Announcing the retirement for Office Online Server
What’s changing? Microsoft is announcing the end of support and retirement for Office Online Server effective December 31, 2026. After this date, Office Online Server will no longer receive security updates, bug fixes, or technical support from Microsoft. This change is part of our ongoing commitment to modernizing productivity experiences and focusing on cloud-first solutions. To help stay secure and compliant, begin planning now to move to supported options, such as Microsoft 365. What does end of support mean? No more security updates. Systems running Office Online Server may be vulnerable to the evolving threat landscape. No bug fixes or technical support. Potential compliance risks. Unsupported software may put regulated organizations at risk of non-compliance. Why is this happening? Office Online Server was designed to provide browser-based versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for on-premises environments. As organizations have adopted Microsoft 365, Microsoft is focusing its browser-based Office app investments on Office for the Web to deliver secure, collaborative, and feature-rich experiences through Microsoft 365. What is the alternative for Office Online Server? If your organization relies on Office Online Server for browser-based document editing and collaboration, our recommended path is to transition to Microsoft 365, which includes cloud-powered versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. Microsoft 365 offers: Real-time collaboration and sharing. Automatic updates and ongoing support. Enhanced security and compliance features. Integration with Microsoft Teams, Outlook, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive for Business. Access to Microsoft 365 Copilot for AI-powered productivity. Learn more about Microsoft 365. And for organizations with 150+ licenses, consider engaging Microsoft FastTrack to support your planning and migration to Microsoft 365. For organizations using SharePoint Server Subscription Edition or Exchange Server Subscription Edition, Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise and Office LTSC 2024 remain supported desktop clients for viewing and editing documents hosted on those servers. If your organization uses Office Online Server to host Excel workbooks in Power BI Report Server, that functionality will no longer be supported. Alternatives include viewing workbooks in the Excel desktop application or migrating to the Power BI service. Prepare to make your move Support for Office Online Server ends December 31, 2026. Continuing to use it after this date may expose your organization to security, compliance, and productivity risks. We therefore strongly encourage all customers to begin planning their transition to supported solutions today. Microsoft is committed to helping you prepare. Use the resources below to help you get started: Explore Microsoft 365 offerings for modern, cloud-powered collaboration. Engage your Microsoft account team and Microsoft FastTrack (150+ seats) for migration planning. See the instructions for how to disconnect Office Online Server from a SharePoint Server farm. Thank you for being a Microsoft customer!Ignite 2024: Are you ready for Office 2016/2019 end of support?
At this year’s Ignite conference, I had the pleasure of teaming up with Microsoft 365 deployment expert Eric Wayne to dig into the details of how to prepare your organization for the end of support for Office 2016, Office 2019, and their related servers and standalone apps, coming up on October 14, 2025. Missed Ignite? Watch the full session recording to help kickstart your upgrade today. You will learn: The best upgrade paths for Office suites, servers, and standalones facing end of support, How to identify and remove older versions of Office and make a smooth transition to Microsoft 365, and Where to turn if you need more help. October 2025 is just around the corner, and now is the time to act. If your organization is still using 2016 or 2019 versions of Office, Exchange Server, Skype for Business Server, Project, or Visio, now is the time to start your migration to a supported solution. Starting your move to Microsoft 365 as soon as possible will help keep your organization secure, compliant, and productive through 2025 and beyond. Over the coming months, we’ll continue to provide additional resources and guidance to help you and your organization smoothly navigate next year’s end of support milestones. After you’ve watched the Ignite session, here are a few great places to go next: Prepare your organization for October 2025 end of support events (Microsoft Ignite Learning Collection) Products reaching end of support on October 14, 2025 (Microsoft Lifecycle site) Plan an upgrade from older versions of Office to Microsoft 365 Apps (Microsoft Learn) Need more personalized guidance? Consider requesting migration assistance from FastTrack, reach out to your Microsoft account team, or fill out this form to get in touch with sales and have a specialist demonstrate how Microsoft 365 can benefit your organization.Key End of Support dates for Office 2016, 2019 Apps & Productivity Servers
Important Notice for Users of Office 2016 and 2019: As we approach the end of support date on October 14, 2025, it is critical for businesses to consider upgrading to Microsoft 365 to maintain security, management, and productivity standards. For those with specialized requirements, Office LTSC and Exchange Server remain available. We encourage utilizing Microsoft's upgrade resources to ensure a smooth transition to ongoing support. Prompt action is recommended.
