Google is testing a new tool that will make it easier for companies to transfer data from other services to the search giant’s cloud-based productivity suite, G Suite. The tech firm calls its new tool as G Suite Migrate, and it is currently in beta. Before transferring the files, G Suite Migrate allows IT staff to scan the data that a company now has, which helps personnel determine essential events and milestones in the project. Once the transfer of data has begun, the tool provides IT staff with both an overview and detailed logs of data migration from one source to G Suite, making it easier for personnel to monitor the current progress of the data transfer.
G Suite Migrate supports the migration of data from three sources, namely Microsoft Exchange, Sharepoint, and File Shares. Moreover, Google’s software also allows the transfer of data from Office 365 and OneDrive for Business, and G Suite Migrate can also migrate information from network-attached storage, storage area networks, and network file systems.
Given that the feature is currently in beta, administrators will have to sign-up first to the beta program before they could take advantage of the functionality. Furthermore, the beta program for G Suite Migrate is currently available only to customers who subscribe to G Suite Business, G Suite Enterprise, G Suite Enterprise for Education, and Drive Enterprise. Those who use G Suite Basic, G Suite for Education, and G Suite for Nonprofits are not eligible to register for the beta program.
Background: Google based its new transfer tool on AppBridge, a service that the search giant acquired back in 2017. AppBridge initially allowed customers to transfer information to Google Drive easily, and in addition to importing files, it also permitted the transfer of file permissions to Google’s cloud storage service. Transferring file permissions means that the file access of employees will not change as companies migrate their data to Google Drive, and it also ensures secure transfer of data between different storage solutions. Given Google based the G Suite Migrate on AppBridge, it is likely that the new migration tool for G Suite also offers the same conveniences as the tool designed for Google Drive.
As it aims to gain market share in the enterprise market, Google continuously adds more features to the G Suite. Within the past year, the search giant launched Hangouts Meet, which improves on G Suite’s Video Meetings feature by allowing more participants in video conferences, and Hire, a recruiting application that helps small and medium businesses to advertise job openings and screen applicants. The search giant also aims to further increase its market share in the education sector through the introduction of G Suite Enterprise for Education, which improves on previous Google offerings for educational institutions through new features that better secure data and remotely control mobile devices.
Impact: Aside from making it easier for companies to migrate data, the introduction of first-party tools should make the transfer of files to G Suite more secure since customers no longer need to course its data through third-party tools that could gain access to sensitive files. However, given that tool is in beta, IT personnel may still encounter bugs as they use the software to transfer information, a matter that customers may have to take seriously.