Federal + DoD retirement path for Sept 2026. Planner Premium in GCC-High, FedRAMP High compliance, CJIS + IRS 1075 audit-ready cutover.
Last updated by Errin O'Connor, Founder & Chief AI Architect, EPC Group
Microsoft retires Project Online commercial Sept 30 2026. GCC follows the same timeline; GCC-High + DoD tenants typically get 90-180 day extensions but plan for the commercial deadline. Planner Premium is available in GCC and GCC-High. Federal + DoD migrations require FedRAMP High authorized tooling, GCC-boundary data residency, and CJIS / IRS 1075 audit-trail preservation. EPC Group has Microsoft consulting + federal GCC-High delivery experience under Microsoft Solutions Partner status since 1997.
Every migration tool must be FedRAMP High authorized for GCC-High deployment. Commercial-only tools are non-starters.
All project schedules, resource pools, timesheets, and audit logs must remain within the GCC-High boundary. No cross-cloud staging.
Immutable audit log preservation for 7+ years, chain-of-custody attestation, WORM storage policy on export destination.
GCC-High and DoD may get 90-180 day extension but Microsoft has NOT publicly guaranteed this. Plan for Sept 30 2026 commercial deadline.
Current tenant assessment, GCC vs GCC-High vs DoD residency validation, feature parity gap analysis, active-project inventory, cutover risk model, fixed-fee proposal.
Planner Premium tenant configuration, migration tool FedRAMP High validation, security hardening, pilot with 1-2 low-risk projects, training curriculum.
Batched migration (20-50 projects per wave), user training delivery, cutover to read-only source, active support during the transition window.
Post-migration audit-trail package for CJIS / IRS 1075 review, tenant hardening, sustaining-services handoff to managed operations.
Yes. Microsoft confirmed Planner Premium availability in GCC and GCC-High tenants, with a rollout that trails commercial by approximately one quarter. Federal customers should validate specific feature parity (Copilot in Planner is gated separately in gov clouds). EPC Group has migrated multiple federal / DoD tenants and can validate feature availability at engagement start.
Microsoft retires Project Online in commercial tenants Sept 30 2026. GCC follows the commercial timeline. GCC-High and DoD environments typically get a 90-180 day extension but this has NOT been publicly guaranteed — federal customers must plan for the commercial deadline. Extension policies for regulated tenants are announced by Microsoft on a per-cloud basis; contact your Microsoft account team for the current guidance on your specific tenant.
GCC-High migrations differ in four ways: (1) Data residency — all data (project schedules, resource pools, timesheets, audit logs) must remain in the GCC-High boundary, (2) Identity — GCC-High uses a separate Azure AD tenant with no cross-tenant federation to commercial, (3) FedRAMP High baseline — every migration tool must be FedRAMP High authorized, (4) Audit trail — CJIS or IRS 1075 environments require immutable audit logs preserved for 7+ years post-migration.
FedRAMP High authorized migration paths for Project Online → Planner Premium: (a) Microsoft native migration (Assistant tool) — FedRAMP High authorized for GCC-High, (b) EPC Group custom migration scripts (Graph API + PSA integration) — FedRAMP High readiness available at request, (c) Third-party ISVs (validate FedRAMP High authorization before selection — a common mistake is picking a commercial-only tool). Do NOT use any tool that lacks explicit GCC-High authorization.
CJIS-regulated projects (law enforcement schedule/task data) must preserve chain-of-custody through migration. IRS 1075 (federal tax administration) has similar strict-audit requirements. Path: (1) Freeze Project Online in read-only mode 30 days pre-cutover, (2) Export full audit log via PowerShell + Graph API to immutable Azure Blob storage (WORM policy), (3) Preserve hash chain (SHA-256) of exported audit data, (4) Migrate active project schedules only — leave historical/closed projects in a read-only archive tenant, (5) Post-migration, generate audit-trail attestation letter for CJIS / IRS 1075 review.
Four-phase engagement: (1) Discovery — 2-week paid workshop assessing current tenant, GCC vs GCC-High vs DoD residency, feature parity gaps, active-project inventory. (2) Foundation — Planner Premium tenant configuration, migration tool selection + FedRAMP validation, pilot with 1-2 low-risk projects. (3) Rollout — batched migration of active projects (typically 20-50/wave), user training, cutover to read-only source. (4) Attestation — post-migration audit-trail package for CJIS / IRS 1075 review, tenant hardening, sustaining-services handoff. Senior architect leads every phase — no offshore hand-off.
EPC Group has Microsoft consulting experience since 1997, Microsoft Solutions Partner all six core designations, and has delivered SharePoint + Project Online + Microsoft 365 migrations in GCC and GCC-High tenants for federal defense, civilian agencies, and state government. See /services/gcc-high-microsoft-consulting for the full federal practice.
Sept 30 2026 is the commercial deadline. Federal + DoD tenants may get an extension but plan for it now. EPC Group has Microsoft consulting + GCC-High delivery experience since 1997.
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