Client looking to save money by switching from M365 to Google Workspace

[Velvis]

I was wondering what thoughts everyone had on moving 40-50 users from M365 to Google Workspace.

They use MS Office products and have mostly PCs with a handful of Macs.

They use M365 groups and some shared mailboxes.

The use Slack instead of Teams. (I suppose moving from Slack to Teams might be a cost saving possibility)

My only similar experience was a small Google Workspace office moving to M365 and that literally lasted less than 2 hours before they wanted to go back to Google Workspace. I'd assume this would be something similar but in reverse.

Just looking for some pros and cons.

Thanks!

 

[britechguy]

Don't.

You've already hit upon the biggest reason: User familiarity.

It seems that many businesses don't account (at all) for the costs, both monetary and otherwise, from moving from one ecosystem to another. I have nothing against "mix and match" (your example of Slack instead of Teams) but if moving to Teams would be enough to tip the balance, someone's not thinking clearly.

I'd be trying to get them to Teams no matter what if the decision to abandon M365 is reversed. But those who think it's a simple matter to jump ship in either direction are just not familiar with the long, shallow, painful, tedious learning curve that entails. And not being able to do what you used to do without even thinking about how to do it slows the pace of business down (and tends to upset those forced into that position as well).

There has got to be a really, really, really compelling reason to make this kind of switch. A little cost savings isn't compelling when all factors are taken into account.

 

[Velvis]

Realistically, is it even that much of a cost savings anyways?

 

[lan101]

Don't.

You've already hit upon the biggest reason: User familiarity.

It seems that many businesses don't account (at all) for the costs, both monetary and otherwise, from moving from one ecosystem to another. I have nothing against "mix and match" (your example of Slack instead of Teams) but if moving to Teams would be enough to tip the balance, someone's not thinking clearly.

I'd be trying to get them to Teams no matter what if the decision to abandon M365 is reversed. But those who think it's a simple matter to jump ship in either direction are just not familiar with the long, shallow, painful, tedious learning curve that entails. And not being able to do what you used to do without even thinking about how to do it slows the pace of business down (and tends to upset those forced into that position as well).

There has got to be a really, really, really compelling reason to make this kind of switch. A little cost savings isn't compelling when all factors are taken into account.

Yeah for sure. If it wasn't for user know how being a factor I'd say go for it but we all know that reality lol.

 

[Sky-Knight]

The following is the AI sanitized version of Rob... consume with caution...

If the goal is simply to eliminate Teams licensing costs, the most straightforward option is to move to an M365 plan that excludes Teams and rely on Slack for collaboration. That alone reduces spend without disrupting the rest of the ecosystem.

Switching to Google Workspace is a very different conversation. Doing so means giving up on‑premises application support unless the organization is prepared to reinvest in equivalent tooling. It also means losing integrated endpoint management, built‑in security capabilities, and several layers of compliance and governance again, unless the organization duplicates those investments with third‑party solutions. The net result is typically higher total cost of ownership, not lower.

When this argument comes up, it’s usually because someone is looking only at the subscription line item and not the full operational impact. If this perspective is coming from leadership, it’s a signal that the organization may be heading toward broader strategic and financial challenges.

Real Rob reporting...

RED ALERT F'ING MORON BUSINESS OWNER DETECTED! RUN! REPLACE CLIENT! EJECT! PULL UP DRAGON ONE!


P.S. Expect this pressure to continue because people are freaking out about the cost increases hitting Business Standard, and Business Basic subscriptions effective July 1. These users aren't aware... their mailboxes just doubled in size... that's where the cost went... you got 100gb mailboxes now... no more Exchange Online Plan 2 foolishness to support people properly. Welcome to 2026.

Microsoft 365 Pricing and Packaging Updates | Microsoft Licensing Resources

On December 4, Microsoft announced a global price and packaging update for select Microsoft 365 commercial suites and standalone components, including Enterprise, Business, Frontline, and Government commercial equivalents.

www.microsoft.com

P.S. #2, literally had this conversation with a google customer that's got ~600 users today. They told me about their estate, I showed them where they were spending ~20% more than just standardizing on M365 E3 + Defender Suite. Their CFO was on the call... his jaw hit the floor.

Microsoft rules the enterprise space for a reason people. Google cannot touch it, I don't care what people think. A Google stack simply never adds up when it comes to proper cost of ownership analysis. And that's on the DIRECT COSTS, I haven't gotten into the indirect stuff spoken of here.

 

[trevm999]

I'd probably leave my employer if they said we were moving from Slack to Teams, lol

 

[Velvis]

So after discussing things with one of the family members who own the company this is less about money, but rather they have been using Google Drive with Gemini for a certain aspect of their business that interfaces to another company through Google and feel that the Google has more advanced capabilities especially with Gemini. So, there is a good number of employees familiar with the Google infrastructure.
She thinks Google is leading the way and doesn't want to be "left behind."

Any thoughts on this?

 

[thecomputerguy]

I had a client who hired a new hotshot personal assistant who came from a Google house and immediately started trying to disrupt their entire organizational workflow including migrating from O365 to Google Workspace after I had already moved them away from Google Workspace many years ago. The owner actually entertained this idea to save a couple bucks a month.

I fought and fought then eventually said sure I'll do it for $20,000

That was for 10 users and about 25 devices all of which would need to be reconfigured and retrained.

That ended that conversation.

 

[Sky-Knight]

You can make Google Workspace use M365 as an identity provider, then they can login and use select Google Services based on their M365 logins. And from there the business can move on their merry way using both platforms and paying for EVERYTHING TWICE!

Because there is only one way to pay for it once... M365.

 

[Rosco]

Google isn't that cheap anymore. I pay 28 bucks for one mailbox. It's the top-tier, but it 5 years ago it was 6. MS is the way to go these days. This sounds like a nightmare of a job.

 

[britechguy]

This comes back to the technical equivalent of clinical judgment in the medical sphere.

If any client request or demand does not fit within your own judgment of what should be done, you are under absolutely no obligation to do it. In fact, you shouldn't do it. It makes everyone involved terribly unhappy if you try.

You present your rationale for what you believe in, and then state that if this is not compatible with an ongoing relationship, then someone else will need to be found to do the work. It's effectively an easy way to fire unreasonable clients.

We are, for all practical intents and purposes, "tech doctors." If someone wants a second opinion, I encourage them to get it (and most times it will match my own). If someone wants to "doctor shop" until they find one foolish enough to do what the patient demands, rather than their judgment commands (if indeed it does command differently), then more power to them. I will not be willingly dragged into circles of hell.