September 30, 2026, is approaching. Your Project Online environment will be gone.
Microsoft is explicitly NOT offering a true cloud-native successor to Project Online's portfolio and resource governance model.
Here's what you need to know—and why Cora PPM is positioned as the enterprise PPM successor.
The Deadline: What's Actually Happening
On September 5, 2025, Microsoft officially announced the retirement of Project Online, with a hard cutoff date of September 30, 2026
Key dates that matter:
October 1, 2025: Microsoft stops selling new Project Online-only licenses
April 2, 2026: SharePoint 2013 workflows (critical to Microsoft Project Online governance) will be retired
September 30, 2026: Microsoft Project Online goes dark. All data, projects, workflows, and access will be permanently inaccessible
This isn't a "read-only mode" transition. After September 30, 2026, your Project Online environment simply ceases to exist. No data recovery. No API access. Nothing. For most enterprises, this effectively means migration decisions must be made by Q2 2026 to avoid operational risk.
Why Is Microsoft Retiring Project Online?
Microsoft is explicitly NOT offering a true cloud-native successor to Microsoft Project Online's portfolio and resource governance model.
Project Online's foundation is built on SharePoint 2013 and legacy architecture that cannot support modern, AI-enabled capabilities.
Microsoft's strategic shift is clear: consolidate on modern, cloud-native platforms—Planner (Premium), Power Platform, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Project Manager Agent — none of which replicate Microsoft Project Online's enterprise PPM capabilities.
The critical gap: Microsoft has no cloud-based platform that matches Project Online's:
Portfolio-level aggregation and prioritization
Cross-project resource capacity planning
Financial governance and budget tracking
Program-level risk and dependency management
Planner Premium is a task manager, not a PPM platform. With hard limits of 3,000 tasks, 10 custom fields, and 20 dependencies per project, it cannot govern enterprise portfolios.
For enterprise PMOs, this creates a void. Organizations that built critical portfolio and resource management practices on Project Online now face a genuine platform gap—no Microsoft successor delivers the governance rigor they've invested in.
The Migration Reality: Your Three Paths
In practice, organizations face three materially different paths, each with long-term tradeoffs.
Path 1: Microsoft Planner Premium
The Microsoft ecosystem choice—but with limitations.
Microsoft wants existing Project Online customers to migrate to Planner (rebranded from "Project for the Web")
What Planner Premium offers:
Cloud-native, modern UI integration with Microsoft 365
Teams and Copilot integration
Basic task and timeline management
What it doesn't offer:
Portfolio-level aggregation across projects
Resource optimization and capacity planning
Financial integration and budget tracking
Cross-project risk management
Scenario modeling and what-if analysis
Hard limits: 3,000 tasks, 10 custom fields, 20 dependencies per project.
Bottom line: Planner Premium is a lightweight task manager, not an enterprise PPM platform. For organizations that have invested in Project Online's governance capabilities, Planner Premium represents a downgrade, not a transition.
Path 2: Project Server Subscription Edition
The on-premises continuation—but aging and limited.
Microsoft offers Project Server Subscription Edition (PSSE) as a perpetual option for organizations needing stronger portfolio capabilities.
Trade-offs:
Retains Gantt and project-level features familiar to Project Online users
Requires on-premises infrastructure and active management
Does not address legacy architecture limitations
No roadmap for AI, modern collaboration, or cloud-native innovation
Reality: This is a "keep the lights on" option, not a transformation path
Path 3: A True Enterprise PPM Platform (Like Cora PPM)
The strategic choice for organizations that have outgrown Project Online.
Cora PPM lets you leave Project Online without leaving the Microsoft cloud—preserving Teams, Power BI, and M365 integration while delivering enterprise PPM capabilities.
Leading organizations are choosing dedicated PPM vendors that deliver:
Native portfolio management with prioritization and scenario analysis
Real resource planning across projects and programs
Financial governance with budget tracking and ROI visibility
Risk and dependency management at portfolio scale
AI-enabled insights for faster planning and decision-making
Proven migration paths from Project Online environments
Why Cora PPM Is Positioned as a Project Online Successor
1. Enterprise-Grade PPM Architecture
Unlike Planner Premium (task management) or Project Server SE (legacy infrastructure), Cora PPM is purpose-built for complex portfolio management
These capabilities typically required significant customization or manual reporting in Project Online. In Cora PPM, they're native and out-of-the-box.
Native portfolio dashboards aggregating schedules, resources, risks across programs
Cross-project resource optimization with real-time capacity visibility
Scenario modeling and what-if analysis for portfolio prioritization
Integrated financial management with budget tracking and ERP sync
Portfolio-level risk registers linked to schedules and dependencies
For Project Online organizations: Cora PPM preserves the governance rigor you've built, while eliminating the fragmentation and manual reporting that Project Online requires
2. Microsoft-Native Cloud Alignment (Azure + Microsoft Marketplace)
Cora PPM is built on a Microsoft stack and runs on Azure, providing continuity in security, identity (Azure AD), cloud governance, and operational tooling for former Project Online customers.
Cora PPM is the only enterprise PPM vendor available on the Microsoft commercial marketplace that supports Azure MACC, allowing customers to apply committed Azure spend toward Cora PPM licenses.
3. SAP First-Mover Advantage
Many Microsoft Project Online customers also run SAP for finance, supply chain, and HR—making SAP integration a practical differentiator when selecting a successor platform.
Cora PPM has a strategic partnership advantage in the SAP ecosystem. Organizations running SAP for finance, supply chain, and HR increasingly need PPM integration—not disconnected tools.
Real financial data integration with SAP for true project profitability
Resource pool synchronization with SAP HCM
Cost tracking pulled directly from SAP, not copied into spreadsheets
This matters: Many large enterprises running Project Online also run SAP. The natural successor isn't another Microsoft tool—it's a platform that bridges PPM and enterprise operations.
4. Real-World Migration Support
Cora PPM provides practical migration paths for Microsoft Project Online organizations: —reducing risk by preserving your governance, auditability, and operating models while upgrading to modern PPM capabilities:
• Data import from Microsoft Project Online exports (schedules, resources, baselines, actuals)
• Process mapping to translate Project Online workflows into Cora PPM's governance
• Partnership with implementation firms like Pcubed for hands-on support
• Proven track record with regulated industries (A&D, manufacturing, pharma) where Project Online users are concentrated
Migration isn't just data transfer—it's continuity. Cora PPM ensures your PMO's established governance, compliance requirements, and decision-making processes remain intact while eliminating Project Online's technical limitations.
5. AI-Enabled Portfolio Management
Cora PPM's AI roadmap builds on an existing enterprise portfolio data model—while Microsoft is still establishing this foundation across fragmented Planner and Copilot capabilities.
Cora PPM's 2026 roadmap includes predictive, optimization, and agentic AI—capabilities that Microsoft is still building into Copilot and Planner.
According to Gartner, by 2028, PPM leaders with AI-ready data foundations will achieve 70% higher AI accuracy and better investment returns
Cora PPM's position: Organizations choosing Cora PPM post-Project Online are investing in AI-ready PPM infrastructure today, not waiting 2+ years for Microsoft to build it into Planner. Cora PPM's unified portfolio data model is already structured to power these AI capabilities at scale.
Why this matters for your organization:
Cora PPM's advantage is strategic focus on organizations with SAP environments, regulated industry requirements, and portfolio complexity—the exact context many Microsoft Project Online customers already operate in.
Cora PPM's positioning:
SAP integration advantage. Deep financial and resource synchronization with SAP systems for true project profitability tracking
Proven in regulated industries. Strong track record with Aerospace & Defense, manufacturing, and pharma organizations requiring robust governance
Strategic partnership network. Implementation partners like Pcubed are ready to support migration and process optimization
Is Cora PPM Right for Your Organization?
Cora PPM is the ideal successor if you:
Run SAP for finance, HR, or supply chain and need integrated PPM
Operate in regulated industries (A&D, pharma, manufacturing) with strict governance requirements
Manage multi-program portfolios with complex resource constraints
Need portfolio-level visibility beyond individual project tracking
Want AI-enabled PPM infrastructure, not basic task management
Seek proven migration paths from Microsoft Project Online environments
Next Steps: Making Your Decision
Questions to ask as you evaluate alternatives:
Will this platform handle our portfolio complexity, or just individual projects?
Can we integrate financial data from our ERP systems for true project profitability?
Does this support cross-project resource optimization and scenario planning?
Is there a proven migration path from Project Online with our data intact?
Will this platform grow with us as we adopt AI-enabled portfolio management?
Ready to explore Cora PPM?
Start a pilot or parallel evaluation now—waiting until late 2026 materially increases migration risk and limits your options.
Schedule a discovery call to map your Project Online workflows to Cora PPM’s capabilities
Request a data migration assessment for your current portfolio environment
Join our February 25 webinar on risk/issue management to see Cora Registers live
With 9 months until Project Online shutdown, early evaluation secures your governance, data, and timeline.
Conclusion: Your Path Forward
Microsoft Project Online's retirement isn't a crisis—it's an opportunity. Organizations that have been constrained by Project Online's legacy architecture now have the chance to upgrade to modern, AI-enabled portfolio management.
The timeline is tight: With a September 30, 2026, cutoff, most organizations need to make migration decisions by Q2 2026 to ensure smooth transitions without data loss or operational disruption.
Why consider Cora PPM:
Azure-native deployment (no vendor lock-in beyond Microsoft ecosystem)
Purpose-built enterprise PPM, not a task management tool
SAP integration for true financial and resource synchronization
Proven migration paths from Project Online environments
AI-ready infrastructure for predictive, optimization, and agentic AI capabilities
Strong track record in regulated industries requiring robust governance
MACC-eligible (Government procurement compliance)
You're not just replacing Project Online—you're upgrading to AI-ready portfolio management while staying in the Microsoft cloud you already trust.