Microsoft Cross- Tenant Migration: The Hidden Cost
Microsoft Cross- Tenant Migration Tool : Free No More?
In a recent online video, Mark, a seasoned IT consultant who calls himself The Cloud Geezer, shared his discovery about the “free” cross-tenant migration tool from Microsoft: It’s not free.
Mark was in the midst of a migration when he got a notification that his attempt had failed. In order to complete the project, he was required to purchase a cross-tenant migration license for each user. He also found out that he wouldn’t be able to use the tool at all unless one of the tenants involved was under an Enterprise Agreement.
“It’s a bit of a sad thing,” Mark lamented to his YouTube subscribers. “They’re not free tools anymore, unfortunately. So, your best bet, really, is to not use them at all. There’s much better functionality with third party tools.”
Free vs. Free*
You don’t have to be exceptionally skeptical to know that free doesn’t always mean free. Hint: Keep an eye out for an asterisk (*) or a lot of small type in a shaded box. Sometimes using a free version makes sense if you want to try something out, or if you’re willing to put in extra time to make it work. The Microsoft cross-tenant migration tool provides only basic functionality for mailbox and OneDrive migrations, and it appears to be only available as an add-on for the largest accounts.
Mark, The Cloud Geezer, puts the trade-off this way: “MRS tools have always been a ton of work, (requiring) lots of configuration, lots of matching, (and) you had to destroy the source when your target goes live – all the things that you would put up with because it was a free tool. And now you’ve got to pay for it. So why wouldn’t you use a third-party tool?”
As one of the leading third-party migration tools available, MigrationWiz is both intuitive and full featured, making it a great value for any size migration. It doesn’t require specialized training but still includes features for granular customization. And no, it’s not free. But there are multiple license options available, and the BitTitan customer success team can help you select the licenses that will work best for your project – with honest, transparent pricing.
When a project is important, and your reputation relies on getting it done right, free might not be the best choice.
