NOTE: We've updated this article since it was first published. Changes include Cloud Storage Limit, Signing in with Google, the deadlines for migration, shared files and FAQs

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Introduction
• What services will be migrated?
• What services will not be migrated?
• What does this mean for your data?
  • Accessing your Student Group account
  • Accessing your emails
  • Accessing your files/documents
  • Signing in with Google
• Student Group Migration checklist
• What do you need to do?
• FAQ
  • Is there a deadline?
  • When will migrations be finished?
  • Is there a cap on the Cloud Storage for the new accounts?

Introduction

Every Student Group, both Societies and Sports Clubs have a Google Account that is fully managed by the Student's Union. This allows Student Groups to access emails and store files. The Students' Union runs on Microsoft services, so to improve collaboration and support between the Students' Union and Student Groups, all Student Group Accounts will be migrated from Google to Microsoft from the 10/05/2024.

What services will be migrated?

Everything from the following services will be migrated to Microsoft:

• Gmail
• Google Drive

What services will not be migrated?

Some data will not be able to be migrated over as they are exclusively used for Google Services. These include, but not limited to:

• Google Forms
• Google Docs (these should be stored in Google Drive anyway)
• Google Sheets (these should be stored in Google Drive anyway)
• Google Slides (these should be stored in Google Drive anyway)
• Google Meet
• Google Chat
• Google Sites

What does this mean for your data?

Accessing your Student Group account

If you have access to a Student Group account, this will mean that you will not be able to login to your account via Google after the 10/05/2024. To access your account you will have to login through Microsoft by going to Microsoft's Website or by going to one of their services such as Outlook. Your new account will not be available until the 17/05/2024.

Accessing your emails

Within your Student Group account, currently, you will use Gmail to access your emails as it is a Google Account. However, with moving to Microsoft you will use Outlook to access your emails for your Student Group. All your previous emails will be available through this too as well as future emails. 

Accessing your files/documents

Within your Student Group accounts, currently, you will use Google Drive to access your files/documents. However, with moving to Microsoft you will use OneDrive to access your files/documents. Please make sure all the files you want to keep are in your Google Drive before the 10/05/2024. Any files that are not on your Google Drive when we migrate, will not be available for you to access via OneDrive.

Signing in with Google

Some Student Groups may use a feature called SSO(Single Sign On), this is when a website or service uses Google to sign in without creating an account. For example if you use Canva, you can use your Google account to sign in with instead of creating an account with new credentials. It may look something like this:

You can check which services you use Sign in with Google to authenticate with on this page. If you do have any services you use Sign in with Google with, do not worry as you will still have access to your Google account after the migration, just the mail and file storage elements of your account will not be available as they will only be accessible via Microsoft. We do want to phase out the use of Signing in with Google as we move to Microsoft, so going forward we advise that your Student Group could create new accounts either with your Microsoft account or with an Email/Password combination.

Student Group Migration checklist

1. Make sure you have cleaned up your emails in your Google account. Delete any old emails that are no longer needed. This will make migrating quicker and easier for us
2. Make sure you have cleaned up your Google Drive on your Google account. Delete any old files you no longer needed. Just like with your emails, this makes migrating quicker and easier for us
3. Make sure you have added any files/documents you want to keep into Google Drive
4. Download all your Google Drive files as a backup, just incase we hit any issues with migration
5. Download all your Gmail emails as a backup, just incase we hit any issues with migration
6. Fill out this form to make sure you have access to your new Student Group Account

What do you need to do?

After you've ready this whole article there are a few things you need to do if you're a member of Student Group and you are the person in charge of managing your account. You need to:

1. Read this entire article
2. Read over and complete the tasks on the Student Group Migration Checklist
3. Fill out this form to make sure you have access to your new Student Group Account

Once this is all done, we will have all the information we need to successfully migrate you from Google to Microsoft

FAQ

Is there a deadline?

Yes the deadline for making sure your account is ready for migration will be the 10/05/2024

When will migrations be finished?

Migrations should be finished a week after the deadline. So by the 17/05/2024. We will let you know if we are running behind.

Is there a cap on the Cloud Storage for the new accounts?

Yes there will be a cap of 512GB for each account. This should be more than enough for all societies

Will shared files be migrated?

If you have access to any shared files on your Google Drive, these will not be migrated over as you are not the owner of the file/document