Use the advanced data import method for SharePoint Online (beta)

Supported editions for this feature: Business Starter, Business Standard, and Business Plus; Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus; Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, and Education Plus; Essentials Starter, Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, and Enterprise Essentials Plus; Nonprofits; G Suite Basic and G Suite Business. Compare your edition

You can use the advanced data import method to streamline large-scale data imports from SharePoint Online (Microsoft 365) to Google Workspace.

About the advanced data import method

  • This method uses your own dedicated API quota.
  • You set up a Microsoft Azure application through the Azure portal and import your data to Workspace in batches.
  • The import doesn't delete or modify files in SharePoint Online. Instead, the import copies files to the user's Workspace account.
  • Except where indicated, you complete these steps in the Google Admin console for the Workspace account you're importing to.
  • Not all SharePoint Online features are supported. For details, go to What's imported from SharePoint Online?

If you want to instead import data with Google's shared API quota, go to Use the default data import method for SharePoint Online.

Workspace requirements

  • A super administrator must set up and run the data import. Resellers can't import data for their customer accounts.
  • You need to create shared drives in Workspace for your organization's files. For details, go to Set up shared drives for your organization. If you already use shared drives, go to Manage shared drives as an admin instead.
  • Turn on Google Drive for all the users that you're importing to Workspace. For details, go to Turn Google Drive and Docs on or off for users.
  • You need a Workspace user account and license for each user that you're importing. For details, go to Options for adding users.
  • You can import files from up to 5,000 SharePoint Online sites in one batch, with up to 4 import batches running at one time. Additional data requires a separate data import.

Note: You can use the data import tool to create up to 50 import batches or scans at one time. However, the number of batches that you can run at one time depends on the data source.

SharePoint Online requirements

Before you begin:

  • Create an Azure application—To ensure a more secure data import from SharePoint Online to your Workspace account, you must first create an Azure application in the Azure portal. For details, go to Set up an Azure application for OneDrive & SharePoint Online.
  • Avoid duplicate files—If you exit a data import for a batch of SharePoint Online sites and start a new import for the same batch of data, the second import might create duplicate files in Workspace. To prevent duplicate files, don't create 2 imports for the same batch of data.

  • Avoid missing data—You might encounter issues if you perform the following 3 actions after completing and exiting a data import from SharePoint Online to a location in Workspace:

    • Create a new data import for the same data set within 14 days of the first data import.
    • Import the data set to a second Workspace location.
    • Stop the data import before any data can be copied to Workspace.

    When you restart the data import, it runs as a delta import and moves the SharePoint Online data from the first Workspace location to the second Workspace location. The imported data is no longer available in the first Workspace location.

Step 1: Connect to SharePoint Online

  1. In the Google Admin console, go to Menu and then Data and then Data import & export and then Data import.

    You must be signed in as a super administrator for this task.

  2. On the Advanced page, for Data import batches, click New batch.
  3. For Data type, select SharePoint and then click Continue.
  4. For Step 1: Connect your SharePoint account, enter the following information from your Azure app:
    • Client ID
    • Client Secret
    • Tenant ID
    • Sharepoint host name
  5. Click Connect.

  6. To complete the security setup and verify the connection:

    1. Click Download certificate.

      This downloads a certificate file for Azure.

    2. Go to your registered application in the Azure portal.

    3. In Azure, click Certificates & secrets and then Certificates and then Upload certificate.

    4. Upload the certificate that you downloaded and, optionally, enter a description.

  7. Click Verify connection.

    Workspace validates the Azure credentials and certificate and updates the connection status to show a successful connection.

Step 2: Select sites to import

The data import tool copies files, folders, and permissions from a list of SharePoint Online sites to shared drives in Workspace. Create a comma-separated values (CSV) file that lists the SharePoint sites that you want to import. You can create a new CSV file. Or, download a sample file and add rows. The completed CSV file must be smaller than 10 MB.

To create the CSV file:

  1. Using your Workspace administrator account, open a spreadsheet program. Or, in the Admin console, click Download a sample CSV file.
  2. In the first column, add the header Source SharePoint URL and enter the URL for each SharePoint Online site or site collection.
    • Use a separate row for each URL.
    • Your URLs should use the following format: https://example.sharepoint.com/sites/testsite.
    • Subsites are automatically included. Additional sites require a separate data import. To avoid duplication errors, only include parent sites or subsites in your file.
    • You can find all the URLs at Manage sites in the SharePoint admin center.
  3. (Optional) In the second column, add the header Source Type (Optional) and enter the source of the URL in the first column.
    • For SharePoint Online sites, enter SPSite.
    • For SharePoint Online document libraries, enter SPLibrary.
  4. (Optional) In the third column, add the header Target Drive FolderID and enter a unique ID for the shared drive where you want to import each Source SharePoint URL.
    • You can find existing shared drive IDs on the Manage shared drives page in the Google Admin console.
    • If you don't specify a Target Drive FolderID, the content is imported to the Target GUser's personal drive.
  5. In the fourth column, add the header Target GUser and enter a Workspace email address for the user who has Manager permission for each Target Drive FolderID.

    Example:

    Source SharePoint URL Source Type (Optional) Target Drive FolderID Target GUser
    https://company-my.
    sharepoint.com/
    personal/kim_your
    _company_com    		 kim@solamora.com
    https://company.
    SharePoint.com/
    SiteComms/Events    		 SPSite alex@solamora.com
    https://example.
    sharepoint.com/
    sites/testsite/
    Shareddocuments    		 SPSite AABc25J3DzFb kim@solamora.com
    https://example.
    sharepoint.com/
    sites/testsite/
    Shared Documents    		 SPLibrary CDEz25J3DzFb kim@solamora.com
  6. Save the spreadsheet as a CSV file.
  7. Upload the file to the Google Admin console:
    1. In your Admin console, click Upload CSV.
    2. Select the file and then click Open.
    3. Click Tasks to confirm that the file was successfully uploaded.

  8. If the CSV file doesn't successfully upload:

    1. Select the file and click Delete and then Yes to confirm.
    2. Create a new file and try to upload it again.

    If you encounter this issue more than once, contact Google Workspace support.

Step 3: Create & upload an identity map

If necessary, create a second CSV file (separate from the file of SharePoint Online sites to import) to map SharePoint Online users, SharePoint Online site groups, and Microsoft 365 groups to Workspace users and groups. You can create a new CSV file. Or, download a sample file and add rows. You don't need to add external users. Their permissions are imported by default. The completed CSV file must be smaller than 10 MB.

You don't need an identity map if:

  • The site's email address in SharePoint Online (for example raha@example.com) is the same in Workspace.
  • All users have the same username in SharePoint Online and Workspace but are mapped to another domain name, and the only change is the new domain name (such as @example.com to @altostrat.com).

If you have some sites that need mapping and some that don't, you can create an identity map for only those sites that need mapping.

Before you begin:

If you're mapping SharePoint Online site groups to Google Groups, you need to:

  • Create groups in Google Groups for your Workspace account.
  • Create the same user memberships in Google Groups as those in SharePoint Online site groups.

To create the CSV file:

  1. Using your Workspace administrator account, open a spreadsheet program. Or, in the Admin console, click Download a sample CSV file.
  2. In the first column, add the header Source Entity and enter each email address and group name that you want to import from SharePoint Online or Microsoft 365. Use a separate row for each user or group.
  3. In the second column, add the header Destination Email and enter a Workspace email address that will receive data import information from each user or group in the first column.

    Example:

    Source Entity Destination Email
    Kim@example.com Kim@your-company.com
    groupA@example.com groupA@your-company.com
    SiteComms Visitors groupsitecomms@your-company.com
  4. Save the spreadsheet as a CSV file.
  5. Upload the file to the Google Admin console:
    1. In your Admin console, click Upload CSV.
    2. Select your mapping file and then click Open.
    3. Click Tasks to confirm that the mapping file was successfully uploaded.

  6. If the CSV file doesn't successfully upload:

    1. Select the file and click Delete and then Yes to confirm.
    2. Create a new file and try to upload it again.

    If you encounter this issue more than once, contact Google Workspace support.

(Optional) Step 4: Select data import settings

  1. Click Edit settings and use any of the following settings to choose which data to copy from SharePoint Online.

  2. (Optional) To import all SharePoint Online users and 365 groups, including those not found in the identity map, check the Map any additional accounts discovered during data import box and choose an option:

    • If the email address for the Microsoft account is the same as the address in Google Workspace, select Keep their original email address.
    • If the domain name for all imported users and 365 groups will change, select Use a different email address domain for these accounts and then select a domain.

    Note: If the Map any additional accounts discovered during data import box isn't checked, make sure the identity map includes any deleted users or users who are blocked from mailbox access.

  3. (Optional) To copy files by date, check the Only include files created or modified after the following date box and choose an option:

    • To copy files created after a certain date, select Created by and then select a date.
    • To copy files modified after a certain date, select Modified by and then enter a date.

    Note: Date settings are based on your local time zone and apply only to individual files, not folders. All folders import, regardless of the date that you select.

  4. If you don't want to import all file types, check the Exclude specific file formats box and enter the file extensions to exclude. Separate different file extensions with a comma (for example, tmp, log, bak, and so on).

  5. If you don't want to import larger files, check the Exclude files greater than the following size box, enter a maximum size, and then select MB or GB.

  6. If the original creator or last modifier of any file isn't found, check the Use target user if original creator or modifier isn't found box to use the Target GUser instead. This setting is turned on by default.

  7. Click Save changes.

Step 5: Start a data import

Before you begin

  • The initial import can take up to 15 minutes, but it might take longer. During this phase, the progress summary doesn't show any changes. You don't have to stop or exit the import.
  • Starting a data import grants domain-wide delegation and creates a client ID for Data import in Workspace. For details, go to Control API access with domain-wide delegation.

To import the current batch of data:

  1. Click Run full import.
  2. Review updates for the following information in real time while the data import is in process:
    • Discovered tasks—Total number of tasks that were imported, skipped, or failed
    • Warning—Number of tasks that were completed but failed to complete as expected
    • Failed—Number of tasks that failed to import due to an error
    • Skipped—Number of tasks that were skipped because of certain data import settings or because they were completed in a previous import
    • Successful—Number of tasks that were successfully completed
    • Sites processed—Number of sites that were completely imported
    • Files discovered—Number of files detected during the import
    • Files imported—Number of files that were successfully imported
    • Files skipped—Number of previously imported files that were skipped
    • Files failed—Number of files that failed to import
    • Discovery issues—Number of folders from the source account that couldn't be crawled
    • Time elapsed—Time elapsed since the data import started
  3. (Optional) To export a report for a data import in progress:
    1. Click View data import logs or Export site report.
    2. If the Tasks list doesn't automatically open with the exported report, click Tasks and then the report link.
    3. To open the report in Google Sheets, click Open in Google Sheets.
  4. (Optional) To stop an import in progress, click Stop import. This action might take a few minutes, and the import process doesn't roll back. If you're running other batches at the same time, those batches continue to import. Any SharePoint Online data that was imported before you stop the import isn't deleted from Workspace.

When the import is complete, you get an email with import statistics, and any reports are attached. For details, go to Understand a SharePoint Online data import report.

Step 6: Exit a completed data import

  • If you exit an import for one batch of data and start a new import for the same batch, the second import might create duplicates in Workspace. To prevent duplicates, don't create 2 imports for the same batch of data.
  • Once you exit the data import for a batch, you can't access its configuration data or reports. Don't exit an import until it's fully complete and no delta imports are needed.
  • You can run delta imports and review information for a completed import in the Admin console until you exit the import.

To exit a completed data import:

  1. If you want to import any new or updated files before you exit, follow the steps in Run a delta import for SharePoint Online.
  2. (Optional) To save reports from a data import, click View data import logs and then Export site report.
  3. Click Exit import and then Exit and delete import.

Data import is intended as a productivity feature and is not designed to assist with legal compliance matters. You and your organization are responsible for assessing and meeting your organization's legal compliance needs. If you require files and folders for legal compliance purposes, consider backing up the files in SharePoint Online prior to importing data to Google Workspace.

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