On 30 September 2026, Microsoft retired Project Online. For many organisations this was more than a software change. Project Online was where their plans, their shared resource pool, their timesheets and their portfolio reports lived. If your PMO is still working out what comes next, you are not alone: since the announcement, a growing number of organisations have contacted Exepron for help carrying their project portfolios forward.
In short: Microsoft retired Project Online on 30 September 2026. Microsoft recommends Planner, and Project Server Subscription Edition remains for on-premises use, but many PMOs need a dedicated portfolio platform as their Project Online replacement. Exepron imports your Microsoft Project (.mpp) files directly, and the free Portfolio Value Report shows what your own portfolio would look like in Exepron, in minutes.
This article explains what “end of life” actually means, what Microsoft retired and what it did not, what organisations are planning to do, and a practical way to give your portfolio a new home without losing what you have built.
What does “end of life” mean?
Software is rarely switched off in one day. Vendors retire a product in stages, and each stage means something different for the people who depend on it:
The product can no longer be bought by new customers. Existing customers keep using it.
For software you run yourself: it keeps working, but no more security updates or fixes are released.
For a cloud service: the service itself is switched off, and the data inside it is no longer accessible.
Project Online is a cloud service, so its end of life is a retirement. Unlike software installed on your own servers, there is no option to “keep running it unsupported” for a while. When the service is retired, it is gone.
The timeline
- September 2025Microsoft announces that Project Online will be retired and recommends moving to Microsoft Planner.
- 1 October 2025End of sale: new customers can no longer buy Project Online.
- April 2026Existing customers can no longer create new Project Online instances.
- 14 July 2026Extended support ends for the on-premises Project Server 2016 and Project Server 2019.
- 30 September 2026Project Online is retired. Microsoft states that projects and their data in the service are no longer accessible.
Not everything with “Project” in its name was retired. The Project desktop application, Project Server Subscription Edition and Microsoft Planner are not part of this retirement. But for organisations that ran their portfolio in Project Online, the enterprise layer they relied on is no longer there.
Why so many teams are left without a real home
Project Online was never just a scheduling tool. It was the enterprise layer on top of Microsoft Project: Project Web App, an enterprise resource pool shared across all projects, enterprise custom fields, timesheets and status updates, SharePoint project sites, and the reporting feeds behind many Power BI dashboards.
When that layer disappears, the technical consequences are concrete:
- A folder of files is not a portfolio. Each plan can still be saved as an .mpp file, but the shared view across projects is lost: which projects compete for the same resource types, which ones depend on each other, and which will be late because of it.
- The shared resource pool is gone. Skills, teams, equipment and facilities were defined once and used by every project. In separate files, each plan has its own copy, and nobody sees the total load.
- Reports and integrations stop. Dashboards and integrations that read from Project Online stop receiving data.
- History is at risk. Baselines, actuals and timesheet history that were never exported may not be recoverable.
What organisations are planning to do
When people look for a Project Online replacement or alternative, the same handful of paths keeps coming up across forums, Microsoft partners and PMO communities:
Microsoft Planner (Premium)
Microsoft’s recommended path. Good for team work management, but many PMO practitioners point out that it is not a like-for-like replacement for enterprise portfolio and resource management.
Project Server Subscription Edition
The closest feature match, but it is on-premises: your own servers, SharePoint and SQL Server, with the patching and upgrades that come with them.
Dynamics 365 Project Operations
Aimed at project-based service businesses, from quote to invoice. A large step for a PMO that mainly needs planning and portfolio control.
Project desktop and shared files
Keeps the individual plans, but loses the shared resource pool, the portfolio view and the reporting.
A dedicated portfolio platform
A new home built for portfolios: it imports the Microsoft Project plans you already have and gives back the shared view across projects, ideally better than before. This is where Exepron comes in.
Before you move: a practical checklist
- Collect every plan as Microsoft Project (.mpp) or Project XML files, including baselines and actuals.
- Export the enterprise resource pool and map it to resource types: skills, teams, equipment and facilities.
- Export custom fields and lookup tables so project and task attributes are not lost.
- Keep the timesheet history and reports you need for audits and customers.
- Write down cross-project dependencies, which rarely survive a file export.
- Decide what not to move. Closed projects can be archived instead of migrated.
Already past the deadline? Start with whatever you still have: .mpp files on laptops and file shares, Project XML exports, Excel or CSV task lists. Exepron can work with all of them, and our team can help you rebuild the portfolio from there.
Not just a new home: a better one
A forced move is also a rare opportunity. Most organisations do not only want their projects stored somewhere new. They want them to finish on time. Moving the same plans to a new tool does not change how the portfolio flows: the same overloaded resource types, the same multitasking, the same hidden safety in every task estimate.
Exepron is AI-powered project portfolio management built on Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM). It imports Microsoft Project files directly, merges them into one portfolio, matches the resource types the projects share, and protects every project with visible buffers instead of hidden padding. It is the approach behind Exepron’s proven 94% on-time delivery.
See your own portfolio in Exepron, before you decide
The free Portfolio Value Report takes the plans you already have, Microsoft Project (.mpp), Project XML, Excel, CSV or Primavera P6, and shows you in minutes what Exepron would do for your whole portfolio: an honest forecast as it is today, the fixes, and the before and after.
Frequently asked questions
When was Microsoft Project Online retired?
Microsoft retired Project Online on 30 September 2026. New customers could no longer buy it from 1 October 2025.
What happens to Project Online data after the retirement?
Microsoft states that projects and their data in Project Online are no longer accessible after the retirement. Organisations were advised to export their plans, resource pool and history before the date.
What is the best replacement for Microsoft Project Online?
It depends on what you used it for. Microsoft Planner (Premium) suits team work management. Project Server Subscription Edition suits organisations that want to stay with Microsoft and run their own servers. PMOs that need a shared resource pool, portfolio scheduling and reporting across projects usually need a dedicated project portfolio management platform such as Exepron.
Is Microsoft Project desktop part of the retirement?
No. The retirement covers Project Online only. The Project desktop application, Project Server Subscription Edition and Microsoft Planner are not part of it.
Can I import Microsoft Project (.mpp) files into Exepron?
Yes. Exepron imports Microsoft Project (.mpp) and Project XML files directly, as well as Excel, CSV and Primavera P6 files, and merges them into one portfolio with shared resource types.
How can I see what Exepron would do for my portfolio?
Upload your plans to the free Portfolio Value Report at value.exepron.com. It takes a few minutes, needs no sign-up, and your files are never stored.
You are not alone
Many PMOs are in exactly the same position right now: the deadline has passed, the plans are scattered, and the next step is not obvious. Our team has been helping organisations bring their Microsoft Project portfolios into Exepron, from collecting the files to mapping resource types and getting the first portfolio running. If you would like help with your move, contact us and we will walk through it with you.
Dates are as announced by Microsoft in the Microsoft Planner blog and Microsoft 365 Message Center (MC1148537 and MC1478955).
