As part of the ongoing IT separation of Syensqo, your Google accounts will be migrated into the new Syensqo Google Workspace instance on March 26th; with some targeted changes occurring sooner. 

<<Note: This wiki is a work in progress.>>

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Key Dates

10 MARCH          Google Drive files, still shared between Solvay / Syensqo are separated

 This affects a small subset of Syensqo users, still collaborating in Google Drive with Solvay. If you believe you are affected; instructions on what to expect and how to work are here: Transition from Solvay to Syensqo owned Drive files

17 MARCH          Google Sites, still shared between Solvay / Syensqo are separated

 This affects a small subset of Syensqo users, still collaborating in on Google Sites with Solvay. If you believe you are affected; instructions on what to expect and how to work are here: Google Sites Separation Guide

24 March 2025   Share with Everyone at Syensqo permissions removed from all Google Drive items

Syensqo users will need to request sharing from Drive item owners; for any folders/items shared using Everyone at Syensqo. See details here: Sharing access with “Anyone in Syensqo”


26 March 2025   Syensqo Google Workspace cutover date - starting at 12h00 (noon) CET


What does & does not get migrated 

In General

In general, you can assume if its not listed below; that items and settings will move seamlessly to the new Syensqo Google Workspace. The most widely used items not moved and/or negatively affected, are listed below; with special apps/data types listed further down under special topics. 

Gmail

Trash/Spam: Email items in both of these are not moved

Any Solvay delegates are removed from Syensqo user and shared mailboxes

Calendar

Calendar sharing

Any calendar sharing with Solvay users will be downgraded to Share Free/Busy only. This includes full calendar delegation

Secondary Calendars

Secondary Calendars are not migrated and must be manually exported before the cutover; and imported after. See instructions here: Exporting/Importing Your Secondary Calendar

Room bookings

All events in your primary Google calendar are moved as part of the cutover; however, any room bookings in those events are lost and must be re-invited by event owners once the cutover is complete. 

Video Conferencing

Starting Wednesday morning, at all Syensqo offices; meeting room video conferencing will be unavailable until end of day Friday, March 28 at P1 office locations and until April 2 at all others.

IMPORTANT: During this period, technicians will need to access and re-configure video meeting devices; and when possible, please allow them access to do so. In many cases this will require courtesy and compromise. If you are holding a meeting where their access is disruptive, please be courteous in working with them to adjust their schedules. 

Chat

Group Chats

All Group Chats are not migrated and cannot be retained. 

Chat Spaces

Any Chat spaces owned by Syensqo users; will not be migrated and all content will be lost. To ease in recreating them; you can export the Space members lists from within the Space's Manage Members screen, pressing the copy icon (see pic)

Solvay and 3rd party owned Chat Spaces are unaffected by the move. 


Google Drive

Most My Drive and Google Shared Drive files owned by Syensqo users will be moved on March 26th without changes to how they are accessible (ie. links, bookmarks, Drive attachments will all function normally.) However there are two notable exceptions:  

Transition from Solvay to Syensqo owned Drive files (STARTING MARCH 10)

This affects a small subset of Syensqo users, still collaborating in Google Drive with Solvay. If you believe you are affected; instructions on what to expect and how to work are here: Loss of access to Solvay owned Drive files

Sharing access with “Anyone in Syensqo”

Any item you've set to share with “Anyone in Syensqo, will be reset on March 24th to Restricted; meaning only users/groups specifically listed in its share list will retain access. You can set sharing back to Anyone in Syensqo after the migration. 

Likewise, If you find that you cannot access a Drive file you previously could and are presented with a You need access sharing screen like the one below; its likely that your lost access was based on this or a similar sharing rule that was cancelled by the move. You can request a new share to reestablish access. 



What to do/expect before the cutover 

Google Contacts/Syensqo Company directory

Between March 24-26, users will temporarily lose access to the company directory. Access to your own Google Contacts will not be affected.   

Google Calendar - Export any secondary calendars you wish to keep

Exporting/Importing Your Secondary Calendar


How to work during the cutover

The cutover will start on March 26th at around 12h00 (noon) CET. At that time you should... ...continue to work normally. You don't need to log out or interrupt what you are doing. In fact, you likely may not notice anything has changed. You will receive an email update once its complete; with some notes about what to do first and some temporary odd behaviors that you may (but probably won't) notice. 

What to do after the cutover

IMPORTANT: Immediately re-invite meeting rooms to Calendar events

All your calendar events will migrate automatically, however any room bookings in those events are lost and must be re-invited by event owners once the cutover is complete. 

In other words, following the cutover; all room calendars will be empty and it is imperative you re-invite them to your meetings as soon as possible once you are notified the migration is complete, around 16:00 CET on March 26th.

We ask that if possible, once the cutover begins on Wednesday March 26 at 12:00 CET that you delay booking rooms for new events until Thursday March 27th; to give fellow colleagues the time to rebook existing meetings. Scheduling conflicts will invariably arise; please be considerate. 

Set your working locations/hours

Import secondary calendars

If you exported any secondary calendars before the cutover; follow these instructions to recreate them: Exporting/Importing Your Secondary Calendar

Recreate Chat Spaces

As Chat Spaces are not migrated with the cutover; recreate any that you need going forward

How to get help

Need additional migration information or help? Email the AppSpace migration team at: 

it.separation-program+gws@syensqo.com

During the cutover, if you have an issue or any loss of access; submit a standard ServiceOne Report an IT Issue (Application Issue: Google Workspace) request

Special Google Workspace migration topics