MigrationStudio uses 'connectors' to automatically import information about workstations directly from external data sources, such as Microsoft Active Directory, Microsoft SCCM, Lakeside SysTrack, SNOW and NexThink.  The Connectors provide an almost real-time view of the estate, meaning that changes to your migration project are captured in MigrationStudio as they happen.  


You might also have information about users, machines and applications stored in spreadsheets that would be useful to the project.  This solution article will broadly explain the concepts of manually importing this data.


Preparing The Data

Each migration type - users, migrations, applications - in MigrationStudio has different fields available that can be used to map external data.  These fields are detailed in the respective solution articles:


When preparing the external data, it's important to include a unique identifier to enable MigrationStudio map on to other assets in the database (such as mapping machines to users).  For example:

  • Users: Migration ID, SAM account, email address, employee ID or contact name
  • Machines: Machine, host name
  • Applications: Revision ID, client ID


We recommend trying to reflect the MigrationStudio field names in the external data source as the import process will attempt to automatically map fields that share the same name.  Ensure that the first worksheet in the spreadsheet contains the data that you want to import.


Import The Spreadsheet

Once the external spreadsheet containing the data is ready, you'll need to import this into MigrationStudio via the 'Portal' (the globe icon in the top right corner):

  • When in the Portal, click 'Import Data' (1) from the main menu
  • Select the type of data you would like to import - this example will use 'Applications' (2):
    • Applications
    • Migration Users
    • Migration Data



  • Click the 'Browse' button (1) to locate your spreadsheet and click 'Upload Excel Workbook' (2)


  • If successful, you will be presented with a summary of the data that you're able to import:



Define the Data Mappings

The fields that are available to map data to will vary between applications, users, and machines.  Please refer to the solution articles above for a list of common fields available for each import type.


This example will import a list of users and map to a device hostname but the process applies regardless of the migration type.


Beneath the summary import in the previous step, you will see high-level categories that contain the data fields that are available for mapping.  As this example contains user information, click the 'Migration Details' panel to display the options:


MigrationStudio will automatically attempt to map the appropriate fields if similar names are used.  For example, the spreadsheet uses the following fields:

  • First Name (column 0)
  • Last Name (column 1)
  • Email (column 2)
  • Hostname (column 3)


In the 'Migration Details' panel, the column numbers have already been added where similar names are found.  Simply enter the appropriate column number in the migration details panel to map fields that aren't pre-populated by MigrationStudio.



MigrationStudio will also need to be told how to detail with new and existing records.  Scroll further down to the bottom of the 'Migration Details' section until you see a section similar to the screenshot below:


In the section titled 'Match existing records by...', specify how you want to match the import data with that held by MigrationStudio.  This example uses the email address (1) but the migration ID, SAM account and employee ID are all good options to choose.  Contact name should only be used in scenarios where the other fields aren't available, especially in organisations where multiple users share the same name.  

If the import contains new users, ensure that 'Create User Migration if not found' (2) is enabled to create the user in MigrationStudio and likewise, 'Update User Migration if found' (2) is enabled to update the information currently held about that user.


To finish this example, the hostname from the import data will also need to be mapped on to the correct field in MigrationStudio.  Click the 'Machine Details' header to expand the fields available:


Unlike the previous example, the hostname hasn't automatically mapped; the spreadsheet contained the field 'hostname' which is different from 'host name' used in MigrationStudio.  Simply enter the appropriate column number (in this case, the value would be 3) into the field.


Import the Data

Once the fields have been correctly mapped, scroll to the top of the import screen and click the 'Import User Migration' button.  Although the button name will be different when importing applications or machine migrations, the location will be similar.



Each import operation will be logged at the bottom of the page with a success/failure notice.