Migrating to Lenovo XClarity One: An Overview

Lenovo is evolving its systems management strategy by transitioning from XClarity Administrator to XClarity One, a next-generation platform designed for increasingly distributed hybrid-Cloud and edge environments. While XClarity Administrator has served as a reliable flagship for years, modern IT demands a shift from fragmented, reactive troubleshooting to a unified, proactive model.

XClarity Administrator and XClarity Orchestrator are planned to be withdrawn from marketing on June 30, 2026, with support planned until June 30, 2027. All future innovation and roadmap investments are now dedicated to XClarity One. To ensure a smooth transition, Lenovo provides a migration tool that is part of XClarity One Cloud and on-prem versions, allowing XClarity Administrator customers to move to XClarity One at their own pace.

XClarity One is based on a new highly scalable architecture that enables new deployment options that go beyond what was available with XClarity Administrator. XClarity One is made up of two distinct elements: XClarity One Portal and XClarity One Hub. Together these elements allow for a flexible deployment model to suit customers’ needs and goals.

The following figure shows the three ways XClarity One can be deployed.

Figure 1. XClarity One implementation options

The Portal can be hosted in a Lenovo managed Cloud environment for an “access from anywhere” Cloud Hybrid experience or deployed on a customer’s own infrastructure for an On-Premises experience. The Portal then connects to one or more On-Premises XClarity One Hubs though a single highly secure link, which in turn connects to multiple end point devices.

Both of these deployment scenarios can benefit from a connection to other Lenovo Cloud services, to offer an enhanced experience. Features include:

• Automated firmware download
• Warranty lookup
• Log uploads to Lenovo Support
• Mitigation Action plans to help resolve issues quickly
• Awareness of latest CVE and your exposure
• Automatic support ticket creation through Call Home

As a further enhancement XClarity One is also one element within Premier Support Plus for Servers. This Lenovo Service delivers Always-On Infrastructure: Premier Support Plus for Servers Powered by Proactive, AI-Driven Support and is designed to help enterprises reduce downtime, simplify IT operations, and keep mission-critical infrastructure always ready.

For situations where having internet connections is not acceptable, the On-Premises deployment can also operate without the internet connection and off-line solutions to e.g. download firmware are available. Note that not all features are available when an internet link isn't present, such as warranty status.

Customers are advised to consider which deployment approach best suits their needs. The XClarity One license can be used in any of these scenarios, and the approach can even be changed without affecting the licensing position.

Lenovo is committed to protecting customer investments. Existing eligible Lenovo XClarity Pro licenses are honored during the transition to XClarity One and mapped on a one-to-one basis to XClarity One Standard licenses. Current subscription and support end dates are preserved, ensuring continuity and minimizing disruption.

Users of the Cloud deployment of XClarity One will see their XClarity Pro license automatically duplicated and available in XClarity One for the matching Customer Number. Users of the On-Premises deployment can import XClarity Pro licenses directly into XClarity One.

New with XClarity One are 2 or 4 year per-device licenses as well as a Starter License that provides a cost-effective entry point for Small and Medium sized businesses. It offers essential Cloud-based or on-prem management for up to 10 devices per customer. It includes all the functionality of a Standard license, including proactive support and seamless scalability, allowing smaller organizations to benefit from enterprise-grade intelligence without the complexity or high upfront costs of traditional enterprise licensing.

To ensure a smooth transition from XClarity Administrator, XClarity One has a built in Migration Tool that will migrate many aspects of your XClarity Administrator environment into the new XClarity One deployment.

Aspects that can migrate today include the following.

• Licenses
• Devices
• Device Groups
• Firmware Policies
• Configuration Patterns
• Service Tickets
• Call Home configurations

Note that the tool is currently limited to 500 endpoints. This limit will increase in a future release.

Lenovo XClarity One is continuously enhanced through incremental updates that focus on automation, scalability, reporting, and ecosystem integration. Capabilities are delivered in phases to ensure stability and allow customers to adopt new functionality at their own pace.

This approach provides customers with confidence that the platform will continue to evolve while remaining aligned with Lenovo’s broader infrastructure management strategy.

You can migrate an existing Lenovo XClarity Administrator v4.3.4 or later instance to XClarity One using a migration tool that is delivered within the next gen platform. This transfers management of the devices to XClarity One and imports artifacts such as firmware policies, device-settings configurations (configuration patterns), groups, service tickets, and XClarity Pro licenses. After the migration is complete, you can continue managing these devices using XClarity One.

Using XClarity One in the Cloud is recommended for small to medium businesses that desire enterprise-grade capabilities without the heavy upfront investments and IT overhead.

1. How do I migrate from XClarity Administrator?

   Instructions are documented in the XClarity One user guide in the Migrating XClarity Administrator section.

2. Will my existing XClarity licenses be supported?

   Yes. Eligible existing Lenovo XClarity Pro licenses are honored and mapped into Lenovo XClarity One, with entitlement dates preserved.

3. Is Lenovo XClarity One Cloud-only?

   No. XClarity One supports both Cloud-connected and on‑premises deployment models, allowing customers to choose the approach that best fits their operational and regulatory needs.

4. Do I need to migrate immediately?

   No. Customers can transition at their own pace. XClarity Administrator is planned to remain supported until then end of June 2027.

5. What is the primary value of moving to XClarity One?

   XClarity One reduces complexity by unifying infrastructure management, improving visibility, and enabling more efficient operations across distributed environments.

6. Will Lenovo XClarity Administrator continue to function if I do not migrate immediately?

   Yes. Lenovo XClarity Administrator will remain supported until June 30, 2027, allowing customers to migrate at their own pace.

For additional information about Lenovo XClarity One, see the following resources:

• XClarity One Product Guide
• XClarity One User Guide
• XClarity One Software Download page
• Migrating from XClarity Administrator - XClarity One User Guide
• XClarity One Cloud Portal

Note: This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute a commitment to deliver specific features or functionality. Product capabilities and timelines are subject to change at Lenovo’s discretion.

Geoff Hunt is a Worldwide Product Manager working in the ISG Software team based in the UK. He has lead responsibility for the XClarity One offering and is ably supported by his teammates who cover specialist areas within XClarity One. He also has experience in hardware product management having brought the ThinkEdge SE455 V3 to market. Before that, many years were spent working closely alongside sales as an EMEA Product Manager, covering a variety of offerings. He holds a Master of Physics degree from Southampton, UK.