Migrate your On-Prem Data to Google Drive

November 9, 2020

Are you stuck fighting with VPN connections to allow off-campus access to your on-prem file storage systems? Do you have aging server hardware and facing a costly upgrade? Or perhaps you have been a target of expensive ransomware attacks?

If your school is using Google for Education, you already have access to unlimited Google Drive storage and now might be the right time to get your user data migrated.

In this article, we will cover the key reasons that many institutions decide to migrate to Google Drive for their storage. Perhaps we can help you and your team determine that now is the time to consider upgrading your school’s old file servers and move users’ content to Google Drive. By leveraging Drive File Stream your users will have the same experience as they do when accessing their current shares while reducing your equipment costs and providing more visibility and insights into user activity across your domain.

Advantages of moving your users content to Google Drive:

  • Google Drive file stream only syncs down files that are in use rather than syncing entire networks. This feature improves speed and reduces the required hard drive space. 

  • Google Drive content is retained in Google Vault according to your set retention policies and can be accessed as needed. 

  • Drive File Stream provides conflict avoidance for Microsoft file formats allowing your users to collaborate.

  • Easily connect with cloud-based backup solutions (like Syscloud) to enable point in time restoration of any deleted content

Accessing Drive Files:

Google Drive provides the flexibility that allows users to access files in a variety of ways without the limitations often connected with on-prem servers.

  • Users can access files on the web: drive.google.com

  • Users can access files on mobile/tablets = App store applications

  • Users are able to access files locally via Drive File Stream – and this can be mapped to the same drive letter that users expect to access 

  • Users are able to access files offline so that once back online, edits to Drive files will be automatically updated.


Drive storage limits: 

Google Workspace for Education Plus Advantages

Google Workspace for Education Plus institutions have additional enterprise-level features that increase the value of having all user content migrated to Google Drive. The two key advantages are Cloud Search and advanced analytics with Big Query.

  • Cloud Search allows you to search across all of your institution’s content including Gmail and Drive to Docs, Sheets, Slides, Calendar, and more.

  • Ability to create advanced analytics reports of drive usage in BigQuery + Data Studio

What does the migration process look like?

Luckily, there is an extremely low impact on users as all files & content are migrated in the background. The transition to using Google Drive is made for all users on a date and time chosen by the school. To go even further to help balance support resource needs, users can go live in groups ex: each building

When it comes down to the timeline for a migration, the time investment from the beginning of the project to the end depends on the amount of content. A standard migration with Amplified IT typically takes 8 weeks from project kickoff to completion. The migration can include all supported Google Drive file types but can be tailored to fit the needs of the institution.

If you’re ready to start your migration, connect with us to get started or to just ask us questions you may have. We are here to help.

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  • Maddy Feliciano
    Migration Specialist

  • About the Author:

    Maddy lives in Kansas City, Missouri (not Kansas) and has always enjoyed teaching, as she has spent a large portion of her career working with students of all ages to meet their goals in dressage. Maddy is a Migration Specialist supporting successful data migrations and making a direct impact on how students experience their education. Maddy is passionate about making technology easy to understand and accessible to everyone. In her free time, Maddy enjoys perfecting recipes and spending time outdoors.