Is It End of Life for Microsoft Project Online and If so What Is Next
With Microsoft’s announcement of shifting investments into Project for Web and stopping all development and investments into Project Online, the next logical step is a Microsoft announcement of Project Online End of Life, which they have yet to announce. It is a great time to ask yourself if you should continue to invest in a software that has a potential end of life or should you start the process of finding a different Modern PPM solution? What can you do to prepare for the end of life? We have been guiding our clients through similar questions and wanted to share some of the options with you.
How to prepare if you currently use Project Online?
While there is no rush to get off Project Online today, many of our clients are starting their succession planning by discovering their options now and understanding how they can start preparing to migrate their data, including project, sites, resources, fields, reports, custom connectors, and integrations.
Regardless if you are ready to move or just want some general housecleaning tips, here are some recommendations to help you prepare:
- Clean up historical data – this is the easiest way to prepare. Make sure your data in Project Online is up to date and accurate. Do you have open projects that should be closed? Do you have projects that you need to archive? Are they any checked-out projects/resources? What does your last updated project report look like?
- Assess your current PM processes – this is a great opportunity to revamp processes – we all need a little kick in the rump sometimes and here is yours. Are you using the tool as it was intended? Can you automate any repetitive tasks? Are you using AI to help you manage your projects?
- Understand your requirements – Define the reasons for migrating and assess your organization’s current project management needs. Identify what features and capabilities you require in the new solution. A quick way to do this is to reach out to us for a Scoping Questionnaire, which will help you prioritize your needs by core focus area.
What are your Project Online Migration options or Modern PPM software options?
PPM Works has worked with several clients to assess the best enterprise PPM solution for their needs comprising of:
- OnePlan – this is the best fit for most of our enterprise clients who are looking for similar features to Project Online. OnePlan is able to handle complex projects and integrate seamless into your Microsoft ecosystem. As a Microsoft and OnePlan Gold Partner we have integrated with ServiceNow, Oracle, SAP, Jira, Azure DevOps, Workday which has elevated us to becoming OnePlan’s lead service partner. Check out more about this exciting new tool here or book a demo here.
- Microsoft Project for the web – this lightweight tool simplifies project management for task-drive organizations wishing to stay on the Microsoft environment. While this is a great option for individuals who are managing small or medium-sized projects it is not an out of the box enterprise project management solution and not currently the best option for anyone managing large sets of tasks, projects, resources, and/or complex projects. Learn more about Microsoft Project here.
- Smartsheet, Asana, Write, or Monday – these tools have varying abilities to handle complex projects and may be a great option, however they do not integrate easily with the Microsoft ecosystem and have limitations.
If we can help you with your Modern PPM journey or your current Project Online solution, reach out to us at info@ppmworks.com or contact us here. Let us know your comments.
