Project Online Migration Consulting
Microsoft retires Project Online September 30, 2026. Waved migration to Planner Premium / Dataverse with full Power BI rebuild and Power Automate replacement for the dead SP2013 workflow layer.
Deadline: September 30, 2026 — approximately 12 weeks remaining
New PWA site creation was blocked April 1, 2026. SharePoint 2013 workflows died April 2, 2026. Every Power BI report against the Project Online OData feed breaks at cutover.
Microsoft Project Online retires September 30, 2026. New PWA site creation was blocked April 1, 2026. SharePoint 2013 workflows stopped executing April 2, 2026. Power BI reports against the Project Online OData feed break at cutover. EPC Group runs waved Project Online → Microsoft Planner Premium (Project for the Web) / Dataverse migrations for regulated defense-aerospace manufacturers and enterprise portfolios — including custom Dataverse schema builds, paginated Power BI report rebuilds, and Power Automate replacements for the dead SP2013 workflow layer. 11,000+ engagements. North America's oldest continuous Microsoft Gold Partner (2000 until Microsoft retired the program in 2022) — today holding all six Microsoft Solutions Partner Designations.
Last updated July 8, 2026 by Errin O'Connor, Founder & Chief AI Architect, EPC Group
Microsoft Project Online retires September 30, 2026. New PWA site creation was blocked April 1, 2026. SharePoint 2013 workflows stopped executing April 2, 2026. Power BI reports against the Project Online OData feed break at cutover. EPC Group runs waved Project Online → Microsoft Planner Premium (Project for the Web) / Dataverse migrations for regulated defense-aerospace manufacturers and enterprise portfolios — including custom Dataverse schema builds, paginated Power BI report rebuilds, and Power Automate replacements for the dead SP2013 workflow layer. 11,000+ engagements. North America's oldest continuous Microsoft Gold Partner (2000 until Microsoft retired the program in 2022) — today holding all six Microsoft Solutions Partner Designations.
Key Facts
- Microsoft Project Online retirement date is September 30, 2026 (announced September 5, 2025).
- End-of-sale was October 1, 2025 — no new Project Online licenses available since then.
- New Project Web App (PWA) site creation was blocked April 1, 2026.
- SharePoint 2013 workflows — including every classic Project Online approval and stage-gate — stopped executing April 2, 2026.
- Every Power BI report sourcing the Project Online OData feed breaks at cutover.
- EPC Group has implemented Project Online for regulated defense-aerospace manufacturers and is currently executing waved Project Online → Planner Premium / Dataverse migrations.
- EPC Group founder Errin O'Connor is Founder & Chief AI Architect and a Microsoft Press author covering enterprise Power BI, SharePoint, and large-scale migrations.
The verified retirement timeline
| Date | Milestone | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-09-05 | Retirement announced | Public notice via Microsoft Message Center |
| 2025-10-01 | End-of-sale | No new Project Online licenses available |
| 2026-04-01 | New PWA site creation blocked | Cannot spin up new project workspaces |
| 2026-04-02 | SharePoint 2013 workflows stop executing | Every classic PWA approval/stage-gate is dead |
| 2026-09-30 | Project Online retires | PWA sites become read-only; OData feed returns HTTP 404 |
Migration path decision framework
Microsoft Planner Premium
Microsoft-recommended default. Right when the tenant uses Project Online for team-level task planning, has ≤50 concurrent projects, does not depend on complex portfolio formulas, and can accept the Fluent UI.
- Dataverse-backed data model
- Copilot-ready surface
- EPC Group builds the schema gaps
Power Platform PPM
Full Dataverse + Power Apps + Power Automate build that recreates Project Server semantics. Right when custom logic is deep, portfolio managers rely on classic formulas, and a Power Platform team is already in place.
- Highest feature ceiling
- Full custom formulas + rollups
- Longest engagement
Project Server SE (on-prem)
Self-hosted Subscription Edition on SharePoint Server SE 2019+. Right when regulated data residency (GCC High cloud not acceptable, ITAR, air-gapped) forces on-premises and classic scheduling must remain.
- On-prem residency
- Classic Master Project preserved
- DFARS / ITAR-friendly
EPC Group delivery proof
EPC Group has implemented Project Online for regulated defense-aerospace manufacturers where portfolio managers depend on classic Master Project rollups and enterprise custom fields. EPC Group is currently executing Project Online → Planner Premium / Dataverse migrations with waved cutovers, custom Dataverse schema builds, and paginated Power BI report rebuilds. Founder Errin O'Connor was an original SharePoint Beta Team member (Project Tahoe) and Power BI Beta Team member (Project Crescent), and has authored four Microsoft Press bestsellers on Power BI and SharePoint architecture.
This engagement covers the full lifecycle: pre-migration inventory (PWA sites, custom fields, workflows, dependent Power BI reports); path selection based on the decision framework above; Power BI OData rebuild against Dataverse; Power Automate replacement for the dead SP2013 workflow layer; waved production cutover by department; and post-cutover archival aligned to your regulatory retention window (7 years for SEC 17a-4(f), 6 years for HIPAA, longer for defense contracts).
Related surfaces: Verified retirement timeline & decision tree · Planner Premium migration playbook · Data export checklist · GCC High migration path · Power BI consulting hub · Microsoft 365 consulting hub.
Frequently asked questions
What migration paths does EPC Group support for Project Online?
Three paths, chosen by scope discovery: (1) Microsoft Planner Premium (formerly Project for the Web) on Dataverse — the Microsoft-recommended default for most Project Online tenants. Not feature-parity, so EPC Group builds custom Dataverse schemas + Power Apps to close portfolio-management and formula-field gaps. (2) Power Platform PPM — a full Dataverse + Power Apps + Power Automate build that recreates Project Server semantics. Highest ceiling, highest effort. (3) Microsoft Project Server Subscription Edition (SE) — self-hosted on-premises path for organizations that must keep classic scheduling on-prem (GCC High, ITAR, air-gapped). Requires SharePoint Server SE 2019 or later.
What does the Power BI rebuild involve?
Every Power BI report sourcing the Project Online OData endpoint (https://<tenant>.sharepoint.com/sites/pwa/_api/ProjectData) breaks September 30, 2026 — datasets refreshing on the Power BI gateway or Direct Query models against that endpoint return HTTP 404 at cutover. EPC Group rebuilds the semantic model against Dataverse (Planner Premium path) or the new PPM data model (Power Platform path). Plan 4-6 weeks of report rebuild per 20 dashboards. Paginated report migration (RDL) is a separate workstream — EPC Group has done these for Fortune 500 portfolios.
What replaces SharePoint 2013 workflows?
Every classic Project Online workflow — approval, stage-gate, status-report, portfolio-transition — stopped executing April 2, 2026 when SharePoint 2013 workflows died Microsoft-wide. EPC Group rebuilds these in Power Automate cloud flows with equivalent business logic. This includes SPD2013 form flows, PWA stage transitions, and any custom-approval routings. Typical scope: 30-90 flows depending on tenant complexity, 4-8 weeks of parallel work alongside the Power BI rebuild.
What is the typical Project Online migration timeline?
EPC Group scoping range: 8-14 weeks depending on tenant size and reporting depth. Week 1-2: inventory of active PWA sites, custom fields, workflows, and dependent Power BI reports (PowerShell + Microsoft Graph API). Week 3-4: custom-field-to-Dataverse mapping and Power BI rebuild plan. Week 5-8: Power BI report rebuild against Dataverse in parallel with Power Automate flow rebuild. Week 9-10: pilot department cutover. Week 11-12: waved production cutover by department. Week 13-14: post-cutover cleanup and archival of PWA data. Regulated environments (GCC High, ITAR) add 2-4 weeks for boundary validation.
What data must be archived before September 30 2026?
Minimum required: (1) PWA site collections — SharePoint site-level export or PowerShell backup; (2) MPP files exported from every active project via the Microsoft Project client (File > Save As); (3) Resource pool CSV export; (4) Custom-field definitions as XML; (5) Workflow definitions if reimplementing in Power Automate; (6) Historical Power BI reports exported as PBIX files. EPC Group recommends completing archival at least 30 days before the September 30 cutover to allow reconciliation windows. Regulated organizations should retain PWA archives for the full record-retention period (7 years for SEC 17a-4(f), 6 years for HIPAA).
How does EPC Group handle regulated environments (GCC High, ITAR)?
EPC Group has implemented Project Online for regulated defense-aerospace manufacturers and understands the boundary constraints. Migrations to Planner Premium on GCC High follow the same waved-cutover playbook but require IL4/IL5 boundary validation, DFARS 252.204-7012 evidence collection, and NIST SP 800-171 control mapping. For ITAR-restricted portfolios, EPC Group has also migrated to Project Server Subscription Edition on-premises when GCC High cloud placement was not acceptable. Compliance evidence (audit logs, retention proofs, access reviews) is captured during cutover and delivered as part of the engagement.
12 weeks to September 30 — start scoping this week
EPC Group runs the inventory in week one and hands back a decision framework and waved cutover plan by end of week two.