Microsoft Project Online will be permanently retired on 30 September 2026, just days away. If your Kent business currently uses Project Online for project management, task tracking or resource planning, you must take action this week to migrate your data before it becomes inaccessible. This retirement affects only the online version—Project Desktop and Microsoft Planner remain unaffected and continue to receive support.
What Is Microsoft Project Online and Why Is It Retiring?
Project Online will be retired by the end of September 2026
, marking the end of Microsoft’s cloud-based project management solution that many UK SMEs have relied upon for portfolio management and resource scheduling. Microsoft has shifted its strategic focus toward integrating project management capabilities into Microsoft Planner and the broader Microsoft 365 ecosystem, which offers tighter integration with Teams, SharePoint and other productivity tools.
Only users with an active Project license within organisations are impacted
. If your business doesn’t have Project Online licences, this retirement won’t affect your operations. However, businesses that do use Project Online need to understand the migration pathway and timeline urgency.
Which Kent SMEs Are Affected by the Project Online Retirement?
The retirement specifically impacts organisations that:
- Hold active Project Online licences through Microsoft 365 subscriptions
- Use Project Online for portfolio management, resource capacity planning or multi-project visibility
- Rely on Project Online’s browser-based interface for distributed teams to access project plans
- Integrate Project Online data with Power BI for project reporting dashboards
- Share project schedules with stakeholders who don’t have Project Desktop installed
Many Kent businesses adopted Project Online between 2015 and 2020 as a cost-effective way to provide project management capabilities without deploying on-premises Project Server infrastructure. If you’re uncertain whether your organisation uses Project Online, check your Microsoft 365 admin centre under “Licenses” or contact your IT support provider.
Microsoft’s Recommended Migration Path: Moving to Planner
Microsoft recommends switching to Microsoft Planner
as the replacement solution. Planner is included with most Microsoft 365 Business and Enterprise subscriptions at no additional cost, making it an economically attractive migration target for SMEs.
Microsoft Planner offers:
- Visual task boards with bucket organisation and progress tracking
- Direct integration with Microsoft Teams channels and SharePoint sites
- Assignment management with due dates, priority flags and attachments
- Basic timeline views through the Planner Schedule feature
- Mobile access through iOS and Android applications
However, Planner is not a like-for-like replacement. It lacks Project Online’s advanced capabilities including critical path analysis, earned value management, resource levelling and complex dependency mapping. Businesses that rely on these enterprise project management features should evaluate Project Desktop (the installed application) or third-party alternatives such as Asana, Monday.com or Smartsheet.
What About Project Desktop?
This retirement does not impact Project Desktop or Planner
. Project Desktop—the traditional installed application available through Project Plan 3 and Project Plan 5 subscriptions—continues to receive updates and support. If your project management requirements include Gantt charts, resource histograms or integration with on-premises systems, Project Desktop remains a viable long-term option.
The key difference: Project Desktop requires installation on Windows devices and isn’t browser-based. For distributed teams that previously valued Project Online’s web accessibility, this represents a significant workflow change.
Immediate Actions Kent SMEs Must Take Before 30 September 2026
With the retirement deadline imminent, businesses must act immediately:
1. Export All Project Online Data This Week
Log into Project Online and export all active and archived projects as .MPP files (Microsoft Project format) or XML. These exports preserve project structures, task hierarchies, resource assignments, baseline comparisons and custom fields. Store exports in a secure location with appropriate backup—once Project Online shuts down, this data becomes permanently inaccessible through the web interface.
2. Audit Which Projects Require Ongoing Management
Identify which projects are active, planned or require historical reference. Archive completed projects as read-only PDF timelines or Excel exports. For active projects, determine whether they can be simplified into Planner task lists or require Project Desktop’s advanced scheduling capabilities.
3. Evaluate Your Project Management Tool Requirements
Assess whether Microsoft Planner meets your actual project management needs. Many SMEs discover they were using only 20% of Project Online’s capabilities and find Planner’s simplified interface improves team adoption. However, businesses managing construction timelines, complex manufacturing schedules or multi-year programmes may need Project Desktop or third-party solutions.
4. Migrate Active Projects to Your Chosen Platform
If moving to Planner, manually recreate project structures as Plans, with tasks organised into buckets representing project phases or workstreams. Planner doesn’t support direct import from Project Online, so migration requires manual task recreation. For businesses with dozens of active projects, consider engaging an IT support partner to accelerate this process before the deadline.
5. Communicate Changes to Project Stakeholders
Notify team members, clients and stakeholders about the platform change. Update any documentation, intranet pages or training materials that reference Project Online. If stakeholders have bookmarked Project Online URLs or rely on automated email notifications, these will cease functioning after 30 September.
Understanding the Broader Shift in Microsoft’s Project Management Strategy
The Project Online retirement reflects Microsoft’s strategic consolidation around Teams-centric collaboration. Rather than maintaining separate portals for project management, Microsoft is embedding lightweight project capabilities directly into the tools SMEs already use daily—Teams, Planner and Microsoft Lists.
This approach suits many UK SMEs.
The Office for National Statistics found that the proportion of UK businesses with 10 or more employees reporting use of at least one AI technology increased from around 12% in late 2023 to around 35% by June 2026
, demonstrating rapid technology adoption. However,
organisational change inside many businesses has moved much more slowly
, suggesting that simpler tools with lower learning curves may accelerate practical adoption.
Third-Party Alternatives If Planner Doesn’t Meet Your Needs
If Microsoft Planner lacks the capabilities your Kent business requires, consider these alternatives:
- Asana: Visual project timelines, custom workflows and integration with 200+ business applications
- Monday.com: Highly customisable boards with automation rules and UK-based support
- Smartsheet: Familiar spreadsheet interface with Gantt capabilities and resource management
- Teamwork: Project management with built-in time tracking and client billing features
- ClickUp: All-in-one workspace combining tasks, documents, goals and chat
Each platform offers different strengths. Businesses in professional services often prefer Teamwork’s client-facing features, whilst manufacturing and construction SMEs typically need Smartsheet’s resource levelling. Your IT support partner can help evaluate which solution aligns with your sector requirements and existing technology stack, including considerations around integration with your accounting software, CRM or cloud infrastructure procurement.
Security and Compliance Considerations During Migration
Project data often contains commercially sensitive information including resource costs, client names, delivery timelines and strategic priorities. During migration:
- Ensure exported files are encrypted during transfer and storage
- Audit who has access to migrated project data in the new platform
- Verify that your chosen replacement meets any sector-specific compliance requirements (ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials, GDPR)
- Implement appropriate retention policies—don’t migrate archived projects that should be deleted under your data retention schedule
Given the concentration of cyber security risks facing UK SMEs, treat this migration as an opportunity to implement stronger access controls and review which team members genuinely require project management system access.
How Meridian Micro Can Help Kent Businesses Navigate the Project Online Retirement
With just days remaining before the 30 September deadline, many Kent SMEs are facing urgent data migration challenges. Meridian Micro can assist with:
- Emergency export and backup of all Project Online data before the shutdown
- Requirements assessment to determine whether Planner, Project Desktop or third-party solutions best suit your business
- Accelerated migration of active projects to your chosen platform
- Configuration of Microsoft Planner with appropriate permissions, integrations and team structures
- Training and documentation to help your team adopt new project management workflows
We understand that project data represents months or years of planning effort, and losing access would significantly disrupt your business operations. As a Kent-based IT support provider serving SMEs across the South East, we’ve helped dozens of local businesses navigate Microsoft platform transitions and can ensure your migration completes successfully before the deadline.
This retirement also presents an opportunity to evaluate whether your current approach to project management genuinely serves your business needs, or whether simpler, more collaborative tools would improve delivery outcomes and team engagement. Given the increasing complexity of IT management facing UK SMEs, simplification where possible often delivers better long-term results than maintaining enterprise-grade tools that exceed actual requirements.
If your Kent business uses Microsoft Project Online and you need immediate assistance with data export, migration planning or platform evaluation, contact Meridian Micro today on 01303 883111. Our team can provide same-day assessment and help you preserve your project management data before the 30 September retirement deadline.