Seisma Group facilitates seamless Google Workspace integration: Loom's Migration to Atlassian

Loom, a US-based startup with approximately 200 employees, is a technology company that provides video communication software for work. Its technology includes screen and camera recording, video editing, transcription, and the ability to share the recorded video link with others.

In October 2023, Loom was acquired by Atlassian, a software company known for developing collaboration software - including  Jira, Confluence and Trello - that help teams organise, discuss, and complete shared work.

Before the acquisition, both organisations were using Google Workspace as their productivity and collaboration suite. Atlassian’s acquisition of Loom required the seamless integration of Loom's data into Atlassian’s ecosystem to streamline operations and enhance collaboration and productivity. 

Post-acquisition, the migration of Loom’s Google Workspace data into Atlassian's system was a critical milestone. The migration encompassed emails, calendars, drives, and other resources from Loom's Google Workspace into Atlassian's instance.

The Google-to-Google migration project was managed by Seisma Group’s Modernisation Practice (previously known as Fronde) with the aid of CloudM's Google migration tools - aimed to ensure a smooth transition with minimal disruption.

The primary objective was to migrate all of Loom’s Google Workspace data to Atlassian’s Google Workspace instance to streamline operations, integrate systems, and improve productivity across the newly merged organisations.

Planning and Preparation

The migration project commenced with an initial planning and watchpoint meeting. This phase involved identifying potential issues and creating a detailed migration plan. The meeting covered various aspects, including the types of data to be migrated, handling shared drives and collaborative inboxes, and deciding on whether to migrate full historical data or data across a limited timeframe.

"After that initial watch point meeting, everyone on our team was really impressed with Seisma Group. There were so many aspects that we would have never considered. Going through all the individual components that comprise Google Workspace and ensuring we had visibility into all of them really put me at ease." - Harrison Novak, Senior Technical Support Analyst, Atlassian.

Hardy Patel, Technical Consultant, from Seisma Group led the efforts, drawing from their extensive experience in Google Workspace migrations. "Migrating from Google to Google might seem straightforward, but there are numerous nuances to consider. This meticulous planning phase set the stage for a successful migration.”

Migration Process

1. Pre-Migration Preparations

The project timeline was originally 12 weeks, encompassing migration list preparation, migration environment setup and pre-migration of user’s mail, drives and shared drive data. Communication planning and change management documentation were also an essential part of this phase. Data was migrated in the background while teams were prepared for the transition. 

"This was primarily a US time zone project. Loom is headquartered in New York, and while we're kind of all over, most of us working on this initiative are in the US. Atlassian is headquartered in Australia with offices in the US, while Hardy and his team from Seisma Group are predominately in New Zealand. Hardy’s team worked some odd hours to accommodate us which was just above and beyond," said Harrison.

2. Migration Execution

The initial strategy involved a two-phase migration approach, focusing first on calendars and emails, followed by drives, at the request of Loom. Subsequently, a unified "big bang" cutover was executed over a weekend, allowing for a final Delta migration and minimising downtime. Seisma Group were able to ensure no email downtime during the cutover, a critical aspect for maintaining business continuity.

3. Post-Migration Support

Post-migration support was provided to ensure a smooth transition and address any residual issues. This phase involved ongoing assistance to ensure teams were comfortable with the new system and to complete any remaining migration tasks.

Fostering a unified organisational culture

Combining these systems was not just a technical necessity but also a cultural necessity. The integration of their communication and productivity platforms not only ensured business continuity but also fostered a unified corporate culture. Employees needed immediate and reliable access to shared resources and communication channels to collaborate effectively, especially during the transition period.

Harrison commented, "The migration was the first big step in integrating our two separate organisations. Having all our Google content combined with Atlassian's systems really helped us feel like one team."

Success Metrics

The migration successfully encompassed over 600 users and data was migrated for emails, contacts, calendars, drive and company shared drives, with significant data volumes transferred:

• Emails: Over 1 terabyte - which equated to approximately 14 million messages.
• Shared Drives: 26 drives and 400 gigabytes of data 
• Google Cloud Platform: Multiple projects migrated

“One of the biggest benefits was the immediate reduction in confusion. There was much less chaos than expected. It was a smooth transition, and everyone quickly adapted" said Harrison.

Outcomes and Benefits

The migration delivered several notable benefits:

• Enhanced Integration: The unified Google Workspace environment fostered a sense of oneness between Loom and Atlassian.
• Improved Productivity: Reduced user confusion and smoother operations facilitated enhanced productivity.
• User Experience: Users quickly adapted to the new system with minimal disruption.

Harrison commented, "Having Hardy and the Seisma Group team with their extensive knowledge managing this migration made us feel like we were in extremely capable hands. The process was smooth, and the team’s willingness to accommodate our needs was impressive."

A long-standing partnership

Atlassian and Seisma Group have a long-standing partnership built on trust and mutual respect. We work closely to develop and deliver migration that meets their business needs. Through our joint delivery, we are both clear on what success looks like through defined deliverables and outcomes; and are committed to meeting deadlines and expectations. We collaborate closely and have a talented team responsible for delivering results on time, within budget and to a high standard.

Warwick Taggart, Seisma Group’s Director of Modernisation said, “The reason Atlassian come back to us to do their migrations after an acquisition is that we know their business well, we do a lot of planning upfront together to get the foundations right to ensure a seamless migration, and we have our own Google Practice providing guidance and expertise along the way. So they have the confidence that we're going to deliver, every time.”

The successful migration of Loom's Google Workspace to Atlassian underscores the importance of meticulous planning, adaptability, and execution. Despite challenges, the project was completed efficiently, ensuring minimal disruption and enhanced operational integration post-acquisition.