On September 5, 2025, Microsoft officially confirmed that Project Online will be retired by September 30, 2026. A decision motivated by legacy architecture and absence of modern cloud-based AI/Copilot features. The shift has been anticipated since 2018 when Microsoft made it clear that innovation would focus on the new Project  (currently being rebranded to Planner Premium).

The retirement timeline gives organizations a limited window to migrate to a more modern and sustainable project management solution. But don’t worry, facilitating migration is a service we have done for years, and we are here to help!

Most organizations using Project Online to manage their PMOs and large-scale project portfolios are already embedded in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Staying within this environment makes strategic sense, as I discussed in a recent article: Why Microsoft Is the Best Alternative to monday.com. The benefits include:

• A unified user experience
• Stronger security and compliance
• The ability to leverage existing enterprise or CSP licensing agreements

With that in mind, there are two main paths forward:

1. Migrate to Planner Premium and Accelerator+ Power App
2. Migrate to Microsoft Project Server Subscription Edition

For most organizations, switching to Planner Premium and the Accelerator+ Power App offers the most compelling advantages:

• Built on the modern Dataverse architecture
• Delivers a more intuitive and collaborative experience
• Integrates Copilot AI for smarter project management
• Mainly uses the same licensing already in place for Project Online

If you’re currently licensed for Project Online, you’re likely already covered for Planner Premium and Accelerator+. The required licenses typically include:

• Planner Plan 1
• Planner and Project Plan 3
• Planner and Project Plan 5

Additional licensing may be needed for reporting and app functionality, such as Power BI Pro and Power Apps Per App, which replace PWA and Project Sites. For a deeper dive into licensing, check out our dedicated webinar.

If your organization heavily relies on the capabilities Microsoft Project desktop or Project Online offers then, Project Server Subscription Edition (SE) may be a better fit. This is Microsoft’s latest on-premises solution, accessible via cloud datacenters or Azure virtual machines, and it maintains the familiar interface and functionality.

Stay tuned for more details on licensing options for Project Server SE, which Microsoft is expected to announce soon.

Once Project Online is retired on September 30, 2026, it will no longer be accessible. Therefore, keeping it as a legacy data source won’t be feasible, but many organizations have data retention policies that require legacy project information to remain available, even after migration.

A future-proof solution involves migrating legacy data to a platform like Azure SQL Database, with Microsoft Power BI providing ongoing access and reporting capabilities. This ensures visibility into past projects without relying on a discontinued system.

Our proprietary migration tools make it easy to transfer all Project Online data to SQL or other suitable environments. Plus, our Power BI expertise ensures you maintain robust reporting capabilities.

As a long-standing, award-winning Microsoft Gold Project & Portfolio Management partner, we’re uniquely positioned to guide your transition to a modern solution.

Book a free Project Online Migration Clinic to explore your options and get expert advice tailored to your organization.