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Google Workspace migration

Move to Google Workspace. Keep your email running.

A migration only goes wrong in a handful of ways, and every one of them is avoidable. We've moved more than 200 South African businesses onto Google Workspace with the same procedure each time: copy everything, let you check it, then switch on a planned date. Zero downtime, zero data loss.

Request a migration assessment See the procedure

Every migration

  • Zero downtime, zero data loss
  • Fixed quote and cutover date before we start
  • Your old system untouched until you sign off
  • Email authentication set up before the switch
  • Same team on the phone on cutover day

Migration fee waived with Enhanced Support.

What could go wrong

The six ways a migration fails, and why yours won't.

These are the worries we hear from owners before every move. Each one has a specific answer in how we work, not a promise.

The worry

“Email stops while we switch.”

How we handle it

It doesn't. Your current system carries on receiving mail until one planned cutover, scheduled after hours or on a weekend. Your domain sits on Cloudflare, so the switch takes effect in minutes, not days.

The worry

“Years of mail, contacts and calendars go missing.”

How we handle it

We copy, we never move. Your old system stays untouched until you've signed off. Repeat passes catch anything that arrives while the copy runs, and nobody switches until every user has checked their own mailbox.

The worry

“After the move, our mail lands in spam.”

How we handle it

The records that tell the world your email really comes from you (SPF, DKIM and DMARC) go live before the cutover, not after. Your domain is trusted from the first message sent through Google Workspace, and the reports tell us if anyone tries to spoof it.

The worry

“info@, accounts@ and the shared inboxes break.”

How we handle it

Every address, alias, group and shared mailbox goes onto one migration sheet during the review. We rebuild them as groups and aliases before a single user moves, then test each one.

The worry

“Staff get locked out, or don't know what changed.”

How we handle it

Accounts exist before cutover, everyone signs in on the old and the new side during the transition, and each person gets a short guide in English or Afrikaans. On cutover day, we're on the phone.

The worry

“The things that send email quietly stop: scanners, the website form, accounting.”

How we handle it

We list every system that sends or reads mail during the review, and reconfigure each one on the day. Nothing is discovered by surprise a week later.

Standard operating procedure

Eight steps. Same order, every time.

A migration is safe because it's boring. We don't improvise: the same procedure has run on hundreds of businesses, and the cutover is the last step, not the first.

The technical detail
  1. STEP 1

    Review and fixed quote

    We map mailboxes and sizes, aliases and groups, shared files, your domain and everything that sends mail. You get a fixed quote and a cutover date before anything is touched.

  2. STEP 2

    Your domain onto Cloudflare

    Your domain's settings move to a Cloudflare account we manage for you. No hosting passwords change hands, and later changes take effect in minutes.

  3. STEP 3

    Domain and accounts ready

    We verify your domain on Google Workspace and create every user, alias and group from the migration sheet. Your old email keeps flowing throughout.

  4. STEP 4

    Secure link to the old system

    We connect to your old system with read-only access, whether that's Microsoft 365, Exchange, your hosting provider or old Outlook backups. Your data is copied out, never deleted.

  5. STEP 5

    Copy in the background

    Mail, calendars, contacts and files come across while your team works as normal. Forwarders keep new mail in both places until cutover.

  6. STEP 6

    You check, you sign off

    Every user signs in and confirms their mail, folders, calendar and files are there. Nothing is scheduled until you're satisfied.

  7. STEP 7

    Email security records

    Your email authentication records are published ahead of the switch, so your first Workspace email is trusted.

  8. STEP 8

    Planned cutover, then we watch

    Email switches over after hours on the agreed date, a final pass catches the last messages, and we're on standby through the first working day.

What comes across

If it matters to your business, it moves with you.

Nothing gets left on the old system. Where a source can't export something cleanly, we tell you in the review, not after cutover.

  • Email, with folders and full history
  • Calendars, including recurring events and shared calendars
  • Contacts and shared address lists
  • Files from OneDrive, SharePoint and Google Drive
  • Shared mailboxes, aliases and group addresses
  • Historical mail from Outlook archives

Where we migrate from

Microsoft, hosting providers and old archives.

  • Microsoft 365 and Exchange OnlineMail, calendars, contacts, OneDrive and SharePoint.
  • On-premises ExchangeOlder Exchange servers, including ones nobody wants to touch.
  • Shared hostingXneelo, Afrihost, cPanel and any other hosting mailbox.
  • Outlook archives and old laptopsYears of mail sitting in Outlook data files on someone's machine.
  • Another Google Workspace accountMoving between resellers, merging tenants or splitting a domain off.

Who does the work

Certified, local, and reachable.

You're not handed to a project desk. The people who scope your migration run it, and they're the same people who support your Workspace afterwards.

Google Cloud partner and reseller

cozan holds Google Workspace Administrator certification and Google Cloud's Certified Partner Specialist credential for Gemini Enterprise Deployment. Your licences, migration and support sit on one rand invoice.

Google Workspace Administrator, Google Certified AssociateGoogle Cloud Certified Partner Specialist: Gemini Enterprise Deployment

200+ migrations and counting

We look after Google Workspace for hundreds of South African businesses. Microsoft 365, Exchange, shared hosting and old Outlook archives are the moves we do most weeks, not once a year.

Fast to respond, in your language

One team answers the phone, in English or Afrikaans. Cutovers happen after hours so your day isn't disrupted, and we stay on standby through the first working day. With your domain on Cloudflare, any fix on the day takes minutes.

Migrations we've done

Three moves, three very different businesses.

Published as Google Cloud partner case studies. A start-up in a hurry, a studio with teams on three continents, and an asset manager with years of archives to keep.

Software start-up · New Zealand

Buddy Tech

Moved fromMicrosoft 365

A newly funded start-up preparing to scale re-checked its tools and chose Google Workspace for its Slack, Notion and HubSpot integrations. We finished the migration while other vendors were still answering the request for quote. Two weeks in, the long-time Microsoft 365 users said they'd never go back.

"Cozan was responsive, helpful, and an absolute pleasure to deal with. They matched our urgency without compromising on quality. Exactly what we needed."

Lisa Kagan, CEO

Animation studio · South Africa and Ireland

Triggerfish Animation Studios

Moved fromHybrid-hosted Exchange and Microsoft 365

Africa's leading animation studio needed storage and security its streaming partners would sign off on, with teams across Africa, Europe and the Americas. We mapped the legacy platform, moved email, calendars and contacts, and set up Shared Drives for terabytes of production data, without interrupting production.

"Cozan Consulting was a fantastic partner, they made the transition to Google Workspace as seamless as it could be."

Director, Triggerfish

Asset manager · South Africa

RealFin Capital Partners

Moved fromA legacy mail platform, with archives scattered across users' Outlook files

As an asset manager, RealCap has a legal duty to keep client data safe for years. We consolidated the fragmented mail archives from users' personal files, moved business-account files into corporate Shared Drives, and set up Google Vault retention policies so compliance is built in.

ResultFull access to, and control of, data that was previously hard to reach, with retention enforced in Vault.

One of the smoothest large transitions that I have experienced from Outlook to Google Workspace. Zero interruptions, great guidelines and a flawless migration.

FG AdriaanseGoogle review · Outlook to Google Workspace migration

A fixed quote, before anything is touched

Priced on your users, your data and where it comes from. No hourly surprises, and the cutover date is in the quote.

Get a quote

Migration fee waived with Enhanced Support

Hand us your Workspace admin, security baseline and user support, and the migration comes at no charge.

R47per user / month
excl. VAT
About Enhanced Support

Google Workspace licences from R135 per user per month on an annual plan. Compare plans.

Migration questions

Something specific to your setup? Ask us, in English or Afrikaans.

How long does a migration take?

For most small businesses, about a working week from the review to the cutover. The copy itself runs in the background, so the calendar time depends mostly on how much mail there is and how quickly your team checks their accounts. We set the cutover date at the start, and we keep it.

Will our email be down at any point?

No. Your existing system receives mail right up to the cutover, and Google Workspace receives it from that moment on. The only thing that changes is where new mail lands. Because your domain is on Cloudflare, the switch takes minutes.

Do we need to be in the office, or have IT staff?

Neither. Everything happens remotely. We need one person who can make decisions about addresses and who gets what, and a few minutes from each user to sign in and check their mailbox before cutover.

What happens to the old system?

Nothing, until you say so. We recommend keeping the old subscription for a month after cutover as a safety net. Once you're comfortable, cancel it and stop paying for two systems.

We're already on Google Workspace with someone else. Is that a migration?

No, and it's much simpler. Your Workspace account, users and data stay exactly where they are. You give us a transfer token, we take over the billing and support, and nothing changes for your team. Ask us about transferring.

What does it cost?

Every migration is quoted as a fixed price after the review, based on how many users you have, how much data there is and where it comes from. If you take up Enhanced Support at R47 per user per month, the migration fee is waived.

Tell us what you're on now.

We'll tell you how the move would run: a short review call, a fixed quote and a cutover date. No obligation.

Request a migration assessment Sign up for Google Workspace