Google side)
------------------------- ----------------------------- ------------------------------
Outlook mail Gmail Admin console > Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail
folders labels (one message, many labels)
Outlook calendar Google Calendar Admin console > Apps > Google Workspace > Calendar
OneDrive (my files) My Drive (owned by the person) Admin console > Apps > Google Workspace > Drive and Docs
SharePoint / Teams files Shared drives (owned by the org) same Drive and Docs page
Teams channel conversation Google Chat space Admin console > Apps > Google Workspace > Google Chat
Teams 1:1 or group chat Google Chat direct message same
Teams meeting Google Meet (link added in Calendar) Admin console > Apps > Google Workspace > Google Meet
Word / Excel / PowerPoint Docs / Sheets / Slides (or Office (covered in later levels)
files kept as they are in Drive)
There are two things to notice here.
- Teams splits into three. In Microsoft 365, Teams holds chat, meetings and team files in one window. In Google Workspace the conversations go to Chat spaces, the meetings to Meet and the team files to shared drives. Many week-one tickets saying "I can't find my team" are really about this split.
- OneDrive and SharePoint split by who owns the file. A file in My Drive belongs to the person, much like OneDrive. A file in a shared drive belongs to the organisation, much like a SharePoint library. So when someone leaves, their shared drive files stay where they are. Their My Drive files need an admin to transfer them.
What sits behind each side
On the Microsoft side the work is spread across several consoles. The Microsoft 365 admin center (admin.microsoft.com, now also served at admin.cloud.microsoft) is the front door. Its Admin centers list opens the specialist consoles:
Exchange admin center https://admin.exchange.microsoft.com # mailboxes, mail flow
SharePoint admin center https://<tenant>-admin.sharepoint.com # sites and OneDrive settings
Teams admin center https://admin.teams.microsoft.com # Teams policies, meetings
Microsoft Entra admin https://entra.microsoft.com # identities, sign-in
On the Google side most of what a first-line desk touches is in one place: the Google Admin console at admin.google.com. Each service has its own page under Apps > Google Workspace.
Trade-off, stated fairly: Google's single console is quicker to learn. Microsoft's separate consoles give finer control per service. Neither is "better". During the coexistence period you will probably keep read access to both, because some answers are still on the old side.
Walkthrough: a read-only check of "where does mail go now?"
The first question on cutover day is often "Is my mail arriving in Gmail yet?" You can answer it from any workstation without touching either console. Look up the domain's MX record, which tells other mail servers where to deliver.
# Read-only DNS lookup. It changes nothing.
nslookup -type=mx contoso.co.uk
# Typical answer BEFORE cutover (Microsoft 365):
# contoso.co.uk MX preference = 0, mail exchanger = contoso-co-uk.mail.protection.outlook.com
# Typical answer AFTER cutover (Google Workspace, current single record):
# contoso.co.uk MX preference = 1, mail exchanger = smtp.google.com
# Older Google setups show ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM plus ALT1-ALT4.
# Google still supports both forms, so either one means mail is going to Gmail.
Compare the answer with the cutover plan the project team gave you. If the plan says the switch happened on Friday night but the MX record still points to outlook.com, you don't fix it. You write down what you saw and pass it to the project team. Changing DNS is their job.
Gotcha: DNS changes can take time to reach everyone, so for a while some senders may still deliver to the old side. If a user is missing one email from an external sender a few hours after the switch, that is not yet proof of a fault. Note the time and the sender.
Saying it in plain words
Users don't need the architecture. They need to know what changed, what didn't, and what to do next. Here is a short script that works at the desk or on the floor:
"Your email address and your colleagues haven't changed.
You now open mail in Gmail instead of Outlook. Folders appear as labels down the left.
Your own files are in My Drive. Team files are in Shared drives.
Team chats are in Google Chat, and meetings open in Google Meet from your Calendar invite.
If something you expected isn't there, tell us. Don't recreate it yet."
The last line matters. If users re-upload files or rebuild folders while the project is still moving data, you end up with duplicates that someone has to untangle later.
Where the project's job ends and yours begins
PROJECT TEAM owns SUPPORT DESK owns
----------------- -----------------
the migration plan and schedule helping each user find and use what arrived
moving mail, calendars, files first checks (read-only first), then the fix
DNS / MX changes, sign-in setup end-user setup: browser, phone, app sign-in
tenant-wide policy design explaining a policy's effect to the user
bulk data errors, missing batches spotting patterns and escalating with evidence
A simple test: if the fix would change things for everyone, or would mean re-running part of the migration, it belongs to the project. If it affects one user's experience and can be fixed inside your role, it is yours.
Key takeaways
- Gmail replaces Outlook mail, and labels replace folders. One message can carry several labels.
- OneDrive maps to My Drive (owned by the person). SharePoint and Teams files map to shared drives (owned by the organisation).
- Teams splits three ways: Chat spaces, Google Meet and shared drives.
- Microsoft spreads administration across several admin centers. Google puts most of it in the Admin console under Apps > Google Workspace.
nslookup -type=mxis a safe, read-only way to see which side mail is going to.- The project changes things for everyone. The desk fixes things for one user and escalates patterns with evidence.
- This course is independent of Microsoft and Google and copies none of their documentation.