Our entire cloud infrastructure is hosted in Google Cloud. Aligning our productivity tools (Docs, Sheets, Drive) with our hosting environment makes our systems faster, more secure, and allows us to provide premium AI tools at a non-profit price point.

To simplify. Right now, we are managing multiple identities, and three different storage systems. Moving to a single, unified Google environment saves the organization money and, more importantly, saves you the headache of wondering where your files are stored.

Historically, the Synology NAS was the "official" spot, but we know it’s slow and hard to search. Our goal is to make Google Drive the single, official home for all Horizon documents. By the end of this transition, you won’t have to check three different places to find a curriculum folder or a budget sheet.

They aren’t going anywhere! Google Drive allows you to store, open, and even edit Microsoft Office files directly without converting them. If you prefer the Google format for better collaboration, you can convert them with one click, but it is no longer required.

For 95% of our tasks, Google Sheets is actually faster and better at handling real-time collaboration. For the remaining 5% of complex data modeling, you can still use the desktop version of Excel and save the file directly to your Google Drive.

We are moving toward retiring the local server. While it served us well, a physical box in the office can't match the speed, searchability, or "work from anywhere" flexibility of Google Workspace. We will migrate all active departmental files from the Synology into Google Shared Drives.

Yes, because it’s simpler. In Microsoft, files are often "hidden" inside a specific Team or a SharePoint site.

• In Google, if it’s yours, it’s in My Drive.

• If it belongs to your department or a project, it’s in a Shared Drive. That’s it. No more guessing which "app" a file lives in.

This is Google’s specialty. You will have access to Google Cloud Search, which is like having a private Google Search engine just for our internal files. Even if you can’t remember the filename, searching for a keyword inside the document will bring it up instantly. No more clicking through 10 layers of folders on a slow network drive.

We will transition to Google Meet for video calls and Google Chat for instant messaging. Google Meet is integrated directly into your calendar—no more waiting for a heavy desktop app to "wake up" just to join a meeting.

While most data moves automatically, some personal settings like specific "Rules" or custom signatures may need a quick 5-minute setup in Gmail. We will provide "Cheat Sheets" to help you recreate your favorite workflow in the Google environment.

Since Horizon's entire digital infrastructure is hosted in Google Cloud, Gemini has a "home field advantage." It integrates more tightly with our specific services and, under our license, offers a massive research advantage through NotebookLM, which allows you to "chat" with your own internal documents and PDFs to find information instantly.

It’s an AI-powered research assistant. You can upload PDFs or notes, and it will help you find connections, create summaries, and even generate study guides and other media content.

Yes. Because we are using an Enterprise license, your data is never used to train Google’s public models and never leaves our secure domain. It is much safer than using a personal "Free" AI account or another publicly available cloud AI.

Yes! This is a common misconception. By enabling "Offline Mode" in your Chrome settings, you can continue to write emails and edit documents even without an internet connection. Your changes will sync the moment you're back online.

Absolutely. We are not just "flipping a switch." We will have:

1. Incremental Training during weekly staff meetings, before, during and after the migration.

2. Drop-in "Office Hours" as needed.

3. Short Video Tutorials here at the Migration Desk.

4. "Google Champions"—tech-savvy peers who can help you with quick questions. We are in this together.