Move to the cloud with a clearer plan
Moving to the cloud can help your team access files, email, apps and systems from more places.
Why use Chrome for Cloud Migration?
It can also create problems when the move is rushed. Files may be moved before permissions are reviewed, users may not know where to find what they need and an old application may depend on a server nobody has checked. Backups can also be assumed rather than confirmed.
Chrome helps UK businesses plan and support cloud migration in a practical way, as part of cloud migration services built around your systems.
We’ll help you understand what should move, what should stay, what needs checking first and how your team will be supported before, during and after the change.
The aim is simple: move agreed systems and data with less confusion, less avoidable disruption and a clearer route for support.
Move away from older systems
Chrome can help plan moves from older servers, email platforms, file storage or applications where cloud is the right next step.
Support remote and hybrid working
Cloud services can help people access agreed tools and files from the office, home, site or on the move.
Tidy data and access
A migration is a good time to review file locations, permissions, leavers, shared folders and old data.
Connect migration with wider support
Cloud migration works best when it links with Microsoft 365, backup, cyber security, connectivity, devices and user support.
What is cloud migration?
Cloud migration means moving agreed data, systems, applications or services into a cloud environment.
That may include moving email into Microsoft 365, moving files into SharePoint or OneDrive, moving an application to a hosted environment, or moving server workloads into Microsoft Azure.
It can also mean moving from one cloud setup to another, such as a Google Workspace migration to Microsoft 365.
The right migration depends on what your business uses now and what your team needs next. A small email migration is very different from moving files, applications, users, devices and support processes at the same time.
Good cloud migration should answer practical questions before work begins: what is being moved, what should stay where it is, who needs access, how data will be protected, what needs testing, when users will be affected, and who supports the setup afterwards.
Chrome can help you work through those questions in plain English.
Decide what should move first
Not everything should move at the same time.
Some systems may be ready for cloud migration now, while others may need tidying, testing or supplier checks before anything changes. Chrome can help review your current setup and decide the right order.
That may include Microsoft 365, email, shared files, servers, cloud apps, hosted applications, virtual desktops, backups, devices and user access.
We’ll also look at how each system is used.
A file share may contain active work, old archive folders and data that should no longer be widely accessible. An application may depend on a database, licence server or connection to another system. A mailbox may need archiving before it moves.
Planning this properly, following a sensible cloud migration strategy, helps avoid moving old problems into a new place.
The best migration is not always the fastest one. It is the one your team can use and support afterwards.
What is ready now
Systems that can move with little preparation.
What needs tidying
Data and settings worth sorting before the move.
What depends on a supplier
Anything needing a third party to agree or act first.
The right order
A sequence that avoids breaking something mid-move.
Review data, permissions and users
Cloud migration is a useful time to look at access.
Your business should know who needs each file, mailbox, application or folder. It should also know which users have left, which shared mailboxes still need to exist and which folders contain sensitive information.
Permissions often grow over time because it is easier to add people than remove them.
Chrome can help review users, groups, permissions and access before migration.
This matters because cloud services can make information easier to find. That is helpful when access is right, but less helpful when old permissions are copied across without checking.
We can also help plan how starters, leavers and role changes should be handled after the migration.
A cloud setup should be easier to manage in six months, not only on the day it goes live.
Plan email, files and Microsoft 365 migrations
Many cloud migration projects involve Microsoft 365.
That may include Exchange Online, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, shared mailboxes and user accounts.
Chrome can help plan agreed Office 365 migration work, including what moves, when it moves and what users need to know.
Email migration may involve mailboxes, calendars, contacts, shared mailboxes, aliases, forwarding rules and DNS changes. File migration may involve shared drives, folder structures, permissions, archive data and guidance on where files should live in future.
A SharePoint migration may need extra care, since conversations, channels, files and permissions often connect in different ways within Teams.
We’ll explain what is included, what needs checking and where another supplier may need to be involved.
The goal is to make the new setup easier to use, not just newer.
Applications, servers and virtual desktops
Some migrations go beyond email and files.
Your business may need a server migration or application migration into a cloud service. This can help when older equipment is due for replacement, remote access needs improving, or a system needs to be available from more than one location.
These migrations need careful planning.
The application may need supplier approval, performance may depend on connectivity and users may need new access routes. Backup, security and support arrangements may also change.
Chrome can help review whether cloud hosting, an Azure migration, a decision to migrate to Azure, virtual desktop or another approach is suitable, whether that means a full lift and shift or a more gradual move, as part of wider cloud migration consulting.
Where another supplier owns the application or platform, we’ll help make responsibilities clear before work starts.
Some systems may be better moved later, replaced first or left where they are for now. We’ll say that when it is the better answer.
Plan the change around your team
Cloud migration can affect people’s working day, so communication matters.
Users should know what is changing, when it is happening and what they need to do. Chrome can help plan migration timings, testing, user updates and support routes.
That may include pilot groups, staged moves, out-of-hours work, device checks, backup checks and post-migration support.
We’ll also help think through practical questions: will users need to sign in again, will devices need updating, will file links change, will email be unavailable for a period, and who people should contact if something does not look right.
A good migration plan does not remove every bump, but it should help people feel prepared and know where to get help.
Backup, security and support after migration
Before data moves, backup and security should be checked.
Your business should understand what is protected before the migration, what is protected afterwards and what happens if something needs restoring.
Chrome can help link cloud migration with 365 Backup, endpoint backup, Microsoft 365 security settings, user access reviews, password management and cyber security.
This is important because migration can bring old problems to light. A leaver account may still have access, a folder may be shared too widely or a backup may not cover the data people thought it did.
Once the move is complete, users may still need help finding files, signing in, using Teams, checking Outlook, opening applications or understanding what has changed.
Chrome can support your team after migration through managed IT, co-managed IT or agreed project support.
A cloud project should not leave your team with a new setup and no clear place to ask questions.
Cloud migration and your wider technology
Cloud migration rarely sits on its own.
It connects with Microsoft 365, 365 Backup, cloud strategy, virtual desktop, endpoint backup, managed IT, cyber security, connectivity and devices.
A file migration may depend on SharePoint structure, user permissions, backup and training. An application migration may depend on connectivity, supplier support, security settings and user devices.
Chrome can help bring these areas together through one team, so your business has a clearer place to start when something needs planning, checking or fixing.
How Chrome plans a migration
Here’s how we approach cloud migration, step by step.
Understand what needs moving
Review the current setup
Plan the migration
Carry out the agreed work
Review after the change
Cloud migration with the working day in mind
Cloud migration works best when people know what is changing, where their data is going and how to get help afterwards.
Read what customers say about Chrome’s communication, support and the people behind the service in our reviews.
Questions we hear before a move begins
Common questions we hear from businesses planning a cloud migration.
What is cloud migration?
Cloud migration is the process of moving agreed data, systems, applications or services into a cloud environment. That may include email, files, servers, applications or Microsoft 365 services.
Can Chrome help migrate to Microsoft 365?
Yes, where the work fits the agreed service scope. Chrome can help plan and support Microsoft 365 migrations involving email, users, files, Teams, SharePoint or OneDrive.
Can Chrome help with a Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 move?
Where agreed, Chrome can help plan a move from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365, including email, files, calendars and user accounts. We’ll confirm the scope and any limits before work begins.
Will cloud migration disrupt our team?
Some disruption may be possible, depending on what is being moved. Chrome will help plan timings, testing, user communication and support routes to reduce avoidable disruption.
Is cloud migration always the right choice?
No. Some systems may be better left where they are, moved later or replaced before they move. Chrome can help you understand the options before work begins.
Do you offer data migration services beyond Microsoft 365?
Yes, where the work fits the agreed scope. This can include server migration, application migration and other data migration services alongside a Microsoft 365 or Azure migration.
Ready to plan your cloud migration?
Your business may need to move email, files, applications or systems, but the best results come from planning the move properly.
Chrome can help you review the current setup, agree what should move and support your team through the change.
You’ll get clear advice on scope, timing, access, backup and support before the work starts.