Microsoft 365 / Sub-service 05
Microsoft Project consultant.
Every surface has a 2026 date.
Project Server on-premises is already out of support. Project Online retires this September. The desktop client goes in October. We work out which one you're on, what it depends on, and where the work actually goes.
Project Server 2016 and Project Server 2019 reached end of support July 14, 2026 — that date has passed. Microsoft's lifecycle listing gives Project Online a retirement date of September 30, 2026, and Project 2021 and Project 2021 (LTSC) both land on October 13, 2026.
A Microsoft Project consultant establishes which Microsoft Project surface you are actually running, which support date binds it, and where the project data goes next — Project Server 2016 or 2019 on-premises, Project Online, Project Professional on the desktop, or Planner. Scope covers Project Web App inventory, permission-model mapping, migration to a supported destination, and decommission of the retired farm. Because Project Server ships inside the SharePoint Server Enterprise installer, the on-premises path is sequenced against the SharePoint farm decision rather than planned around it. Senior-led, fixed-fee, vendor-neutral — we do not resell Microsoft licensing. Seattle and the Puget Sound region, delivered USA-wide.
Service detail
Project Server end-of-support migration
The Project decision is downstream of the SharePoint decision, and the database tier usually went out of support on the same day. We scope all three together so the third one doesn't arrive as a change order.
What's in scope
- ›Surface inventory — which Project product, which version, which support date binds it
- ›Project Web App inventory: projects, custom fields, lookup tables, resource pool, timesheet configuration
- ›Permission-model mapping — SharePoint permission mode vs Project permission mode, resolved before content moves
- ›Sequencing the Project Web App decision against the SharePoint farm decision underneath it
- ›Project site and content migration, with the destination's information architecture designed first
- ›Licensing clarity on the destination — what Planner Plan 1 and Planner and Project Plan 3 actually buy
- ›Farm decommission: service accounts, SPNs, and the SQL tier that is usually out of support too
Why these migrations go sideways
- ›Project is scoped as its own project, then the SharePoint Enterprise licensing requirement surfaces in week three
- ›Project Online gets named as the destination without anyone checking its own retirement date
- ›The database tier is SQL Server 2016 — out of support the same day — and nobody costed the ESU ladder
- ›Permission mode is switched during migration, which per Microsoft requires reconfiguring every permission
- ›Custom fields and lookup tables are treated as data when they are really the reporting contract
- ›The old farm stays running 'for reporting history' and never actually retires
What you get
- ›A written surface-and-date register: what you run, what date binds it, how many days are left
- ›A destination recommendation with the SharePoint dependency stated explicitly, not buried
- ›A permission map showing who could see which projects before, and who can after
- ›A migration runbook with waves, validation steps, and a rollback path per wave — yours to keep
- ›A decommission plan for the farm and its database tier, with the accounts and SPNs enumerated
FAQ
Common questions about Microsoft Project migration.
What does a Microsoft Project consultant do?
A Microsoft Project consultant works out which Microsoft Project surface an organization is actually running — Project Server 2016 or 2019 on-premises, Project Online, Project Professional on the desktop, or Planner — establishes which support date binds it, and then moves the project data and the people onto a destination that is still supported. Scope: Project Web App inventory (projects, custom fields, lookup tables, resource pool, timesheet configuration), permission-model mapping, sequencing the Project Web App decision against the SharePoint farm decision it depends on, content and site migration, governance and licensing clarity on the destination, and decommission of the retired farm. Senior-led, fixed-fee, vendor-neutral — we don't resell Microsoft licensing. Seattle and the Puget Sound region, delivered USA-wide.
When did Project Server 2016 and 2019 reach end of support?
Both reached end of support on July 14, 2026 — the same day as SharePoint Server 2016, SharePoint Server 2019, and SQL Server 2016, which Microsoft lists in the same row of its 2026 end-of-support table. Project Server 2019 left mainstream support on January 10, 2024, so it had been on extended support only for two and a half years before that. The date has already passed: an unmigrated Project Server farm is receiving no security updates today.
Is Project Online being retired too?
Microsoft's lifecycle listing for Project Online gives it a retirement date of September 30, 2026. That matters because Project Online is the destination most teams name first when they discover their on-premises Project Server is out of support — and it is on a shorter clock than the thing they are migrating away from. Microsoft's own guidance article on the retirement renders its body client-side and we could not open it, so we do not repeat second-hand claims about grandfathering, extensions, or what happens to data afterward. We work from the lifecycle date, which is published, and we confirm the rest against your tenant.
Why does the Project decision depend on a SharePoint decision?
Because Project Server is not a separate installation. Microsoft's own requirements page states that Project Server 2019 installation is part of the SharePoint Server 2019 Enterprise installation process, that its files ship inside the SharePoint Server 2019 Enterprise MSI, and that it can only be enabled on the Enterprise edition — never Standard. The same holds for Project Server Subscription Edition against SharePoint Server Subscription Edition Enterprise. So the on-premises Project path is a SharePoint Server Subscription Edition Enterprise licensing and upgrade decision wearing a different name, and scoping Project separately from the farm is how a Project migration turns into an unplanned SharePoint project in week three.
Do you do Project Server administration or PMO methodology consulting?
No, and we'd rather say so up front. What transfers from our SharePoint and Microsoft 365 migration work is migration sequencing, permission rationalization, and governance on the destination — the same three things that decide whether any SharePoint-hosted workload lands cleanly. We are not selling deep Project Server farm administration, custom Project development, OLAP cube rebuilds, or project-management methodology design. If your Project Web App has heavy customization or a mature PMO practice attached to it, we will scope the migration and tell you plainly where you need a Project specialist alongside us.
Field notes
- → Project Server end of support: three paths — the three destinations, the dates on each, and why Project Online is on a shorter clock than the thing you are leaving.
- → SharePoint 2016 & 2019 EOL July 14, 2026: three paths — the farm decision your Project path depends on.
- → SQL Server 2016 end of support: ESU or upgrade? — the database tier underneath the farm, out of support the same day.
Which Project surface are you on?
Tell us the product and version, and roughly how many active projects and Project Web App users. Two-business-day response with scope, the binding date, and a destination recommendation.