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microsoft project server

Project Online will go Offline

Project Online screen, TimeControl and Project Online, Chris Vandersluis, Christopher Vandersluis, Christopher Peter VandersluisIt’s true.  You may have seen social media or come across blog posts about the future of Microsoft Project Online.  Here at HMS we have known for some time that the days of Project Online were surely numbered through a variety of contacts at Microsoft.  The time has finally come with an official announcement from Microsoft about the end of Project Online.  As of today, you are no longer able to buy a new instance of Project Online.  HMS has been around Project Server and the translation of Project Server into its SaaS equivalent since its inception.  And that’s all about to change.

Let’s get some of the facts straight here and then talk about the impact on TimeControl.

Here are some key dates:

September 5, 2025: Microsoft announces the end-of-life of Project Online for the end of September 2026.

October 1, 2025: End of new sales of Project Online

April 1, 2026, New tenants will no longer be able to be created in Project Online

July 14, 2026: Project Server 2016 and Project Server 2019 shift to “extended support” mode.  Microsoft recommends shifting to Project Server Subscription Edition

September 30, 2026: Official end of Project Online.  There will be no more access to Project Online after this date.  This includes access to any data that has been saved in Project Online.  It is essential that clients remove or back up their data in other sources prior to this date.

Dec 31, 2031:  Microsoft has committed to support Project Server Subscription edition until at least this date.

What does this mean for you?

First, if you are using Project Online now, you need to start making plans to no longer be using the product by September 2026.  You have a year to decide on your destination system and to remove your data from Project Online.  Once September 30, 2026 comes, you will not be able to log into Project Online even to retrieve your data.

What are your options?
You have a couple of big decisions to make

The first is whether to stay with Microsoft for your project management needs at all.  If you do, you have several possible paths:

  1. Migrate your Project Online projects to Project Desktop. These products have no projected end of life at the moment and are widely expected to continue to be available for the foreseeable future.
  2. Migrate your Project Online projects to Planner / Planner Premium. These products are not designed to be an enterprise project management system to replace Project Online.  Their functionality will no doubt expand but no one in Microsoft is saying that the ultimate goal is to make a product similar in scope to Project Online.  You will have to look at what Planner can offer you and how that meets how you are using Project Online now.  This will probably work for some clients.
  3. Migrate your Project Online projects to Project Server on-premise. In some ways this sounds like the simplest solution but you have some things to consider here:
    • First of all, you are moving from a SaaS environment back to on-premise where you are responsible for the hardware, the installation, monitoring security and stability as well as any upgrades. The Project Server environment includes both Project Server and SharePoint.
    • Project Server 2016 and 2019 will go off of main support and into “extended support” this coming July. Moving to those two products will leave you with little help from Microsoft moving forward.
    • You can elect to migrate to Project Server on-premise Subscription edition. Microsoft will even help create a backup of your database that could be used to populate Project Server.  If you make this migration, there will be some things you are used to that won’t be supported.  This includes the old PSI in Project Servers 2016 and 2019 has been replaced with code more like the Project Online CSOM code for integrations and if you have been using OData calls to get reporting data, that will no longer be supported.  And, of course you will be responsible for the upkeep of an on-premise solution.

If you elect not to stay with Microsoft there are numerous project management vendors who will be vying for your business in the year to come.

What about TimeControl?

Here at HMS we take pains to be project management technology agnostic.  We have so many technology alliance partners that it’s impossible for us to promote one solution over another.  For clients who elect to stay with a Microsoft project management solution, we know that our links with Project Server on-premise are already well established and our links to Project Desktop started all the way back in 1995.

For TimeControl clients who are thinking of non-Microsoft options, we keep an updated list of possible combination solutions on the TimeControl website in the Use-Case Solutions area.

The Solutions area will be updated as we bring new possible products into the mix as we expect to do with our next TimeControl release expected by Christmas.  We will quietly remove products that no longer exist or for which there is no ongoing ability for TimeControl to link.  So, expect a number of changes to this area this year.

It is reasonably common for us to face a change of project management system with a client who wants to maintain TimeControl but not maintain their current scheduling system so we are able to help discuss your options with you.

The information in this blog post will be uploaded to the Project Online sections of the TimeControl website and, as more data and more options become available we will make sure that information stays updated.

As always, if you have questions or concerns about using TimeControl with any of the possible project management systems either from Microsoft or other vendors we work with, please talk to our staff at TimeControl.com/contact.

collaboration, microsoft project, microsoft project server, Microsoft Project timesheet, project management, project management software, Project Server timesheets, project timesheets, SharePoint, Solutions, TimeControl 6, TimeControl PM Links, TimeControl Timesheet Software, TimeControl Timesheets

Free Solution Portal: Collaborative Project Management

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HMS Software has released a new solution area for those who wish to create a collaborative project management environment and who have already adopted SharePoint for their collaboration platform and Microsoft Project desktop as their scheduling tool. This portal contains numerous resources showing how to link TimeControl, Microsoft Project and SharePoint.

clip_image001The combination of SharePoint and Microsoft Project desktop already gives much of the functionality that a collaborative project environment requires. The combination of functionality allows for planning, scheduling, issue tracking, team communications, document management and more. There is, however, a gap when it comes to tracking tasks as they move forward:

Time

HMS Software’s TimeControl is already integrated with both Microsoft Project desktop and SharePoint. TimeControl’s integration with Project dates back to 1995 making it one of the longest standing relationships with Project in the world. TimeControl’s interface can also be provisioned directly into a SharePoint site. The product’s design has catered to this functionality since SharePoint 2002. TimeControl also integrates with Microsoft Project Server for those organizations which eventually graduate to Microsoft’s EPM solution.

This new solution area on the www.timecontrol.com website contains numerous resources that showcases TimeControl working with both SharePoint and Project.

Resources on the website include Webcasts, Factsheets, PowerPoint presentations, a White Paper, screen shots, and links to other online resources. There is even a link to the free TimeControl Hosted Trial site.

The new TimeControl Solution Portal is available for free at: www.timecontrol.com/solutions/projectsharepoint/.

exception timesheets, microsoft project, microsoft project server, Office 2010, Project 2010, project timesheets, timecontrol

TimeControl and Project 2010

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As you may have seen over on my EPM Guidance blog, Microsoft has now shown Project 2010 and Project Server 2010 at its Project Conference in Phoenix last month. HMS was in attendance at both the Project Conference and the Ignite Airlife immediately preceeding the conference. HMS is one of the longest standing partners of Microsoft Project. Our link between TimeControl and MS Project dates back to 1995 and we’ve maintained a continuous relationship with Microsoft since then. With my participation for five years on Microsoft’s EPM Partner Advisory Council, I’d already seen much of what Microsoft had intended in both Project and Project Server and, while nothing we saw in Phoenix was a big surprise for me, it was nice to see the version I’d spent so much time on coming close to fruition.

Some people have asked us already what the future of TimeControl and Microsoft Project will be and since the announcement of Project and Project Server 2010 is quite fresh, it’s a good time to make sure our existing and prospective clients are up to date.
First of all, TimeControl will have a link to both Project Server 2010 and Project desktop (meaning Project Standard and Project Professional) 2010. We will be releasing updates to both the TimeControl 5 and TimeControl 6 families closely following the release to market (RTM) of Microsoft of Project 2010. Microsoft will be releasing Project and Project Server 2010 simultaneously along with the rest of Office 2010 in “the first half of 2010”. Our release will happen shortly thereafter. HMS already has access to the “Technical Preview” version of Project and Project Server so we’ve been able to work on the link since late in the summer.
If you’re wondering if TimeControl’s relevance will change with new functionality in Project Server 2010, the answer is no. TimeControl’s position as a full timesheet application will be just as critical as it is now. The timesheet in Project Server 2010 has definitely improved and we think users will like it but as soon as you consider using a timesheet for both the updates to Project and for use as a financial system for example for payroll, the functionality of TimeControl for things like payroll rules, multiple rates, rate tables and more become essential. Plus, remember that TimeControl can link directly to Project Standard and Professional. We’ll be publishing an updated factsheet on TimeControl closer to the release of Project 2010.
One of the things that users of the new link will enjoy will be a huge improvement of performance on the TimeControl to Project Server link. Microsoft has updated the code in their PSI module that will make moving timesheet and task update data back to Project Server way easier than it’s been so far.
Stay tuned in the new year as there will be a number of announcements on the new link.
deltek, microsoft project, microsoft project server, open plan, primavera, project management, timecontrol, timesheet

On demand, scheduled, triggered, which is best?

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TimeControl includes a number of links to project management tools and a number of different methods of connecting to them.

If using Microsoft Project Standard or Professional, the link is to a desktop tool and that’s always going to be on-demand but what about if you’re linking to Microsoft Project Server, Primavera or Deltek’s Open Plan? Now the link is typically server-to-server and could be scheduled or on-demand. With Project Server, incoming links can also be triggered by the TimeControl “OnPublish” event that is included with the system. Primavera can also be set up to automatically link data to TimeControl when a new project is created. Here’s the best practice that’s most commonly applied:

First for incoming changes in data, this is a link that is meant to keep the TimeControl charge and activity code information up to date with the changes that may exist in the project files. It’s most typical to create the incoming links as scheduled or automatic events. If the link is with Project Server, then the “OnPublish” event module that is part of the installation is perfect for this. If the link is with Open Plan or Primavera then a regular scheduled link moving information on a server-to-server basis is ideal.
How often should the links happen? As often as the project is likely to be updated. For most projects a weekly link will probably be fine. If your week-ending day is Friday, then a link on Thursday night might be appropriate. Some projects are highly dynamic and need to be updated multiple times per week or even multiple times per day. Create as many scheduled events to do this. A scheduled link can be daily or weekly and you can pick the day and/or time when you’d want it to occur.
For project updates that will move timesheet information back to the project management tool, we recommend making most of these links “on-demand” for the project manager. That means that the project manager will pull the data from TimeControl to their project management tool when they are ready for it. You can make the link automatically scheduled of course but we had an image of a project manager working on his project late one night and suddenly “poof” everything changes as the automatic link moves the data in from TimeControl. Most project managers will want to bring in the data when they’re ready to see the project advance.
There may be exceptions of course. Some projects such as regular maintenance projects aren’t really managed the same way and an automatic link to update those files from TimeControl may make more sense. You have the option to do both.
With TimeControl, you get the ability to make your links as automatic or as manual as you wish and each situation can be different.