- Proton launches business-focused migration tool for Gmail and more
- Both suites can run simultaneously to avoid downtime
- Proton doesn't make it easy to migrate away, though
Proton has launched a new Easy Switch for Business tool to help companies migrate from Google Workspace with minimal disruption and downtime, in the face of a growing number of companies looking to turn their backs on Big Tech.
The announcement comes as European businesses especially look to find alternatives to US software giants, amid concerns over data privacy, regulatory compliance and broader tech sovereignty.
Proton says its Easy Switch tool is meant to tackle some of the challenges companies are most worried about when switching, like operational disruption and cost.
While Proton's product offerings also include Drive, Docs and Sheets, this tool specifically relates to email, calendars and contacts.
Importantly, Google Workspace and Proton run simultaneously during the migration so there's no disruption. Users can continue as per normal while the change is happening without experiencing outages or disruptions.
It also means that IT teams and admins can move selected user accounts first and onboard teams in stages while running the two suites at the same time, affording them time to make sure things are running as expected.
Proton boasted that over 100,000 organizations – including newsrooms, law firms, tech companies, consultancies, NGOs and government agencies – have already moved to its platform.
The company doesn't currently offer a similar tool for Drive and the documents within it, instead forcing users to export from Google Drive and re-upload to Proton Drive.
More importantly, Proton doesn't have any mass migration or export system for its Drive for users seeking to move away from the platform. Due to file-by-file encryption, users must open and download every file individually.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.