January 30, 2026 By Will Hardy

Last call for SharePoint 2019 – extended support ends soon

If you’ve been procrastinating about ways to move off older versions of SharePoint On-Premises, the overtime clock is about to expire.

In case you hadn’t heard, mainstream support for SharePoint 2019 ended back in January 2024. As a lifeline for those organizations struggling to make the move from On-Premises solutions to SharePoint Online, Microsoft granted a welcome extension. But that date, July 14, 2026, is rapidly approaching.

End of life for the previous edition SharePoint 2016, for which mainstream support ended way back in July of 2021, will also have its final call for extended support in July. Same goes for InfoPath 2013 and SharePoint Designer 2013.

See the full list of all products being retired by Microsoft.

While most organizations are already leveraging SharePoint Online, we’ve certainly come across more than a few organizations lately that are still struggling to make the shift. They’re stuck leveraging legacy SharePoint solutions that will be exposed to the risks of being unsupported. If this sounds like you, at least you’re not alone.

Should you stay on SharePoint?

Moving from legacy SharePoint solutions to SharePoint Online isn’t always straight forward and perhaps why extended support has been granted until now. Some of the most common hurdles include:

Evolving to modern SharePoint’s flat site structure
The need to modernize content pages vs simple migration via automated tools
Dealing with a glut of content that has low governance and ownership
Legacy web parts and functionality that don’t map directly to SharePoint Online
Rebuilding custom SharePoint applications

With all the complexities of moving from SharePoint On-Premises to SharePoint Online, one might question is it worth the effort? In our opinion, the answer is yes, absolutely. SharePoint continues to be the enterprise standard for your intranet and digital workplace, collaboration and knowledge management needs. The interconnected suite of apps in Microsoft 365, rapid innovation from Microsoft (Copilot, etc.), flexible content authoring experience and security and data protection makes the end game well worth it.

What happens after July 2026?

After the end of extended support in July, organizations should be aware that Microsoft will completely discontinue all forms of support, including security, technical and non‑security updates. What does that mean for you?

1. No more security updates.

Once the extended support ends, Microsoft will stop issuing all security patches, even for newly discovered vulnerabilities. This means your environment will be increasingly exposed over time.

Implication

Your SharePoint farm may become a soft target for threat actors, especially given the rise in SharePoint‑targeted exploits.

2. No bug fixes or hotfixes.

All non security updates, bug fixes, and stability improvements cease.

Implication

Any system failure, corruption, or performance issue will have to be resolved without Microsoft support.

3. No Microsoft Support (paid or free).

Microsoft will no longer offer paid support, troubleshooting, or guidance.

Implication

You must rely entirely on internal expertise or third party vendors often with reduced certainty of resolution.

4. Rising security and compliance risk.

Running an unsupported SharePoint version may cause you to fail compliance audits, including GDPR or ISO and potentially cybersecurity insurance requirements.

Implication

Unsupported systems are often considered non compliant by default.

5. Compatibility and integration breakdowns.

After 2026, SharePoint 2019 will become increasingly incompatible with:

Modern browsers
Microsoft 365 services
Power Automate and Power Apps
Microsoft Teams integrations
Third-party tools

Implication

Expect features to break over time even if the core farm continues running.

6. Higher operating costs.

Maintaining an unsupported platform leads to:

Expensive third-party security products
Costly custom patches
Escalating infrastructure maintenance

Implication

Costs accumulate while stability declines.

7. SharePoint Add-In model retirement

The SharePoint Add-In model retires on April 2, 2026, before SharePoint server support ends. This method of adding custom features is being replaced by the SharePoint Framework (SPFx).

Implication

Any SharePoint 2019 solutions using Add-Ins or ACS will stop functioning.

What are your options?

When considering your path forward, organizations have a couple of different options to consider.

1. Migrate to SharePoint Online.

The most common choice for organizations is to migrate to SharePoint Online and Microsoft 365. As mentioned above, there will be some refactoring and modernization steps required to move to modern SharePoint. You’ll also need to adjust to new ways of doing things – such as the flat architecture, for example. The shift to SharePoint Online will ultimately set your organization up for longer term success. You can take advantage of Microsoft’s continuous innovation and product evolution (such as the integration of Copilot AI and interoperability with tools like MS Teams, Power Platform, etc).

If you have a legacy intranet, products such as Habanero’s GO Intranet make it much easier and faster to build a great intranet experience on SharePoint Online through its suite of tools and templates built to extend modern SharePoint.

2. Move to SharePoint Server Subscription Edition (SE).

A less common option and typically for organizations with restrictions on cloud solutions, Microsoft offer SharePoint Server SE. This option includes bi-annual updates but does not have full parity with SharePoint Online.

3. Choose a hybrid model.

The third option is a hybrid model where you have a blend of SharePoint Online and On-Premises Subscription Edition to reduce risk while maintaining some on‑prem workloads where necessary. This model adds more complexity from a set up and administration perspective.

Helpful resources

To help plan your path forward, we have put together a few resources to consider:

Need help?

Whichever path you take, don't let legacy SharePoint On-Premises solutions slow you down or put off further proactive action. If you're ready to move to the cloud, modernize custom applications, migrate your content without disruption or launch a world-class intranet, drop us a note. Habanero specializes in orchestrating smooth transitions to SharePoint Online, empowering your employees with the tools they deserve.

Will Hardy

(He/Him)

Practice Lead, Employee Portals

Employee Portals Practice Lead Will Hardy is a SharePoint platform expert and senior consultant for many of Habanero’s employee portal engagements. He works with stakeholders to connect organizational objectives to maximize the capabilities of each platform. Based on his experience working with a wide range of clients and technical solutions, Will is able to recommend ways to realize goals and achieve outcomes. Will has the ability to translate strategic requirements and ideas into a clearly articulated, tactical vision for the end-state solution. He is a regular presenter on the organizational benefits of on-premises and cloud-based SharePoint technology.

Since coming to Habanero, Will has contributed to some of Habanero’s key projects and helped shape the company’s SharePoint domain expertise. Previously, he worked for Burntsand as a business analyst and information architect concentrating on employee and customer portals. Will has a bachelor of commerce degree with a specialization in entrepreneurship and small business management from the University of Victoria. Outside of work, he can be found racing his sailboat in coastal BC waters or mountain biking on the North Shore mountains.

You can’t add days to your life, but you can add life to your days.

Unknown

Phone

778.724.3598

Email

whardy@habaneroconsulting.com

Location

Vancouver

Last call for SharePoint 2019 – extended support ends soon

Should you stay on SharePoint?