MC1148537: Microsoft Project Online is retiring: What you need to know
Microsoft Project Online will retire by September 2026. Users must transition to alternatives like the new Microsoft Planner, Project Server Subscription Edition, or Project Operations to avoid data loss. The new Planner offers AI-powered features including Copilot. Data migration before retireme...
Introduction
At Microsoft, we are committed to empowering every organization with a unified, AI-powered and collaborative work management experience that brings together tasks, plans, and projects in one seamless platform. As part of this commitment, we are announcing the retirement of Project Online. This decision reflects our focus on delivering solutions that are modern, scalable, and future-ready—enabling you to take advantage of the latest innovations in AI, automation, and collaboration. By moving to our next-generation platforms, you’ll benefit from enhanced productivity, deeper integration with Microsoft 365, and new capabilities designed for the way people work today and tomorrow.
This update is exclusive to Project Online and does not affect Project desktop, Project Server, or Planner (which brings together Project for the web, Planner in Microsoft 365, and To Do).
We recognize that every organization is unique, with different project management needs and technical requirements. To ensure a smooth transition and continued success, Microsoft is providing three clear paths forward.
- The New Microsoft Planner: For organizations seeking a modern, cloud-first, and AI-powered project management experience, the new Planner brings together the best of To Do, Planner, Project for the web, and Copilot. It’s designed for flexibility, collaboration, and scalability—empowering teams to manage everything from simple tasks to complex projects in one unified platform. The premium features of Planner included in our Planner and Project Plan 3 and Planner and Project Plan 5 licenses, offer advanced features such as portfolios, baselines, dependencies, and Gantt charts.
- Project Server Subscription Edition: For organizations with advanced project and portfolio management (PPM) requirements, or those needing a short-term solution before moving to the cloud, Project Server Subscription Edition offers comprehensive tools for planning, scheduling, and resource management—built on the latest SharePoint Server technology.
- Project Operations: For Dynamics ERP customers, especially those focused on timesheets and resource scheduling.
When this will happen
Project Online will be retired by the end of September 2026 for all customers.
How this affects your organization
- After Project Online is retired in September 2026, you will no longer be able to access your projects or any associated data within the service.
- To avoid disruption and potential data loss, it's essential that you complete your transition to any of the alternatives before the retirement date
- You can get details about your organization's Project Online usage by following the Export user data from Project Online documentation.
What you can do to prepare
- Evaluate the alternatives proposed above and plan the transition immediately.
- Migrate your data, if needed, before the retirement date
- This retirement will happen automatically on the specified dates with no admin action required.
- You may want to notify your users and update any internal documentation to reflect the above changes.
Compliance considerations
| Compliance Area | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Does the change alter how existing customer data is processed, stored, or accessed? | Project Online data will no longer be accessible after retirement. Organizations must migrate data to retain access. |
| Does the change introduce or significantly modify AI/ML or agent capabilities that interact with or provide access to customer data? | The new Planner includes Copilot-powered features that interact with customer data for task and project management. |
| Does the change provide end users any new way of interacting with generative AI? | Copilot in Planner enables users to interact with generative AI for planning, task creation, and productivity insights. |
| Does the change include an admin control and, can it be controlled through Entra ID group membership? | Admins must plan and execute data migration, but the retirement itself cannot be controlled via Entra ID group membership. |
| Does the change modify how users can access, export, delete, or correct their personal data within Microsoft 365 services (GDPR Data Subject Rights)? | Users must migrate or export their data before retirement to maintain access and control over personal data. |