SharePoint to Google shared drives

Where do SharePoint files go in Google Workspace?

SharePoint document libraries go into shared drives in Google Drive. A shared drive belongs to the organization, not to the person who created it, so files stay put when someone leaves. That is the same promise SharePoint team sites make, and it is the main reason team files should never live in someone's My Drive.

Members of a shared drive see the same files and folders. Anyone with the right role can add, edit, and organize content, and everything is searchable from Drive.

How should you map SharePoint sites to shared drives?

Map by audience, not by copying your SharePoint structure line for line. Shared drives work best when access is set at the drive level, so the question for each library is simple: who needs to see this?

If everyone who uses a library needs the same access, it becomes one shared drive. If one folder in a library has a different audience, such as HR files inside an operations site, make that folder its own shared drive. This keeps permissions clear and easy to audit.

Each shared drive member gets a role:

• Manager. Manages members, settings, and all content.
• Content manager. Adds, edits, moves, and deletes files.
• Contributor. Adds and edits files.
• Commenter. Views and comments.
• Viewer. Views only.

Add Google Groups as members instead of individuals where you can. When someone joins or leaves a team, you update the group once and every drive follows. See My Drive vs shared drives for how to explain the difference to your team.

What does not move from SharePoint?

SharePoint pages, lists, workflows, and custom metadata do not move into a shared drive as they are. Document libraries move well, and everything else needs a decision.

• Pages and intranet sites. Google Sites can host simple intranet pages, but pages are rebuilt, not copied.
• Lists. Rebuild them in Google Sheets, Google Forms, or AppSheet, depending on how they are used.
• Power Automate flows. These need to be rebuilt in another tool or retired.
• Custom columns and metadata. A standard folder structure has no direct equivalent, so capture anything important in file names or a tracking sheet.
• Version history. Older file versions may not come across. Ask how your migration tool handles them.

Our full list of what does not migrate automatically covers the rest of Microsoft 365.

How do you handle permissions and external sharing?

Start with an audit. SharePoint often has years of one-off permissions on single folders and files. Do not try to recreate every one. Use the move to reset access to a clear set of shared drives and groups.

External sharing is controlled in the Admin console. You can allow or block sharing outside the organization, and set rules for shared drives specifically. Decide this before the migration so files do not land in drives with looser rules than you intended. Our guide to Google Drive sharing settings walks through the options.

How do you move SharePoint without disrupting work?

Run the bulk copy while people keep working in SharePoint. Just before switchover, set the old libraries to read-only, run a delta sync to pick up recent changes, and then point everyone to the new shared drives.

Read-only matters. Without it, someone saves a file to SharePoint after the last sync and it gets left behind. Also look for links in documents, bookmarks, and templates that point to SharePoint addresses. They will not redirect, so update the important ones. For personal files, see OneDrive to Google Drive migration, and for the full plan see the Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace migration guide.

Next step

We map SharePoint libraries to shared drives and set up groups as part of a managed move. See our Microsoft 365 migration service.