Why PCmover Enterprise is Essential for AD or Local to Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) Migrations—Where USMT Falls Short

As organizations increasingly adopt cloud-first IT strategies, transitioning from traditional Active Directory (AD) or Local (workgroup) accounts to Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) becomes paramount. However, this shift presents complexities, especially when managing large-scale PC or OS refresh projects. Microsoft's User State Migration Tool (USMT), while useful, has a significant limitation: it does not support migration to, from, or between Entra ID.  

🛑 The Entra ID Roadblock with USMT 

USMT is designed to assist IT teams in migrating user profiles and settings during Windows deployments — but only with non-Entra ID environments. Microsoft states that it lacks support for:

• Migrating from on-prem AD to Entra ID-joined PCs
• Mapping user profiles across different domain types
• Handling identity transitions during hybrid or cloud-native deployments 
  

Take a look at Microsoft’s own website listing the further limitations of USMT: 

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/usmt/usmt-what-does-usmt-migrate#what-usmt-doesnt-migrate  

These limitations often necessitate manual workarounds, custom scripting, or rebuilding profiles entirely — consuming valuable IT resources and increasing the risk of data loss or configuration errors. 
 
For a detailed comparison, see our breakdown: https://enterprise.laplink.com/pcmover-enterprise-the-preferred-solution-over-microsofts-usmt  

🚀 PCmover Enterprise: Purpose-Built for AD to Entra ID Migrations 

PCmover Enterprise from Laplink is engineered to address these challenges. It offers automated, policy-driven migrations that:

• Transfer user profiles from on-prem AD or Local accounts to Entra ID accounts
• Automatically remap profile ownership between account types
• Preserve all user data, settings, and preferences
• Transfer applications
• Operate across different Windows versions
• Eliminate the need for scripting or custom XML configurations 

Explore our full PCmover Enterprise capabilities here: https://enterprise.laplink.com/the-complete-pc-refresh-solution-microsoft-autopilot-intune-onedrive-pcmover-enterprise  

🎥 See PCmover Enterprise in Action 

For a comprehensive walkthrough of user profile migration using PCmover Enterprise, watch the following video: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrLNLrfLCpk&t=554s  

📚 Real-World Results: Case Studies 

Organizations facing USMT limitations have successfully turned to PCmover Enterprise. Here are a few examples:

• Global Professional & Financial Services Firm successfully completes a transfer of over 175,000 Windows PCs – more efficient and cost effective than Microsoft’s User State Migration Tool (USMT). Read More >
  
• Multi-national pharmaceutical company uses PCmover Enterprise to migrate roughly 100,000 PCs within 14 months, most of which were done by the end-users themselves. The IT team, having previously used USMT, found PCmover to be a much more complete and simple solution. Read More>  
• Global IT staffing and consulting firm SmartSource relies on PCmover for cost-savings an ease of use when compared to Microsoft's User State Migration Tool (USMT). Read More>

🔧 How It Works With PCmover Enterprise

• IT defines migration policies centrally.
• Profiles from AD-joined machines are matched and transferred to their new Entra ID counterparts.
• The process is automated — no reconfiguring or manual profile setup needed. 

💡 Why This Matters 

• Faster Deployment: Save hours of IT effort per PC.
• Fewer Help Desk Calls: Reduce post-migration issues by preserving the user environment.
• Cloud-Ready: Fully supports modern IT infrastructure and hybrid environments. 

🆚 PCmover vs. USMT 

 
See full comparison: https://enterprise.laplink.com/pcmover-enterprise-the-preferred-solution-over-microsofts-usmt  

🎯 Final Takeaway 

Modernizing your environment by adopting Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) shouldn't be hindered by complex and manual user profile migrations. PCmover Enterprise offers an automated, efficient solution that simplifies the transition, reduces IT workload, and ensures a seamless experience for end-users. 
 
Learn more at https://enterprise.laplink.com/ or request an evaluation license: https://enterprise.laplink.com/get-started/