Cancel Google Apps Account But Keep Gmail

Question

I administer Google Apps for my family with a domain for our last name. I'm considering switching away from Google Apps and using another provider for our email. One member of the group, however, is really happy with how Gmail is set up and doesn't want to switch. I know I could copy all the mail over to another Gmail account using IMAP and forward the mail, but this person would prefer not to have to change everything.

Is there a way I can cancel the Google Apps account for the domain and move the MX records over but preserve this one Google login and mail?

Answer 1

You have several options:

1. Switch the MX records away from Google Apps, but keep the account(s). Setup forwarding from the new provider, or IMAP/POP fetch from Gmail to the new provider, for the ones who still wants Gmail.
2. Keep the MX records pointing to Google, remove the unwanted accounts, and set up split delivery. This will cause emails that are designated to a non-existing Gmail mailbox to be sent to another email system.
3. Keep the MX records pointing to Google, and let users set up forwarding to another provider
4. Cancel the Google Apps service completely. Set up new accounts with the new provider. Set up a regular Google account (@gmail.com) for the one resisting user, and have him set up his lastname.com address as an email alias in Gmail. Setup forwarding or IMAP/POP fetch from his lastname.com account to his new Gmail account.

See this answer for more information on split delivery.