Microsoft Project Online Is Retiring: What It Means for Your Organisation and the Road Ahead

On September 30, 2026, Microsoft Project Online will officially retire (source: Microsoft Announcement). Unlike earlier announcements suggesting the product would remain available without further development, this time the message is clear: Project Online will no longer exist. For thousands of organisations, this represents a major turning point. 

If your company relies on Project Online for scheduling, portfolio management, or reporting, the clock is now ticking. The transition to a new solution must happen within the next year. Microsoft does suggest alternatives, but they do not meet the needs of organisations that depend on (advanced) scheduling. This blog explores Microsoft’s proposed options, how to think about your next solution, and why this transition can also be an opportunity to consider Oracle Primavera Cloud as a future-proof platform.

Microsoft’s Proposed Alternatives

Microsoft points current Project Online users toward three main options: Planner, Project Server Subscription, and Dynamics 365 Project Operations. Each offers strengths, but there are significant gaps compared to Project Online. 

• Planner is a lightweight coordination tool, designed for simple task tracking rather than full-scale project scheduling. It supports basic dependencies but provides limited capabilities for baseline comparisons, critical path analysis, and schedule reporting, all of which are crucial for monitoring progress in your schedule. More importantly, Planner makes it difficult to enforce consistency across projects. Since it is geared toward individual managers, the risk is that teams each adopt their own approach, undermining cross-project insights and efficiency.
• Project Server Subscription provides a more robust scheduling environment and allows organizations to keep using the familiar Project Online interface. However, this on-premises solution comes with higher complexity and cost. Server licensing, database management, and ongoing maintenance make it less cost-effective than cloud-based tools. With Project Online no longer supported, relying on this setup introduces risk, as future issues or needed improvements are unlikely to be solved or picked up by Microsoft.
• Dynamics 365 Project Operations offers an integrated solution for managing the entire project lifecycle, making it ideal for service-based organisations that require comprehensive project- and financial management capabilities. While powerful in that domain, it does not deliver the scheduling depth or resource planning capabilities that construction and engineering organisations depend on. To name some examples: project size (no. of tasks and hierarchy levels) is smaller than in MSP-Online, and scheduling logic is simplified (with fewer constraint types and calendar options)

The recommendation of tools such as Planner and Dynamics 365 show that Microsoft is pointing it's direction toward lighter, collaborative tools that integrate tightly with Microsoft 365. This may work well for simple/small projects, but organisations that manage more complex projects may find these options insufficient. Keep in mind that choosing a new tool is not only a technical change but also a strategic challenge, requiring you to think carefully about what capabilities you cannot afford to lose. 

Finally, regarding the prices: Project Online’s popularity has long been its relatively low cost of €30 per user/month (Project Plan 3). Some of Microsoft’s alternatives, such as Planner, may also look inexpensive at first, but organisations often need additional subscriptions to build a complete Project environment. Costs can therefore climb quickly. Meanwhile, maintaining Project Online through Project Server Subscription involves infrastructure and support expenses that exceed cloud-based alternatives. 

The financial picture, combined with the functional gaps, underlines why relying solely on Microsoft’s alternatives may not be enough. 

If you are wondering whether project controls software is a “nice-to-have” or an essential investment, this blog explores why it has become a must-have for modern project organisations. 

Making the Transition: How to Prepare

If Microsoft’s options are not true successors to Project Online, how can your organisation prepare for what’s ahead? Transitioning is not just about replacing one tool with another – it’s about ensuring continuity, enabling smooth migration, and capturing new value. 

Making the transition to a new tool starts with understanding what you rely on today. Many organisations have built processes around Project Online (using enterprise fields, templates, custom reporting, etc.) that guarantee consistency and informed decision-making. These structures must be supported in the new tool, and project data must be transferred accurately so teams can continue their work without losing information or rebuilding schedules. 

The chosen solution should also align with how your organisation works. Teams need simplicity, while senior schedulers and administrators require advanced functionality for providing the team with insights. The right tool will strike this balance by tailoring complexity to each role. 

Most importantly, organisations should think long-term rather than opting for quick fixes. Some solutions may seem sufficient now but lack the scalability required for more mature project controls. Considering future needs such as capacity planning, risk management, and cross-project insights will help avoid outgrowing the next system too soon. 

Attempting a rollout or migration without expert guidance often leads to setbacks. The following blog ''Why Migrating from One Project Controls Tool to Another Is Rarely Just a Technical Switch'', will help you understand what’s really involved in a successful migration. Spoiler alert: it's not just about data exports and imports. 

Your Next Solution

The ideal replacement must preserve current capabilities, fit existing processes, and support future growth. One solution that we see increasingly adopted by organisations is Oracle Primavera Cloud (OPC). 

OPC combines the scheduling depth of Primavera P6 with modern cloud accessibility. Running fully in the browser, it provides secure access through single sign-on and multi-factor authentication, enabling teams to collaborate from anywhere (without the need for costly IT-infrastructure and maintenance). 

OPC has an accessible ‘look and feel’, but it doesn’t compromise on the features that advanced planners need. It supports field calculations, baseline-/scenario analysis, and capacity planning at the depth required for complex projects. At the same time, its flexible permission structure allows organisations to control complexity, ensuring users only see what’s relevant to their role. This means you can start simple and expand into advanced features as your organisation grows. 

Beyond scheduling, OPC integrates seamlessly with other pillars of project controls, including cost and funds, risk management (& -analysis), and portfolio management. It also gives teams the flexibility to manage projects in different ways, from traditional planning methods (CPM) to more agile, task-driven approaches (LEAN). Its dashboards and program-level analysis provide insights that help decision-makers see both the big picture and the project-level detail. With continuous updates and a clear product roadmap, OPC is a sustainable solution designed to evolve with project-driven organisations. 

Last but not least, OPC allows you to import schedules from Microsoft Project and other scheduling tools. This means that when organisations migrate to OPC, existing project data is preserved, and collaboration with partners remains possible (even if they continue working in different scheduling applications).   

Curious to read about how Dura Vermeer has transformed its way of working with Oracle Primavera Cloud? Explore their full story here

Conclusion: What’s Next? 

The retirement of Project Online marks the end of an era. However, it’s also a chance to rethink how your organisation manages projects. Settling for simplified task managers or costly on-premises solutions risks limiting your ability to plan, forecast, and innovate. 

This is the moment to look toward solutions designed for the future. Oracle Primavera Cloud offers the depth, scalability, and flexibility that complex, project-driven organisations require. Not just to replace Project Online, but to take a step forward. 

If you want to explore your options, our experts are ready to help assess your current setup, guide your transition, and show how this change can professionalize your project controls. 

The countdown to September 2026 has begun. Let’s make sure your organisation is ready for what comes next.