Why Microsoft Project Online shuts down on September 30, 2026
Microsoft officially announced the End of Service for Project Online on September 30, 2026. This decision is part of Microsoft's strategy to consolidate its project management tools around Microsoft Planner — integrated into Microsoft 365 — and Project for the Web, the designated successor. Project Online, launched in 2013 on SharePoint Online, has gradually fallen behind more modern tools better integrated with the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
Concretely, the end of service does not mean a mere degradation: from October 1, 2026, users will no longer be able to log in to their Project Online workspace. The interface will be inaccessible, APIs will be disabled, and data hosted by Microsoft will no longer be readable. There will be no extended grace period for last-minute file exports — the data recovery window after the cutoff is not guaranteed. Teams, Outlook, and Power BI integrations relying on Project Online will also stop working. Organizations that have not migrated before this date risk permanently losing access to months or years of planning data, resource tracking, and progress reports.
What you lose if you don't migrate
- Access to active projects — all your project plans, ongoing tasks, and milestones become inaccessible from October 1, 2026, including projects currently in production
- Full history — version history, comments, change logs, and task audits stored on Project Online are lost without prior export
- Reports and dashboards — Power BI reports connected to Project Online, portfolio views, and performance indicators stop working immediately after the cutoff
- Teams and Outlook integrations — task synchronizations, project notifications, and tracking widgets embedded in Teams and Outlook stop immediately
- Resource and capacity data — skill matrices, availability calendars, and resource assignments disappear if you have not exported them in
.mppor.xlsxformat - Business templates and configurations — custom project templates, custom fields, and approval workflows are not automatically transferable to Planner or Project for the Web
Exporting your data before the cutoff
The export window is limited: Microsoft recommends initiating migration at least 30 days before September 30, 2026, meaning before September 1. Beyond that, you risk Microsoft support teams being overwhelmed and export tools being less available due to load.
To export from Project Online, log in to your PWA (Project Web App) site as an administrator. From the interface, go to Server Settings > Back Up Projects to trigger an individual backup of each project in .mpp format. For a bulk export, use the Reports Center to extract tabular data in .xlsx format, which is usable in Excel or importable into OpenProject. Resource data is exported separately from the Resource Sheet view.
For administrators comfortable with PowerShell, the Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell module allows you to automate the export of all projects from a PWA site. Keep .mpp exports for Plane (imported via a third-party connector) and .xlsx for OpenProject (native import). Plan for adequate storage: a portfolio of 50 projects can amount to several gigabytes including attachments.
Plane vs OpenProject vs Project Online
Scroll the table
| Feature | Plane (self-hosted) | OpenProject (self-hosted) |
|---|---|---|
| Gantt chart | Yes (Timeline view) | Yes (native, advanced) |
| Sprints and agile backlog | Yes (native, Scrum/Kanban) | Yes (Agile module) |
| Resource management | Basic (assignments) | Advanced (capacity, availability) |
| Integrations | GitHub, Slack, Jira (import) | GitLab, GitHub, Slack, LDAP |
| Min. server requirements | 2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM | 4 vCPU / 8 GB RAM |
| Deployment | Docker Compose | Official packages or Docker |
| License | Apache 2.0 (Community) | GPLv3 (Community Edition) |
| Import from Project Online | Via .xlsx / JSON export | Native .xlsx import |
Plane on VPS: the agile choice
Plane is an open source alternative to Project Online designed for teams that practice agile methodologies — Scrum, Kanban, or a combination of both. Its modern interface, inspired by Jira and Linear, facilitates adoption by developers and project managers accustomed to SaaS tools. The Timeline view offers an interactive Gantt, and the Cycles module covers sprints with a backlog, burndown chart, and velocity tracking.
To host Plane on a ServOrbit VPS, the minimum requirement is 2 vCPU and 4 GB of RAM — corresponding to the VPS Start starting at 99 DH/month. Plane deploys via Docker Compose, which greatly simplifies installation and updates. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or Debian 12 is recommended. All services (API, workers, Redis, PostgreSQL) run in isolated containers, with nginx handling the reverse proxy at the front.
Plane is particularly suited to product teams, startups, and SMBs managing short development cycles that need fluid collaboration on tickets and roadmaps. Importing from Project Online is a two-step process: export .xlsx from PWA, then import via the Plane interface (Settings > Importers).
Deploy Plane on VPS in 5 steps
Clone the Plane repository
Connect via SSH to your VPS and clone the official repository:
git clone https://github.com/makeplane/plane.git /opt/plane. Make sure Docker and Docker Compose (v2) are installed:docker --versionanddocker compose version. On Ubuntu 22.04, install them withapt install docker.io docker-compose-plugin.Configure the .env file
Copy the example file:
cp /opt/plane/.env.example /opt/plane/.env. Edit it to setSECRET_KEY(50-character random string),WEB_URL(e.g.https://plane.yourdomain.com), and PostgreSQL credentials. Disable debug mode in production:DEBUG=0. Also configureEMAIL_HOST,EMAIL_PORT, andEMAIL_HOST_USERfor email notifications.Start the containers
From
/opt/plane, rundocker compose up -dto start all services in the background. On first start, Plane initializes the database and creates tables. Verify all containers are running:docker compose ps. Initial startup can take 2 to 3 minutes. If there are errors, check the logs:docker compose logs -f api.Import your data from Project Online
Log in to your Plane instance with the administrator account created at first launch. Go to Settings > Importers and select the CSV/Excel importer. Upload the
.xlsxfile exported from Project Online. Map the columns (title, status, assignee, due date) to the corresponding Plane fields. For complex projects, proceed in batches of 500 tasks to avoid timeouts.Configure SSL with nginx
Install nginx and Certbot:
apt install nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx. Create a vhost file in/etc/nginx/sites-available/plane.confwith aserverblock proxying tohttp://localhost:3000(default Plane port). Obtain the Let's Encrypt certificate:certbot --nginx -d plane.yourdomain.com. Certbot automatically updates the nginx configuration with SSL directives. Reload nginx:systemctl reload nginx.
OpenProject on VPS: the Gantt choice
OpenProject is the open source reference for classic Gantt-oriented project management and resource tracking. Developed in Germany and GDPR-compliant by design, it is used by public organizations, engineering firms, and project teams that need powerful cascade planning, capacity management, and budget tracking tools.
Unlike Plane, OpenProject requires more resources: the minimum for production use is 4 vCPU and 8 GB of RAM. In return, its Gantt features are significantly more advanced — task dependencies, linked milestones, critical path, planning baselines, and version comparison. The Cost Management module allows budget tracking per project, and the Time Tracking module integrates naturally with the Gantt.
For deployment, OpenProject offers two official paths: DEB/RPM packages for Ubuntu/Debian/CentOS (recommended for production), and Docker Compose for maximum isolation. Import from Project Online is natively supported via Administration > Importers > Microsoft Project (.xml) — export your projects in .xml format from Project Professional for this direct import. Resource data and assignments are preserved during XML import.
During the migration phase, run Plane and OpenProject in parallel on the same VPS by assigning them two distinct subdomains (e.g. plane.yourdomain.com and openproject.yourdomain.com). Configure nginx as a single reverse proxy on port 443, with one server block per subdomain pointing to each application's local port (3000 for Plane, 8080 for OpenProject). This setup lets you compare both tools under real conditions with your actual data before making a final decision — without paying for two servers.
After migration — what you need to configure
Once your data is imported and your team is connected, several post-migration configurations are essential for your self-hosted instance to be reliable long-term.
SMTP and notifications: Configure an SMTP relay (Mailgun, Postmark, or your domain's SMTP server) so Plane or OpenProject can send assignment notifications, deadline reminders, and weekly digests. Without working SMTP, emails fail silently and users receive no alerts.
Automatic backups: Set up daily backups of the PostgreSQL database (pg_dump) and uploaded files (attachments). A cron script that exports the database to remote object storage (S3-compatible, Backblaze B2) is sufficient for minimal protection. Test the restore process at least once before decommissioning Project Online.
Team access and SSO: Invite members via their professional email addresses. For organizations with an Active Directory or LDAP directory, OpenProject offers native LDAP integration — configure it so accounts are automatically created on first login. Plane supports OAuth2 (GitHub, Google) in the Community Edition.
Template migration: Recreate your standard project templates using the .xlsx exports as a reference. In OpenProject, project templates are defined from Administration > Project Types. In Plane, save a properly configured empty project as a base for future projects.
