Running Migration Manager on a Mac

Migration Manager runs natively on Windows Operating Systems.  It will not run on macOS, but there are options that can be taken to allow you to use Migration Manager with Mac hardware.

Even though macOS is not compatible with Migration Manager, your Mac Machine may be able to also run a Windows Operating system that will then allow you to run Migration Manager.  There are 3 main methods of achieving this.

1. Install 'Parallels' on your Mac

https://www.parallels.com/au/

Installing Parallels on your Mac will then allow you to install Microsoft Windows within the Parallels Program (Parallels basically creates a ‘virtual machine’ on your Mac). From there you can then install Migration Manager and its companion programs (Microsoft Office, Google Chrome and Adobe) and successfully run Migration Manager.

If you are running a newer Mac machine which uses a M1 chip, you must use Parallels 18 or above.

Advantages:

  • Jumping from your macOS programs to Windows Programs is quick and easy.

Disadvantages:

  • Not suitable for lower-end machines. Running 2 Operating Systems at the same time on the one machine requires a higher-end Mac.  Not only will you need the extra hard disk space to hold the additional programs, you also need more RAM (min of 16Gb.  8 for Mac and 8 for Windows).  See our System Requirements for full details.
  • Costs. There are additional costs to running Parallels compared to running a standard Windows machine
  1. Cost of Parallels software.
  2. Cost of Windows 10 license.
  3. Depending on your Microsoft Office license, you may need to purchase a new Office license (Microsoft Office sees your macOS and Windows as two separate devices.  You will require 2 licenses, one for Windows and one for macOS).

2. Running ‘Boot Camp’

Warning. Boot Camp is no longer supported on newer Macs which run the M1 chip.

https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT201468

macOS comes preloaded with a product called Boot Camp Assistant.  This allows you to install Windows 10 or 11 on your Mac.  The difference between this and Parallels is that you cannot easily ‘jump’ between Windows and macOS.  Instead, you choose which Operating System you would like to use as you start your machine.  Depending on your situation, this may still be a very workable situation.  Example:

  • When you come to work, you start your machine and select the Windows side.  During the day you use your business applications such as Migration Manager, Office, Adobe etc
  • When you then go home for the day, you start your machine using the Mac side.  Now you can use the macOS programs.

Advantages

  • You don’t need as much RAM as you do with Parallels.  Instead of a minimum of 12Gb, you can work with 8GB.  A machine that would normally struggle with Parallels may work much better with Boot Camp.
  • You do not need to Purchase Parallels.

Disadvantages

  1. It is not quick and easy to jump between Windows and macOS (need to reboot to swap).
  2. Cost. The solution is still more expensive compared to running a standard Windows machine:
    Cost of Windows 10 or 11 license.  You will still need to purchase a Windows license to install on Boot Camp.
    Depending on your Microsoft Office license, you may need to purchase a new Office license (Microsoft Office sees your macOS and Windows as two separate devices.  You will require 2 licenses, one for Windows and one for macOS

3. Windows 365  or Amazon WorkSpaces (AWS)

https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/windows-365/

https://aws.amazon.com/workspaces/

There is a 3rd option and that is to use a virtual cloud environment where you can install Windows and Windows programs.  Currently we would suggest either Windows 365 or Amazon WorkSpaces (AWS).  Feedback from our clients would suggest a slightly better experience from Windows 365.  This solution is good for users with lower-spec’d Macs. Using Windows 365 or AWS, you are accessing the Virtual Environment via a web interface so there is no load placed on your Mac.

Advantages

  • You can access your Windows and MM environment from any machine.  Because you are accessing MM via a Web Interface, then any machine with a web browser can be used.
  • You can access your environment from anywhere in the world.  If you are traveling overseas, you can access the Windows 365 or AWS environment from anywhere with internet.
  • Your Windows 365 or AWS environment is safe in the Cloud, so if your machine breaks or is stolen, you can still access the environment from another machine.

Disadvantages

  1. You will need to install Microsoft Office  to run on Windows 365 or AWS. Depending on your Microsoft Office license, you may need to purchase a new Office license (Microsoft Office sees your macOS and the Windows 365 or AWS Windows install as two separate devices).  Office must be installed on Windows 365 or AWS alongside the free Adobe Reader and Google Chrome programs.
  2. Cost.  Having your Operating System hosted for you comes at a cost (see below).  

Below is an example of the Windows 365 pricing structure as of May 2022.  Windows 365 pricing and plans do change, below is simply to give you an idea of pricing and packages available.

For full details see: https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/windows-365/

We would suggest sign up for at least the '2 vCPU 8GB RAM' bundle (or equivalent package) with 64bit Windows 10 or 11 installed.

Below is an example of the AWS pricing structure as of May 2022.  Amazon pricing and plans do change, below is simply to give you an idea of pricing and packages available.

For full details see: https://aws.amazon.com/workspaces/

We would suggest sign up for at least the ‘Performance’ bundle (or equivalent package) with 64bit Windows 10 or 11 installed.

Note:

Migration Manager Support does not support installing or configuring Parallels, Windows, Microsoft Windows, Windows 365 or AWS.  You must seek assistance from your own IT support for this.  The Migration Manager Support and Installation Team can only install Migration Manager on a machine with Microsoft Windows already installed and running.

Amazon WorkSpaces client download and informational video:

https://clients.amazonworkspaces.com/#

Amazon WorkSpaces Quick setup guide:

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/workspaces/latest/adminguide/getting-started.html#quick-setup-regions