Forum Discussion
Data access after Project Online (PWA) retirement
As the retirement of Project Online (PWA) approaches, some questions have come up regarding what will happen to the data and related content.
I’d like to ask if anyone has information or guidance on the following points:
- What happens to the data currently stored in Project Online after the retirement date?
- Will this data still be available for viewing, export, or migration after that date? If so, for how long?
- Regarding the SharePoint sites linked to PWA, will they remain available? Will it still be possible to access or modify their content?
- Does Microsoft plan to publish official guidance on this transition?
Any references or practical experiences on this topic would be greatly appreciated.
Hi everyone! I asked this same question on Microsoft Learn and received an official reply from AlexDN (Microsoft Team). I’m sharing it here for everyone’s benefit. If you have follow-up questions, please feel free to reply below, I’ll do my best to help or follow up with Microsoft.
Source (Microsoft Learn): https://learn.microsoft.com/pt-br/answers/questions/5602263/armazenamento-de-dados-ap-s-descontinua-o-do-proje
"Dear Leandro Lima,
Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.
Microsoft has announced that Project Online will be retired on September 30, 2026. This change is part of our long-term strategy to modernize project-management experiences in Microsoft 365.
This retirement affects only Project Online. It does not affect Project Desktop, Project Server Subscription Edition, Microsoft Planner, or To Do. I would like to clarify the following details:
1/ What happens to your data after retirement?After September 30, 2026, you will no longer be able to access any data stored in Project Online. This includes project schedules, resource data, and associated SharePoint content.
There will be no grace period or read-only access after the retirement date. All data must be exported or migrated before that date.
2/ What about linked SharePoint sites?SharePoint sites linked to Project Online (such as project workspaces) will also become unavailable after retirement.
You will not be able to access or modify these sites once Project Online is retired.
3/ Can data be exported or migrated?Yes, but only before the retirement date. Microsoft provides tools and guidance to help with this process:
• Use the official Project Online User Data Export script to extract project data in bulk.
• Projects can also be saved manually as .mpp files using Microsoft Project Desktop.
• SharePoint content (documents, lists) must be copied separately using SharePoint export tools.
4/ Migration optionsMicrosoft recommends transitioning to one of the following platforms:
• Planner: a modern cloud-based solution integrated with Microsoft 365.
• Project Server Subscription Edition: an on-premises option that preserves the classic PWA experience.
• Dynamics 365 Project Operations: for advanced project-management and finance needs.These articles may be helpful:
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/end-of-support/end-of-support-2026
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/projectonline/export-user-data-from-project-online
• Microsoft Project Online is retiring: What you need to know — available in English only.
Please understand that our initial response may not immediately resolve the issue. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution. Your detailed reply will help us diagnose and investigate the problem more efficiently.If I did not understand what you are looking for, feel free to let me know or share a screenshot. I will be happy to help!
Thank you for your cooperation. I look forward to your response."
10 Replies
Hi everyone! I asked this same question on Microsoft Learn and received an official reply from AlexDN (Microsoft Team). I’m sharing it here for everyone’s benefit. If you have follow-up questions, please feel free to reply below, I’ll do my best to help or follow up with Microsoft.
Source (Microsoft Learn): https://learn.microsoft.com/pt-br/answers/questions/5602263/armazenamento-de-dados-ap-s-descontinua-o-do-proje
"Dear Leandro Lima,
Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.
Microsoft has announced that Project Online will be retired on September 30, 2026. This change is part of our long-term strategy to modernize project-management experiences in Microsoft 365.
This retirement affects only Project Online. It does not affect Project Desktop, Project Server Subscription Edition, Microsoft Planner, or To Do. I would like to clarify the following details:
1/ What happens to your data after retirement?After September 30, 2026, you will no longer be able to access any data stored in Project Online. This includes project schedules, resource data, and associated SharePoint content.
There will be no grace period or read-only access after the retirement date. All data must be exported or migrated before that date.
2/ What about linked SharePoint sites?SharePoint sites linked to Project Online (such as project workspaces) will also become unavailable after retirement.
You will not be able to access or modify these sites once Project Online is retired.
3/ Can data be exported or migrated?Yes, but only before the retirement date. Microsoft provides tools and guidance to help with this process:
• Use the official Project Online User Data Export script to extract project data in bulk.
• Projects can also be saved manually as .mpp files using Microsoft Project Desktop.
• SharePoint content (documents, lists) must be copied separately using SharePoint export tools.
4/ Migration optionsMicrosoft recommends transitioning to one of the following platforms:
• Planner: a modern cloud-based solution integrated with Microsoft 365.
• Project Server Subscription Edition: an on-premises option that preserves the classic PWA experience.
• Dynamics 365 Project Operations: for advanced project-management and finance needs.These articles may be helpful:
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/end-of-support/end-of-support-2026
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/projectonline/export-user-data-from-project-online
• Microsoft Project Online is retiring: What you need to know — available in English only.
Please understand that our initial response may not immediately resolve the issue. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution. Your detailed reply will help us diagnose and investigate the problem more efficiently.If I did not understand what you are looking for, feel free to let me know or share a screenshot. I will be happy to help!
Thank you for your cooperation. I look forward to your response."
Leandro --
To add to the excellent answers already shared, I think you need to assume that all of your Project Online data will be GONE after Microsoft "pulls the plug" on this tool. So, in other words, begin your planning immediately to move your Project Online data to another application, such as to Project Server Subscription Edition. In addition, I believe you will find that Microsoft IS NOT offering any of us help in migrating to Project Server SE, nor are they publishing any kind of official guidance. Hope these additional thoughts help!
Thanks, Dale,
We’re aligning our plans to the same assumption: once Microsoft “pulls the plug,” PWA data will be gone. That said, it would be extremely helpful if Microsoft could offer a **read-only retention window** (even limited) after retirement, for example, continued read access to PWA data and linked SharePoint project sites, or at least to the OData or CSOM export endpoints.
A short, time-boxed grace period (6–12 months) would let customers validate migrations, access historical records for audits, and avoid migrating large volumes of history they only need for reference. Given the tight timeline, this would significantly reduce risk and effort across tenants.
If you see any movement or formal statement from Microsoft on a read-only or historical access window, please share.
Leandro --
There is nothing unreasonable about your request, but at this point, I cannot imagine that Microsoft will ever grant that. They appear to be in a big rush to abandon Project Online, as well as the Project Online community of users. For years, they have assumed the world will migrate to Project Online, which later became Planner Premium, which has not happened. So, if I were you, I would come up with a plan to move to a another PPM tool, such as Project Server SE, and then execute that migration as soon as possible. Hope this helps.
Unless Microsoft changes their stance, none of the data in your MSP Online tenant will be available after MSP Online is retired. We are making plans to move our OData (used for Power BI reporting) to the dataverse then migrate our MSP Online PWAs over to MS Project Server SE.
Thanks, Rod, same view here.
Until Microsoft publishes official guidance on data retention, we’re planning under the assumption that PWA data and the associated SharePoint project sites won’t be accessible after retirement. If you see any official statement on post-retirement access/retention, please share it.
Leandro. . .
Take a look at the following thread in this forum. Hopefully it will answer at least some of your questions.
What MS Project Online Retiring Means | Microsoft Community Hub
John
Thanks, John,
I watched the thread you pointed to (great overview).
We also published a video covering the retirement topic (for context: https://youtu.be/R4gtv-RgR9g - the video is in Portuguese, but it can be auto-captioned in English).
My question here is narrower and more practical: what exactly happens to the data after the Project Online (PWA) retirement date?- Will the data currently in Project Online remain accessible (even read-only) after retirement, and for how long?
- Will tenants still be able to view/export/migrate their data after the date? If yes, what’s the time window and supported mechanisms (e.g., OData/reporting DB, CSOM/REST, etc.)?
- Regarding the SharePoint project sites linked to PWA, will they remain available (and editable) as standard SharePoint sites? For how long and under what constraints?
- Is there an official Microsoft guidance or policy page that states data accessibility/retention timelines to help customers plan migration and compliance?
If you (or someone from Microsoft) can share the official documentation or a definitive statement on post-retirement data access and retention, that would be extremely helpful for customers planning migrations and audits. Thanks in advance!
I probably should have been clearer but in the conversations, I've had with Microsoft they stated the MSPO data will not be accessible after MSPO is retired. Here is the official announcement, which you've probably seen Microsoft Project Online is retiring: What you need to know | Microsoft Community Hub
- Will the data currently in Project Online remain accessible (even read-only) after retirement, and for how long?
