As enterprises have shifted focus from on-premise environments to the cloud Microsoft 365, SharePoint sites have followed the same trend. Migrations to SharePoint Online have become a critical effort for organizations over the last many years to retain their business content. This direction highlights the need for having a trusted and reliable migration tool. With a healthy dose of migration apps on the market, making the right selection for that upcoming migration can be daunting task. Yet, in my portfolio of SharePoint migrations I’ve conducted, one has stood out time and again as a solid, reliable tool for migration engagements – ShareGate.

ShareGate (both the product name and the Company behind the tool) continually stands alone as the premier migration software. From its’ clean user experience, comprehensive reporting capabilities and ability to retain the integrity of documents and metadata, all the way to their staff’s witty blog posts and help articles (in no short part thanks to the company’s animated and pragmatic evangelist Head of Product Benjamin Niaulin). ShareGate delivers for bringing SharePoint content into the cloud without missing a beat. And it’s also fantastic at getting those pesky file shares (finally) into the cloud. Bonus!

Below is a quick run-down of the pros and cons of ShareGate if you are considering using it:
  • User Friendly GUI
  • Robust Reporting
  • Great Knowledge Base for Troubleshooting
  • Consistent App Updates
  • Easy Task Scheduling for later date
  • Granular list / library / file migrations for those smaller, quick jobs
  • Pricy for Small Enterprise Organizations
  • Managed Metadata Migrations can be a bit taxing


Evolving into somewhat of a go-to content migration resource over recent years (and unsurprisingly a migration aficionado), I have witnessed ShareGate evolve from a simple migration tool with intermittent use to now a comprehensive suite of cloud management tools to migrate, manage, and even govern Microsoft 365 and Azure environments. And that’s probably why it’s been my premier tool to work with; it’s constantly growing, being refined, and matching the growth of the Microsoft 365 platform in which SharePoint is so intertwined (it even allows migrations within Microsoft Teams, which SharePoint is a critical component).

Another big win with ShareGate is that it simply makes life as a migrator easy. It packs a whallop in terms of it’s capabilities in reporting on both source and destination targets. It excels in providing pre-migration information for migration planning and post-migration reports that drive the success of quality testing. I cannot stress the frustrations and pains posed by other migration tools when trying to produce or access their reporting services. It becomes an exercise in frustration trying to navigate awkward and confusing graphical user interfaces to produce critical tasks. As such, ShareGate excels in delivering a top user experience – a critical measurement of success for migrators.

One of the first questions I find myself asking when connecting with propsective clients for content migration engagements is “what tool have you selected?” And if they reply with “ShareGate” it now delivers a sense of relief, especially knowing the project is off to the right foot from a tool standpoint and likely a pain-free migration experience.

I will absolutely not hesitate to recommend and continue to use ShareGate in any of my future migration engagements. If you’re considering a migration to Microsoft 365 or moving SharePoint sites around in the cloud, there is no question ShareGate is a home run.

Sincerely,

Chris McKellar
Avid Migrator and ShareGate Super Fan