Last month, Google announced that free “traditional” G Suite accounts will require the purchase of a paid subscription plan, which will go into effect on May 1.
The move came as a surprise to G Suite users who had been customizing their domain name service. Now Microsoft is trying to entice these G Suite users to buy Microsoft 365 with a 40% discount.
Jared Spataro, head of Microsoft 365, said: “If you’re a small business that relies on the traditional free version of G Suite, you may be in the market for a new solution. We have news for you: today, you can get 40% off getting a 12-month subscription to Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Business Standard, or Business Premium for the price of 12 months and get the help you need to relocate.
Available on Microsoft ‘s website, the offer includes support for custom domains, access to Microsoft Teams, Office apps, and OneDrive cloud storage. Microsoft is also offering Microsoft 365 Business Assistance for one year to help businesses migrate to Microsoft 365 more easily. The offer runs until August 2, 2022, and traditional free G Suite users can purchase a 12-month Microsoft 365 plan.
However, some traditional users of G Suite may want to wait for Google’s new solution. After the pushback, Google said it plans to “give you an option to move your non-Google Workspace paid content and most of your data to a no-cost option.” We’re still waiting for full details from Google, but it sounds like traditional users of G Suite will be able to transition to a free Gmail account without advanced features like custom email domains or multiple account management.