We had previously published information on a similar topic ((1) Microsoft Project Server End of Life Support | LinkedIn) and decided to provide further information based on a recent customer engagement.
Businesses must explore contemporary solutions that fit within the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM). This framework assists in identifying solutions that not only align with enterprise-wide strategies but also adapt to the evolving needs of digital business.
Microsoft Project Online has not announced an end date yet. It is no longer receiving new feature investments but will be supported by the product team. Assimil8 IT are wisely initiating exploratory workshops to navigate customers through the available options and ensure a seamless transition to a system that supports their strategic project portfolio management effectively.
The information provided here are for customers to investigate the possible approaches going forward from Project Online.
*These views are of our own based on best practices provided to customers as subject matter experts and trusted advisors.
Microsoft Project Online:
- There is no new investment in this platform going forward.
- Project Online will be supported by Microsoft to an extent – there is no confirmed end date. However, with the information provided customers would be educated to make an informed decision and act now rather than later.
- SharePoint Workflow 2013 and SharePoint Designer will be deprecated and not supported by July 2026. SharePoint Designer is mainly used in Project Online for the Workflows, alerts / reminders, email notifications, project lifecycles/phases/stages, etc.
- Customers are advised to investigate the use of Microsoft Power Automate to resolve this upcoming blocker however it is advised this may not be a direct replacement from SharePoint Designer (Workflows).
- MS Project Professional Desktop client will still be supported as this is currently used by many project managers across the globe.
Based on the above and reading between the lines customers would be knowledgeable to initiate the strategic move from Project Online to the later platform.
Assimil8 IT recommendation:
Option 1: Project Online – Investigate the move from SharePoint Designer Workflows to Microsoft Power Automate
- Remember this may not represent a permanent solution.
- The costs and effort entailed to move from SharePoint Designer to Power Automate could be better leveraged for option 2.2 outlined below.
Option 2: Migrate from Project Online to the New Project Power Platform. In this scenario customers can investigate the migration to the following:
2.1: Project Online Migration to the default Microsoft Project for Web (Power Platform) Solution
- longer time to deploy/configure to the business need,
- default application which lacks the Enterprise capabilities out of the box which needs to be configured/developed prior to migration,
- more costly approach.
2.2: Project Online migration to a partner-based Project Power Platform solution
- which is fully configured with more robust enterprise features,
- shorter time to deploy, more cost-efficient approach,
- Offers a suitable migration path from Project Online to Project Power Platform.
- this option would be the most recommended / favorable approach due to the various business requirements; integration needs to SAP / Azure DevOps and other line of business applications, etc., which is readily available.
Option 3: Continue using Project Online but with the intention to start deploying and configuring Project Power Platform in parallel so before July 2026 Project Online could be tapered / phased off and Project Power Platform becomes the primary solution for all new project initiatives. Management and administration of data across 2 platforms could be cumbersome.
Given that SharePoint Designer (Workflows) will be deprecated in July 2026, customers have an estimated 24 months from writing this article to plan & execute for this strategic move.
Do not wait until it is too late, as we are aware the customers internal processes can be challenging, to get the relevant business and financial approvals to move ahead.
Start now!
