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Microsoft Releases Test Version of SharePoint 2013 Migration Assessment Tool
Microsoft has released a near final tool this week for organizations considering switching from SharePoint Server 2013 on premises to using the SharePoint Online service.
The tool, called the "SharePoint Migration Assessment Tool," is at the release candidate stage, and can be downloaded at the Microsoft Download Center here. Microsoft typically uses the "release candidate" phrase to signify that a product is a few weeks away from being ready for use in production environments. The final product, arriving later, is called the "general availability" release.
The SharePoint Migration Assessment Tool runs from a command-line interface. It scans a SharePoint server farm and takes about one or two days to complete the scan. It produces a summary of "the scenarios that could be impacted by migration," per the Download Center's description.
The tool will send stats back to Microsoft, but it's not clear from the description what Microsoft sees. The more sophisticated Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit also scans for SharePoint Server use for planning purposes. However, the SharePoint Migration Assessment Tool seems like a more lightweight solution.
There doesn't seem to be much information available about the tool, and documentation is lacking.
Microsoft doesn't seem to have a SharePoint 2016 migration tool handy yet, apparently, although that will be a big topic at its Ignite conference next week, based on the conference's session agenda.
About the Author
Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.