How ShareGate certification helps partners deliver Microsoft 365 migrations with confidence
- Strong SharePoint expertise, but new to Microsoft 365 migrations
- High-stakes projects where mistakes quickly surface to customers
- Needed certainty she wasn’t missing critical steps in migration planning and execution
- Adopted ShareGate Migrate for reliable, low-friction migration delivery
- Completed ShareGate partner certification to validate her migration planning, scoping, and execution through a hands-on skills assessment
- Strengthened her ability to explain migration decisions and reduce risk for customers
- Greater confidence delivering high-stakes migrations, including NHS projects
- 6 new migration SOWs created in one month, with additional projects already booked
- Expanded into new workloads such as mailbox migrations
The Challenge
Sarah Howroyd came from a strong SharePoint background, but Microsoft 365 migrations introduced a new level of pressure. Every decision carried risk, and mistakes could surface quickly in front of customers.
“I was familiar with SharePoint, but migrations are their own thing,” Sarah explains. “There’s a lot you don’t know until you’re in it.”
When she was given her first migration, that uncertainty mattered. Customers expected confidence, clarity, and zero surprises, especially in complex, regulated environments.
Sarah had used Microsoft’s native migration tools for limited, tactical moves in the past, but the experience left her cautious.
“I didn’t like using the SharePoint native tools because something always seemed to be missing,” she says. “So, I was dreading doing a full migration.”
As migrations became central to her role, Sarah’s challenge wasn’t learning how to migrate. It was knowing, with certainty, that she wasn’t missing something critical.
The Solution
The tool that made migrations click
After trying native tooling, Sarah went into her first ShareGate migration expecting the usual cleanup and surprises. Instead, it was uneventful. In the best way.
“I was quite surprised by how easy it was,” she says. “There wasn’t one hitch from start to finish. I was amazed."
Sarah ended up really enjoying the 16-month migration project she’d originally been apprehensive about. And it ended up marking a turning point in her work.
“It kind of detoured my skillset. I realized I really liked migrations and wanted to keep working on them.”
Choosing certification
When ShareGate introduced its partner certification, Sarah saw it as an opportunity to pressure-test her approach and confirm that the way she planned, executed, and reviewed migrations stood up to scrutiny.
“The migration certification put my mind at ease,” she says. “It made me feel more confident speaking to customers and knowing that I wasn’t missing anything.”
The certification process combined guided learning with a practical migration assessment. Sarah first completed the core curriculum, then requested a hands-on skills evaluation. That assessment required her to demonstrate how she would plan, scope, and execute a migration, explaining the reasoning behind her decisions.
“Even if some of it you already know, it gives you deeper insights into pre- and post-migration work. Things you need to think about beyond just what the tool provides.”
That rigor mattered. Certification didn’t change how Sarah approached migrations. It helped her articulate why she made certain decisions and how she reduced risk.
Certification didn’t replace experience. It validated it.
The Results
The assurance that comes from being certified
For Sarah, the biggest outcome of certification is confidence she can stand behind.
“The certification is priceless,” she says. “It’s peace of mind.”
That reassurance matters most in high-stakes environments. Sarah increasingly works on National Health Service (NHS) migrations, where only two tools are authorized: SPMT and ShareGate.
In these highly regulated, high-visibility projects, certification gives Sarah certainty that her migration approach has been tested and validated before she ever speaks to a customer.
What certification unlocked in practice
Since completing certification, Sarah has translated that validation directly into delivery momentum.
In the last month alone, Sarah has created six SOWs for customers using ShareGate. Most are now moving into active projects, with two additional engagements already booked.
“I’ve only got so much time,” she says. “That’s why I’m encouraging my colleagues to get certified, too.”
Certification has also given Sarah confidence to expand into new workloads. After years of SharePoint migrations, she’s now involved with her first mailbox migration projects using ShareGate.
“It’s opened the door to taking on different types of migration projects,” she says. “I’m really excited about that.”
Turning discovery into a faster first step
Beyond certification, Sarah now applies that validation during early discovery, using ShareGate’s Migration assessment for scoping work. She was amazed by how much time it saves.
“I normally go everywhere to find this information,” she says. “The assessment brought it all up in seconds. Literally seconds.”
Because certification sharpened her understanding of what matters in a migration, Sarah introduces assessments early, knowing she can interpret the results and guide next steps.
The same applies to the Governance risk assessment, especially as customers ask about implementing Copilot and Purview.
“We get a lot of customers asking about Copilot,” she explains. “Being able to clearly show what needs attention first makes those conversations much easier.”
Sarah uses assessments to create early momentum by helping customers understand their environment and next steps before any tool decision is made.
“The customers are going to be impressed with the tool before they’ve even bought it."
A partner experience that reinforces certification
For Sarah, certification is part of a deeper partner relationship. One built on responsiveness, access to expertise, and follow-through.
From her first projects through to certification, Sarah’s experience with ShareGate has been shaped by the people behind the product.
“I feel like ShareGate and the guys I’ve been talking to have treated me like I’m part of a family,” Sarah says. “Everyone’s been so wonderful.”
That level of support matters when deciding where to invest time and effort. Certification requires focus, and for Sarah, it felt worthwhile because she had access to help when she needed it.
“Any queries, any issues, any training, anything I want to learn, I just drop them a message, and I get instant responses.”
She’s also seen that partner feedback doesn’t disappear into a backlog.
“They take in what we say—little ideas, little suggestions—and get excited about them,” she says. “They don’t just sit on feedback. They actually take it in and often go even further with it.”
That responsiveness reinforces her decision to invest more deeply, through certification, continued learning, and expanding how she uses ShareGate with customers.
“ShareGate just makes my job easier,” Sarah says.
For Sarah, certification isn’t a one-off milestone. It’s part of an ongoing relationship where support, feedback, and enablement all move in the same direction.
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If you're already a ShareGate partner, you can learn how to get certified in the Partner Portal.
New to the ecosystem? Learn how we can how we can help you deliver Microsoft 365 migrations faster and with less risk.
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