Broad Support Changes Continue Through 2020

Widely used product versions lose support over the next five years. This timeline shows anticipated release and retirement dates of key Office desktop, Windows client and server OS versions, and other server software for enterprises. It includes events for the following software:

• Office 2019, which shipped in late 2018 with support for recent versions of Windows
• Office 365 services (Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Skype for Business Online), which will reject connections from most versions of Office out of Mainstream support (Office Professional Plus 2016 excluded) starting in Oct. 2020
• The Windows client OS, including Windows 10 release dates, Windows 7 retirement dates, and Office support cutoff dates
• Windows Server, showing the scheduled release of new versions, the retirement of older versions, and Office support cutoff dates
• Servers, which include on-premises versions of Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, and Skype for Business Server.

Events shown here in black boxes are new product releases; red boxes represent product retirements or support changes. Several versions of Office software will leave Mainstream or Extended support in 2020, and Office 365 and other Microsoft hosted services will stop accepting connections from some, but not all, older versions of desktop software. These changes will necessitate software upgrades which could, in turn, affect the supportability of other software (including Windows), and in some cases compel organizations to upgrade additional products before their product support ends. While Microsoft has extended the supported life cycle of Microsoft 365 Apps on some OSs, organizations that employ these products should plan upgrades (both software and hardware) and, if necessary, investigate alternatives as soon as possible.