Time-sensitive · Updated July 3, 2026
By Errin O’Connor, Founder & Chief AI Architect, EPC Group · 29 years of Microsoft consulting · Founded 1997
Microsoft Project Online retires September 30, 2026. Microsoft announced the retirement on September 5, 2025; end-of-sale was October 1, 2025; new Project Web App (PWA) site creation was blocked April 1, 2026; and every SharePoint 2013 workflow stopped executing on April 2, 2026. Power BI reports built on the Project Online OData feed break at cutover. Every organization still on Project Online must migrate to Planner Premium, Power Platform PPM, or Project Server Subscription Edition. Here is the verified timeline, the decision tree, and EPC Group’s recommended sequence for the remaining ~90 days.
Microsoft Project Online retires September 30, 2026. Announced Sept 5 2025, end-of-sale Oct 1 2025, new PWA blocked April 1 2026, SharePoint 2013 workflows died April 2 2026, Power BI OData reports break at cutover. Every organization still on Project Online must migrate to Microsoft Planner Premium (default), Power Platform PPM, or Project Server Subscription Edition. Typical migration takes 8-14 weeks including Power BI report rebuild.
Key Facts
- RETIREMENT DATE: September 30, 2026 (Microsoft-announced Sept 5, 2025)
- END-OF-SALE: October 1, 2025 (no new Project Online licenses)
- PWA CREATION BLOCKED: April 1, 2026 (existing sites continue)
- SHAREPOINT 2013 WORKFLOWS DIED: April 2, 2026 (every classic Project Online workflow already dead)
- POWER BI ODATA BREAKS: September 30, 2026 (all reports on the /pwa/_api/ProjectData endpoint fail)
- THREE MIGRATION PATHS: Planner Premium (default for most tenants) · Power Platform PPM (custom high-ceiling) · Project Server SE (on-prem for regulated data residency only)
The Verified Timeline
- September 5, 2025 — Microsoft announced the retirement of Project Online via the Microsoft 365 admin center and the Microsoft Roadmap.
- October 1, 2025 — End-of-sale. Existing Project Online customers can renew but new customers cannot purchase.
- April 1, 2026 — Creation of new Project Web App (PWA) site collections was blocked across all Microsoft 365 tenants.
- April 2, 2026 — SharePoint 2013 workflows stopped executing across all Microsoft 365 tenants. Every classic Project Online workflow (SPD2013 approval flows, stage-gate automation, status-report flows) is now dead. Organizations that have not rebuilt them in Power Automate are running Project Online blind for the final 6 months of its life.
- September 30, 2026 — Retirement cutover. All remaining PWA site collections become read-only. The Project Online OData feed stops responding. Every Power BI report sourcing from that endpoint returns HTTP 404.
- Post-cutover (2026-2027) — Microsoft eventually deletes read-only PWA sites. EPC Group recommends keeping full archival exports for at least 12 months for reconciliation queries.
Decision Tree — Which Migration Path?
Choose Microsoft Planner Premium if: Your team plans at the department or business-unit level, you have ≤50 active projects at a time, you do not depend on complex portfolio-level formula rollups, and you are willing to accept the new Fluent UI. Most mid-market Microsoft 365 tenants land here.
Choose Power Platform PPM if: You have deep custom logic (custom formula fields, complex stage-gate flows, integration with third-party ERPs), you already have a Power Platform team, and you want a modernized Dataverse-native PPM. Highest ceiling but requires 12–18 weeks of build.
Choose Project Server Subscription Edition if: You have regulated on-premises data residency requirements (GCC High, ITAR, air-gapped), depend on classic Master Project / Enterprise Custom Fields with formula rollups, or run more than 200 active projects with dedicated portfolio managers. Requires SharePoint Server SE 2019 or later.
What Breaks in Power BI
The most under-communicated part of the retirement: every Power BI report sourcing data from the Project Online OData feed (https://<tenant>.sharepoint.com/sites/pwa/_api/ProjectData) will fail on September 30, 2026 when the endpoint stops responding. Datasets refreshing on the Power BI gateway or Direct Query models pointing at that endpoint return HTTP 404. Plan for at least 4–6 weeks of report rebuild work per 20 dashboards, either against Dataverse (Planner Premium / PPM path) or against a new data warehouse (archival path).
EPC Group’s Recommended Sequence (Remaining ~90 days)
- This week — Commission an inventory of active PWA sites, custom fields, dependent Power BI reports, and any surviving classic workflows.
- By July 31 — Decide the migration path (Planner Premium / PPM / Project Server SE) based on the decision tree.
- By August 15 — Start Power BI report rebuild in parallel with data-model work.
- By August 31 — Begin waved cutover of pilot departments.
- September 15–29 — Complete cutover, verify all reports refresh cleanly, archive PWA data.
- September 30 — Read-only lockout. EPC Group recommends keeping PWA sites intact for at least 90 days post-cutover for reconciliation queries.
Related EPC Group Services
- Project Online to Planner Premium Migration — 5-Phase Playbook — Step-by-step inventory, mapping, report rebuild, workflow rebuild, and cutover.
- Power BI & Multi-Model AI on Microsoft Fabric — Report rebuild against Dataverse or Fabric OneLake.
- Microsoft Purview & Data Governance — Retention policies and eDiscovery for archived PWA data.
- Microsoft 365 Consulting — Tenant-level planning for the Planner Premium rollout.
- AI Governance Consulting — For organizations planning to add Copilot to Planner Premium after cutover.
- Enterprise Microsoft 365 Migrations — 216+ M&A tenant migrations, 1.83 million users moved (2023–2025), 5-day average cutover.
- 30-Day Copilot, Purview & Microsoft 365 Tenant Hardening Accelerator ($35,000 fixed fee) — Governance foundation ahead of any large cutover.
- Microsoft Frontier Company Explained — July 2026 launch that reset the enterprise AI deployment conversation.
Project Online Retirement — Frequently Asked Questions
When exactly does Microsoft Project Online retire?
Microsoft Project Online retires on September 30, 2026. Microsoft announced the retirement on September 5, 2025. End-of-sale was October 1, 2025 (no new Project Online licenses can be purchased). Creation of new Project Web App (PWA) sites was blocked on April 1, 2026. On April 2, 2026, all SharePoint 2013 workflows — including every classic Project Online workflow — stopped executing. On September 30, 2026, all remaining PWA sites become read-only and shortly thereafter are deleted. Power BI reports built on the Project Online OData feed break at cutover.
What are the migration options?
Three practical paths: (1) Microsoft Planner Premium (formerly Project for the Web) — the Microsoft-recommended default for most Project Online tenants, but NOT a feature-parity replacement (portfolio-management features, custom formula fields, and the reporting layer differ substantially). (2) Power Platform PPM — build a custom Project Server-equivalent on Dataverse + Power Apps + Power Automate. Highest ceiling, highest effort. (3) Microsoft Project Server Subscription Edition (SE) — a self-hosted on-premises path, but requires SharePoint Server SE 2019 or later. Best only for organizations that must keep classic scheduling on-prem.
What breaks in Power BI at cutover?
Every Power BI report that sources data from the Project Online OData feed (https://<tenant>.sharepoint.com/sites/pwa/_api/ProjectData) will fail on September 30, 2026 when the endpoint stops responding. Datasets refreshing on the Power BI gateway or Direct Query models pointing at that endpoint return HTTP 404. Migration includes rebuilding the semantic model against Dataverse (if Planner Premium or PPM path chosen), or against a new data warehouse if PWA data is being archived. Plan for at least 4–6 weeks of report rebuild work per 20 dashboards.
What happens to SharePoint 2013 workflows on Project Online?
On April 2, 2026, SharePoint 2013 workflows stopped executing across every Microsoft 365 tenant. That means every classic Project Online approval workflow, stage-gate automation, and status-report flow is already dead. Organizations that have not rebuilt them in Power Automate are running Project Online blind for the final 6 months of its life. This includes portfolio-level workflows, project-server stage transitions, and any SPD2013-created form flows.
How long does a Project Online to Planner Premium migration take?
EPC Group typical scoping: 8–14 weeks depending on tenant size and the reporting layer. Week 1–2: inventory of active PWA sites, custom fields, workflows, and dependent Power BI reports (PowerShell + Graph API). Week 3–4: custom-field-to-Dataverse mapping and the Power BI report rebuild plan. Week 5–8: Power BI report rebuild against Dataverse. Week 9–10: Power Automate flow rebuild for the deprecated SP2013 workflows. Week 11–12: waved cutover by department. Weeks 13–14: post-cutover cleanup and archival of PWA data. See the linked companion page for the step-by-step playbook.
Should we migrate to Planner Premium or Project Server SE?
Decision tree: Planner Premium is right if your organization uses Project Online for team-level task planning, has ≤50 active projects at a time, does not depend on complex portfolio-level formulas, and is willing to accept the new Microsoft Fluent UI. Project Server SE is right if you have regulated on-premises data residency requirements (GCC High, ITAR, air-gapped), depend on classic Master Project / Enterprise Custom Fields with formula rollups, or run more than 200 active projects with dedicated portfolio managers. Power Platform PPM is right if you have deep custom logic and a Power Platform team already in place. Most mid-market Microsoft 365 tenants land on Planner Premium.
What data do we need to archive from Project Online before September 30, 2026?
At minimum: (1) PWA site collections (SharePoint site-level export or PowerShell backup), (2) MPP files exported from every active project (Microsoft Project client, File → Save As), (3) Resource pool CSV export, (4) Custom-field definitions as XML, (5) Workflow definitions if you plan to reimplement in Power Automate, (6) Historical Power BI reports as PBIX files. EPC Group recommends completing this archival at least 30 days before the September 30 cutover to allow reconciliation windows.
What is EPC Group's recommended sequence?
Recommended sequence for organizations with an active Project Online tenant on July 3, 2026: (1) This week — commission an inventory of active PWA sites, custom fields, dependent Power BI reports, and any surviving classic workflows. (2) By July 31 — decide the migration path (Planner Premium / PPM / Project Server SE) based on the decision tree. (3) By August 15 — start Power BI report rebuild in parallel with data-model work. (4) By August 31 — begin waved cutover of pilot departments. (5) September 15–29 — complete cutover, verify all reports refresh cleanly, archive PWA data. (6) September 30 — read-only lockout, EPC Group recommends keeping the PWA sites intact for at least 90 days post-cutover for reconciliation queries.
Talk to a Senior Architect
EPC Group is a Microsoft consulting firm founded in 1997 — North America's oldest continuous Microsoft Gold Partner (2000 until Microsoft retired the program in 2022) — today holding all six Microsoft Solutions Partner Designations, serving organizations across all industries in the United States. We have delivered 216+ M&A tenant-to-tenant migrations and 1.83 million users moved in the 2023–2025 program.
contact@epcgroup.net · 888-381-9725 · www.epcgroup.net