Microsoft 365 Setup & Management
Sets up Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive. Choose it when the team relies on desktop Word, Excel and Outlook, works with partners in Microsoft environments or wants Teams as its central workspace.
Business Solutions2 services
Email & collaboration
Choosing between Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, then setting up email, files, calendars and meetings to fit how your team works.
The problem
The team uses a mix of personal Gmail addresses, a shared password for the main inbox and files scattered across laptops and personal cloud accounts. Calendars are not shared, so scheduling a meeting takes a string of emails. When someone leaves, their messages and files leave with them. The business knows it needs a proper suite but is not sure whether Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace is the right one.
The outcome
Everyone works on one platform under the business's domain, with individual accounts, shared mailboxes or groups where needed, organized file storage and shared calendars. Access is controlled centrally, so adding or removing a person is a routine task rather than a scramble.
In this group
The services, and what each one does here
Google Workspace Setup & Management
Sets up Gmail, Drive, Calendar and Meet with shared drives and groups. Choose it when the team works mainly in the browser, collaborates live in shared documents or prefers a lighter administrative setup.
How they work together
Choosing and running one suite
One platform, chosen deliberately
These services are alternatives rather than a pair. Most businesses run one suite for email and files; IOPIA compares the two against how the team actually works before anything is set up, so the decision is made once.
The domain connects either choice
Whichever platform is chosen, the business's domain carries the records that deliver and authenticate mail. Those DNS records are set up as part of the domain and email work, so the suite and the domain stay aligned.
Identity sits at the center
Both suites act as the sign-in for the team. Individual accounts, 2-step verification and admin roles are set up from the start, and that same identity can later sign people in to other business tools.
Switching is a migration, not a restart
If a business is moving from one suite to the other, mail, calendars and files are migrated in a planned sequence with a clear cut-over, rather than asking people to start again with empty mailboxes.
Select a part of the diagram to see what it does.
- IOPIA starts with how the team works: the files it uses, how it meets and who it collaborates with outside the business.
- That leads to one primary platform — Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace — rather than a mix of both.
- The business domain is connected to the chosen suite, with DNS records that deliver and authenticate mail.
- Every person gets an individual account with 2-step verification, and central sign-in controls their access to email, files, calendars and meetings.
Choosing
Which do you need?
Many projects use more than one of these. If the situation doesn't fit neatly, describe it and we'll suggest where to start.
Ask which fits- How do we choose between Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace?
- Both are capable, widely used suites, and the right choice depends on the team. Microsoft 365 tends to suit teams built around desktop Office files, Outlook and Teams, or that exchange documents with Microsoft-based clients. Google Workspace tends to suit teams that work in the browser and edit documents together in real time. Existing habits, the apps the business already uses and who will administer it matter more than feature lists.
- Can we use both?
- It is possible — for example, Google Workspace for email with some desktop Office apps — but running two suites for the same purpose usually doubles cost and confusion. IOPIA recommends one primary platform and keeps any exceptions deliberate and documented.
- We already have one of them. Is it worth switching?
- Often not. If the current suite is simply set up poorly, reorganizing it is usually less disruptive than migrating. Switching makes sense when the platform itself works against how the team operates.
Talk to IOPIA about email & collaboration.
Tell us what you have today and what isn't working. One conversation can cover several of these services.