Microsoft users are being urged to review their software as several notable Microsoft products will be coming to an end this year. For users this means that certain products in this category will not be supported and as a result no security fixes will be issued. Organisations may continue to use the software (something we would advise against) as this means you are more susceptible to security risks and compliance issues.
In this article we list some of the products that you need to be aware of. If you’d like to know every product going out of support in 2023, you can see an exhaustive list on the Microsoft website.
SharePoint Server 2013
The extended deadline for SharePoint Server 2013 end of life (EOL) is fast approaching. If you are a user with an existing on-premises SharePoint 2013 intranet, you should start making plans to migrate to SharePoint Online before the EOL date of Apr 11, 2023. There are several risks involved if you do not address this. We cover some of these risks in a recent blog here.
Exchange 2013
11th of April marks the end of Exchange and here are some things you need to know. Your installation of Exchange 2013 will continue to run after this date. But because of the changes listed above, we strongly recommend that you migrate from Exchange 2013 to Exchange 2019 as soon as possible. This would be a good time to explore your options and prepare a migration plan. You could migrate to Microsoft 365 Migrate mailboxes, public folders etc, then remove on-premises Exchange servers and Active Directory. You could also upgrade Exchange 2013 and move to Exchange 2019 for your on-premises servers. You can see more information about via the Microsoft announcement here.
Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 r2
Released in October 2012 Windows Server 2012 has entered its 10th year of service and has already reached the mainstream end date over three years ago. However, Microsoft have now announced that the new end date for this product is Oct 10, 2023.
So, what are your options? If you’re an admin who wants to keep their servers up and running, Microsoft advises you upgrade to Windows Server 2019 by doing this you will also continue receiving bug fixes and security updates. Customers can also migrate applications and databases to Azure Virtual Machines and receive free Extended Security Updates for three years after the end of support. You can see more about this here.
Office 2013
Microsoft Office is undoubtedly the world’s most popular productivity suite and over the last 25 years the suite has released a host of new features and capabilities that have made the lives of many people so much easier. However, as of 11th April 2023 Microsoft will end support for Office 2013.
This won’t come as a surprise to many people as Microsoft has been delivering extended support for over 5 years. If you’re using this version of Office, you should be aware that after the end date security updates will stop and you may be exposed to security risks. We would highly recommend upgrading to Microsoft 365 which will give users premium versions of all apps as well as a host of features and capabilities.
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 End Dates
While Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 are already out of support, some organisations may have access to Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, which provides access to ‘Critical’ and sometimes important security fixes for a maximum of three years.
The end date for this program for both products will be January 10th 2023.
Retired products in 2023
Here is a list of defunct products that will no longer be supported and unavailable.
- Visio Services in SharePoint (in Microsoft 365) ends February 10th, 2023
- Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine (classic) ends March 1st, 2023
- Kaizala ends August 31st, 2023
- Scheduler for Microsoft 365 ends September 1st, 2023
If you are an organisation currently using any of these products or have any concerns about the products going out of support, contact our team who can help.
