News

2025 Support Cliffs Approaching for Exchange 2016, Dynamics 365 PSA

• By Chris Paoli
• August 29, 2024

Microsoft recently sounded the warning bell for two of its products, Exchange Server 2016 and Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation (PSA), both of which are set to reach end-of-support milestones next year.

Exchange Server 2016
Exchange Server 2016 will reach the end of its extended support on Oct. 14, 2025. Microsoft is advising IT administrators to transition to Exchange Server 2019 to enable a smoother upgrade to Exchange Server Subscription Edition (SE) when it arrives in the third quarter of 2025.

Microsoft has outlined detailed steps for decommissioning Exchange 2016, including updating third-party applications, reconfiguring client access services and ensuring all mailboxes are migrated to newer servers, in this recent blog post.

After migration, Exchange 2016 servers should be placed in maintenance mode for a week to monitor for any potential issues. Once confirmed that no services are connecting to the legacy servers, they can be uninstalled. Microsoft said that depending on the system, additional post-uninstallation steps may need to be taken. They include:

• Removing the Exchange 2016 computer accounts from Active Directory (including the DAG's Cluster Name Object and Kerberos ASA object).
• Removing the Exchange 2016 servers as targets to other services (e.g., backup software, antivirus/security agents, network monitoring).
• Removing Exchange 2016 name records from DNS.
• Ensuring the folder on the DAG's file share witness (FSW) servers were successfully removed.
• Removing the Exchange Trusted Subsystem from the FSW servers' local Administrators group unless these servers are witnesses for other DAGs.
• Removing old firewall rules that open ports to Exchange 2016 environment.
• Removing and disposing of the Exchange 2016 environment's physical equipment.

Dynamics 365 PSA
Dynamics 365 PSA, a solution that assists organizations with managing and delivering project-based services, will no longer be supported on commercial cloud environments after March 31, 2025.

On that date, Microsoft will cease providing updates, bug fixes and other support for Dynamics 365 PSA, and recommends customers upgrade to Dynamics 365 Project Operations. This newer platform, launched in October 2020, offers enhanced features like integration with Project for the Web, advanced scheduling, project budgeting and AI-driven experiences, to name a few. For customers on the U.S. government cloud, Microsoft indicated that a separate announcement regarding the availability of Project Operations will be coming at a later date.

For more information on the decommissioning processes and upgrade paths, Microsoft encourages customers to consult its official documentation and support channels.