Issue

Microsoft FastTrack does not migrate Google Chat and Google Spaces history.

Recommendation

Option 3 : Don't migrate history, and prevent employees to extract their istory via Google Takeout.

Rationale: 3rd party migration tooling give deliver partially usable chat history with UX downsides, with considerable additionnal costs.

Allowing employees to extract their chat history with Google Takeout is perceived as a potential security risks (data breach, use of open source tool). Moreover, the full process is not straightforward (Takeout / Json file / Open-Source tool to read).

Background & Context

Chat and Spaces history can be valuable for Syensqo employees to perserve context and support continuity of work. 

Migrating this history to the Microsoft system is not straightforward activity and requires additional effort/tooling.

Assumptions

• Chat history doesn't hold legal grounds.

Constraints

• No consistent result with migration tool (Cloudiway).

• • Possibilty for HTML export option which creates Teams group chats.
    • The HTML file is then stored in the user’s OneDrive.
    • Choosing only an HTML export still results in Teams creating empty group chats.

(source: Workshop Presentation: 20250524-Syensqo-WS-ExchangeMigration.pdf)

(source: Workshop Presentation: 20250524-Syensqo-WS-ExchangeMigration.pdf)

• Google Take-out results in JSON files
  • Manual End User work
  • Exported data requires Open-source tool

(source: Workshop Presentation: 20250524-Syensqo-WS-ExchangeMigration.pdf)

• End-user self extract and import is not an option.

• Change management impact.

Impacts

• Loss of chat history.

Options considered

Option 1: Migrate Data With Cloudiway

Option 2: Migrate Data With Google Takeout Services

Option 3: No Migration + no Takeout export and disable chat

Option 4: Don't disable Google Chat

Evaluation

Criteria	Option 1: Migrate Data With Cloudiway	Option 2: Migrate Data With Google Takeout Services	Option 3: No Migration + no Takeout export and disable chat	Option 4: Don't disable Google Chat
Technical Feasibility	Low maturity of this Cloudiway feature Slow 3rd party Support Empty group chats are created as soon as an exportation is launched	User Action, cannot be done from Admin. Exports data to Json file and reading the exported data requires Open-source tool	Low - disabling Takeout	Migration: N/A - no actions to perform Sunset of GWS: potential issues with chats still in use
User Impact	Chat can be exported as HTML and in a second stage can be imported in Teams One on one chats are imported as seperate group chats and not in the one on one chats. (history will be stored in a different conversation than 1:1) User mapping doesn't always work	Exporting the chat history + spaces is a user action, technical and source of error Reading the exported data requires Open-source tool. Chat history not imported in Teams Format is degraded (ex: pictures not available)	Loss of history, without workaround	Coexistence issue: chats coming to both platofrms (potentially from the same people) User can check history until license is revoked No incentive to use new Technology
Security & Compliance	SIP required for 3rd party tool  Domain Wide Delegation necessary  Network/firewall exceptions necessary	Watchpoint on using freeware Watchpoint on what users could do with the extracted data (Takeout can be restricted to some services in particular)	N/A
Time to implement	Procurement & SIP delay  Tooling setup and testing required	Depends on User	N/A
Support impact	High as above constraints will cause user issues and aggravation	Low as pretty straight forward procedure	More tickets expected of users requiring access to their chat history
Operational Complexity	Tool and connection needs to setup and maintained during migration	Open-source tool need to be assed by security + Versions have to followed up Change management workload around users instructions for Takeout extracts	Any specific / critical case has to be managed centrally as users can't perform any action themselves
Cost	License(230,000€) + effort(100,000€)

File	Description
	20250524-Syensqo-WS-ExchangeMigration.pdf - workshop presentation.

See also

LM01_KDD001 - Migration Strategy