SharePoint Migration Assistant Tool is a command-line utility that runs in the background to help SharePoint users scan their SharePoint servers or SharePoint Foundation Farm. With this assessment, SharePoint administrators can detect anomalies and the impact of migrating data to SharePoint Online within Office 365.
However, this utility was retired on October 1, 2026, and is no longer available for download. This means admins can’t use it now to assess their migration projects, which is why they’re now looking for alternative solutions.
- How did SMAT help users identify SharePoint migration issues?
- What issues were flagged by the SMAT tool?
- Why did Microsoft retire SMAT tool?
- Microsoft SMAT Retired: How to assess SharePoint environment now?
- Comparing Microsoft’s utilities: SMAT vs SPMT
- Common challenges when working with SPMT tool
- What if SPMT does not support your objectives?
- Bottom line
- Frequently Asked Questions
How did SMAT help users identify SharePoint migration issues?
Here is how SMAT used to scan and detect the issues from migration jobs:
- In-depth farm scanning: Run non- interfering scans across the SharePoint farm in the background without disturbing the functionality of the SharePoint environment.
- Identify high-risk elements: SMAT was used to identify the flagged structures from the SharePoint environments that could otherwise result in migration failure. It includes:
- Large lists: Lists of 20,000+ items can cause extended migration.
- Long OneDrive URLs: Content with long URLs don’t migrate.
- Large Excel files: Files larger than 10 MB on OneDrive are prompted to open in Excel.
- File versions: Files with more versions take longer to migrate.
- Large list views: Large list views may get throttled.
- Identity mapping: SMAT was integrated with the SharePoint Migration Identity Management Tool, which scanned the SharePoint environment, Azure Active Directory, and Active Directory to help map on-premises user identities to cloud identities.
- Generate logs and CSV reports: After scanning SharePoint, the SMAT utility generated detailed logs within a log directory, which included SMAT.log, SMAT_Errors.log, and detailed CSV reports containing informational messages, warnings, error events, and overall execution progress.
What issues were flagged by the SMAT tool?
SharePoint Migration Assessment Tool flagged some structural as well as common migration challenges to help admins avoid performance issues:
- Highlighted the issue if there are lists and libraries with more than 5000 items.
- Flagged deprecated features, unsupported customizations, and web application policies.
- Uneven permission structure throughout SharePoint sites or lists.
- SharePoint lists containing managed metadata and legacy workflow dependency.
Why did Microsoft retire SMAT tool?
SMAT tool was designed to support SharePoint admins in detecting potential compatibility issues, unsupported features, and other challenges before migration. Here is why Microsoft decided to shut down the SharePoint assessment utility:
Supported older or legacy versions
SMAT was designed to support legacy on-premises SharePoint Servers, such as 2010, 2013, and 2016. When these legacy versions reached their end-of-support deadlines, features like InfoPath forms, workflows, etc., were also deprecated.
Outdated architecture
SMAT was made to support the farm architecture of SharePoint servers that was based on command-line workflows. On the other hand, the SPMT tool (SharePoint Migration Tool) brings features that support modern site architecture too. It includes inventory management, risk mitigation, and dashboard reporting to serve a smooth user experience.
Integrated with SPMT
Features like pre-migration site scanning and ongoing assessment are now supported by Microsoft’s SPMT capabilities. This eliminates the need to use the command-line assessment tool separately.
Discontinued dependencies
Previously, the SMAT utility was heavily dependent on identity and mapping services, which meant discontinuation of any service directly implied disruptions in the utility. For example, when the Azure AD Graph service was deprecated, SMAT stopped functioning properly.
Microsoft SMAT Retired: How to assess SharePoint environment now?
After the departure of SMAT, several admins and SharePoint users are confused, as they can’t find a solution that can help them with a clear assessment of the SharePoint environment. To resolve this confusion, Microsoft has a native utility known as the SharePoint Migration Tool (SPMT) to migrate data to a SharePoint environment. It supports file servers, SharePoint on-premises, and SharePoint Foundation versions as the source to migrate from. Its core capabilities include:
- Built-in features to run pre-migration scans that detect issues before running the actual migration.
- Migrates sites, lists, libraries, folders, and other site content.
- Transfers managed metadata, custom content types, etc., from one SharePoint version to another.
- Supports migration from a single source and bulk data transfers using CSV or JSON files.
- Migrates data incrementally, which means it allows migration of new and recently updated data only to avoid data duplication.
- SharePoint Server versions older than SharePoint Server 2010 are not supported.
- Cannot migrate content from SharePoint Online to SharePoint Online .
- Migrate data to SharePoint Online, OneDrive and Teams but not to on-premises SharePoint.
- Does not support migration of classic web parts, InfoPath forms, and custom solutions.
- Pre-migration analysis helps to identify issues in real-time before migration.
- Migrate SharePoint sites to SharePoint Online as a new or existing site.
- Move sites, site pages, subsites, lists, or libraries between SharePoint versions.
- Transfer site structure, permissions, version histories, and site metadata.
- Generate detailed migration reports to provide clear insights into the process.
Comparing Microsoft’s utilities: SMAT vs SPMT
Explore the section ahead to understand why SPMT can act as an alternative to SMAT.
| Differences | SMAT | SPMT |
|---|---|---|
|
Lifecycle |
Reached end-of-life on October 1, 2026 |
Fully supported and active |
|
Reporting |
Generate reports mentioning the potential issues that might lead to migration failure |
Reports containing site scanning and assessment |
|
Purpose |
Assess SharePoint environment for issues |
Scan SharePoint for potential issues and migrate site content |
|
Used for |
Pre-migration assessment |
Pre-migration assessment and content migration |
|
Supported source |
SharePoint Server/Foundation 2010, 2013, and 2016 |
File server and SharePoint Server (2010, 2013, 2016, and 2019; SharePoint Server/Foundation 2010, 2013, and 2016) |
Common challenges when working with SPMT tool
Even though the tool supports transfer of data between SharePoint platforms while supporting site scanning, there are a few challenges that might restrict you from migrating content:
What if SPMT does not support your objectives?
With SPMT, you cannot expect the sites to be organized in a proper structure. There are chances that the tool converts classic site pages to modern pages. Moreover, with no support for tenant-wide assessment, there’ll be gaps in the final assessment.
To avoid all these limitations, what you can try is a professional SharePoint migration solution that is efficient enough to scan and assess the entire SharePoint tenant and generate easily accessible logs and reports. You can opt for Kernel Migrator for SharePoint tool that offers top-quality features such as:
Bottom line
With the retirement of SMAT, you need to find a better alternative that helps you with efficient assessment. You can switch to SharePoint Migration Tool , which is not just a SharePoint migration analysis tool but a migrator too. However, it doesn’t support SharePoint Server versions older than 2007 and destination-wide scan. Therefore, you need a solution like Kernel Migrator for SharePoint that covers all the possibilities of SharePoint scanning, assessment, and migration. The tool also allows users to schedule the migration according to their convenience.
Frequently Asked Questions
A. No, after the retirement of SMAT on October 1, 2026, Microsoft has removed it from Microsoft Download Center and it is no longer available for download or installation.
A. After the departure of SMAT, Microsoft encourages its users to use the scan functionality of the SharePoint Migration Tool (SPMT) as a suitable alternative. Its built-in scan functionality will identify potential issues in SharePoint Server that may impact the migration of SharePoint in Microsoft 365.
A. Yes. SPMT tool not only scans and assesses the SharePoint sites before migration, but it also helps in migrating these sites to SharePoint Online.
