Securely Migrate Google Workspace to Zoho Mail with All Emails

Summary: For an SMB, paying for Google Workspace subscriptions quietly erodes its margins and impacts growth. To strategically eliminate that overhead cost, they chose to migrate Google Workspace to Zoho Mail. But how can we do this effectively without losing any data? This can be done with the help of the MCD Google Workspace Backup Tool. Zoho Mail migration is one of the highest-ROI moves an SMB can make today. Read this blog till the end to understand why it is important to migrate to Zoho Mail and how one can do it easily. 

Migration from Google Workspace to Zoho Mail – Why?

The Zoho Mail email client is cheaper, more private, and better for a self-contained business ecosystem. Below are the reasons why businesses prefer Zoho Mail over Google Workspace:

• Startups and SMEs look for a more affordable option than Google Workspace. Zoho Mail is 30%-60% cheaper than Google Workspace.
• Organizations are conscious about their users’ data privacy, and Zoho Mail focuses more on privacy with no ads and no data mining.
• The interface offered by Zoho Mail is completely ad-free, unlike Google Workspace, which includes promotional elements.
• Businesses often switch to Zoho Mail to utilize its products like CRM, Books, Projects, and WorkDrive.
• Zoho Mail is a preferred choice among small businesses and scaling startups, as they are budget-conscious and require simple business tools.

How to Migrate Google Workspace to Zoho Mail Efficiently?

After reviewing the reasons to migrate to Zoho Mail, let’s move ahead. Now, we’ll execute the solutions to migrate the Google Workspace emails to the Zoho Mail email account.

Manual Method 01: Via IMAP Migration

This method is suitable for organizations that need to perform a structured mailbox migration. It does not download the emails locally. We can directly transfer G Suite to Zoho Mail.

Use the following steps to initiate the process:

1. First, log in to your Gmail account and enable IMAP in the Settings option.
2. Then, enable 2-step verification and generate an App password.
3. After that, log in to your Zoho Mail Admin Console.
4. Create user mailboxes for all the users that you wish to migrate.
5. Next, head to Zoho Mail Admin Console > Data Migration > Add Migration.
6. Now, choose the migration type as IMAP Migration.
7. Fill in the Google Workspace IMAP server details.
8. Then, upload a CSV file that maps the source and destination mailboxes.
9. Next, select the folders to migrate and click on the Start Migration button. 

Limitations: This method does not migrate contacts, calendars, and Google Drive data. Large mailboxes will require a significant amount of time to migrate. If the user enters incorrect server details, the migration will fail.

Manual Method 02: By Email Forwarding 

The email forwarding method is a simple method that allows users to migrate or redirect all incoming emails to the Zoho Mail email ID. But it is not considered a full migration method. 

The following are the steps to start the migration method:

1. Open the Gmail account by logging in with your account credentials.
2. Then, click on the Settings gear icon and choose Settings.
3. After that, go to Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab and Add a Forwarding Address.
4. Next, input the Zoho Mail email address and click on Next > Proceed > Ok.
5. Now, copy the verification email received in the Zoho mailbox and paste it into Gmail.
6. After verification, click on Save Changes. 

Limitations: It does not migrate the existing emails. There can be duplication of emails. Also, it may lose the original folder or the label structure. 

Automated Method: Secure Solution to Migrate Google Workspace to Zoho Mail 

The Google Workspace Backup Tool is a highly reliable solution for migrating Gmail account data & email messages to Zoho Mail. With this tool, users can export Gmail emails in several commonly used file formats, such as PST, EML, PDF, MSG, and more. It is capable of keeping the folder structure intact and also allows for the backup of email messages along with their attached files. The tool also supports users who need to migrate Google Workspace to Office 365, along with migrations to Yahoo Mail and other email clients. There are many options for using the tool, such as selecting duplicates to be excluded from the backup process, setting your own naming convention for the saved files, and filtering email messages by date.

Simple steps to migrate G Suite to Zoho Mail:

1. To start, download and run the tool.
2. Then, click on Continue and pick whether to Backup Google Workspace All Services or Backup Google Workspace Email Only.
3. Now, sign in with your Google Workspace account credentials.
4. It will display the available user IDs. Choose the account that you want to back up.
5. After that, choose Zoho Mail as your preferred Email Client. Then, hit Next.
6. Authenticate it with your Zoho Mail account credentials.
7. Activate any additional features, set the destination path, and click Convert to begin.

Conclusion

To wrap up, the manual IMAP migration and email forwarding provide a basic mechanism for transferring emails from Google Workspace to Zoho Mail. But this manual process is limited in functionality and lacks scalability. On the other hand, the automated tool, the Google Workspace Backup Tool, is an all-in-one tool to migrate Google Workspace to Zoho Mail. It offers selective migrations, preserves the folder structure, and offers more accurate and error-free results. All these features make it a superior choice for those managing critical data transitions.

Frequently Asked Questions