Project Online Is Retiring — What PMOs Should Do Next

For years, Microsoft Project Online was the dependable workhorse for corporate PMOs. It offered structure, control, and a place to manage the moving parts of large, complex portfolios. It wasn’t flashy, but it was solid—and for many organizations, it was the backbone of their project governance.

Now, that era is coming to an end. Microsoft has officially announced that Project Online is being retired, encouraging customers to move toward its modern platforms: Project for the Web, Planner, and the Power Platform.

It’s not just a technical change—it’s a sign of how project management itself is evolving. And for PMOs, this moment is an opportunity to rethink how technology supports the business, not just tracks it.

From Command Centers to Connected Ecosystems

When Project Online first came onto the scene, PMOs were the center of project management. Everything flowed through them—reporting, risks, schedules, budgets. The job was to collect, standardize, and report.

That model worked when projects were more predictable and communication was mostly one-way. But today’s work looks nothing like that. Teams are more distributed and integrated across departments and time zones. Projects don’t live in silos anymore; they live inside the organization’s day-to-day processes.

The retirement of Project Online represents a bigger shift away from centralized, administrator-driven systems and toward connected, digital ecosystems. Tools now need to integrate with the platforms where people actually work—Teams, Power BI, SharePoint, ServiceNow or Jira—so data and collaboration flow naturally.

Microsoft’s New Vision: Modular and Connected

Microsoft’s path forward combines Project for the Web, Planner, and the Power Platform to create a modular ecosystem that scales. Instead of one big, monolithic application, Microsoft is betting on integration—connecting lightweight tools through a shared data layer and a visualization layer (Power BI).

For PMOs already invested in Microsoft 365, this path makes sense. It’s familiar, secure, and flexible. A well-designed Power BI dashboard can replace a dozen static reports. Power Automate can take care of reminders and approvals that once required a coordinator.

But it’s not plug-and-play. The new environment is powerful, but it requires configuration and some technical maturity. PMOs used to running everything from Project Online might need help rethinking governance models, data structures, and automation flows.

For some organizations, that’s the right move. For others, it might be time to look beyond Microsoft altogether.

The New Landscape: Smartsheet, Monday.com, and OnePlan

If Project Online taught PMOs structure, the new generation of tools teaches adaptability.

Smartsheet, for instance, has become the go-to choice for organizations that want a balance of discipline and collaboration. Its familiar, spreadsheet-like interface lowers the learning curve, which means adoption happens quickly—without months of change management. But underneath that approachable surface lies a powerful engine. Smartsheet offers automated workflows, conditional alerts, dashboards, and integrations with tools like Teams, ServiceNow, Jira and even Power BI.

For PMOs, this means visibility without rigidity. Teams can manage their own work while still rolling data up into executive dashboards and portfolio summaries. PMOs that once lived inside the confines of Project Online’s rigid task structures often find Smartsheet’s flexibility liberating. It shifts the culture from “fill out your tracker” to “let’s collaborate on the work.” That change in tone—participation over compliance—often leads to stronger engagement and better data quality across projects.

Monday.com takes that collaboration-first mindset even further. It’s colorful, visual, and fast—designed for transparency at every level of work. Its boards, timelines, and automations allow project teams to see exactly how their work connects to larger goals, whether they’re managing a product launch or a strategic initiative. And because it’s easy to tailor dashboards and workflows, Monday.com often becomes the connective tissue between departments. Marketing, IT, HR, and PMOs can all work in the same ecosystem without needing a translator.

For PMOs, this offers a new kind of visibility—not just into timelines and deliverables, but into how teams work together. While Monday.com may not have the deep financial tracking or capacity planning features of enterprise PPM tools, it delivers something many PMOs have struggled to achieve: broad adoption and cross-functional engagement. It’s not just managing projects—it’s shaping a culture where transparency and accountability feel natural.

And then there’s OnePlan.ai, which bridges the gap between Microsoft’s evolving project stack and full enterprise portfolio management. Built for organizations that still value structure, forecasting, and resource governance, OnePlan extends Microsoft’s Power Platform capabilities rather than replacing them. It integrates seamlessly with Power BI for reporting, Power Automate for workflows, and Microsoft Teams for collaboration—essentially creating an enterprise-grade PMO hub inside the Microsoft ecosystem.

OnePlan’s strength lies in its ability to unify strategic planning, financial management, and execution tracking. PMOs that have relied on Project Online’s advanced portfolio tools find a familiar level of control here—but modernized. The platform introduces AI-driven forecasting, scenario modeling, and capacity planning that give leaders real-time insight into where resources are stretched and where opportunities exist to reallocate. It’s particularly strong for large organizations with mature governance models that want to preserve their Microsoft investment while stepping into a more intelligent, connected environment.

Each of these tools reflects a truth the PMO world has been slow to admit: project management isn’t about control anymore—it’s about connection and collaboration. It’s about giving teams the autonomy to move fast while ensuring leadership still has the clarity to make informed, strategic decisions. The tools that win in this next era won’t be the ones with the most templates or fields—they’ll be the ones that bring people, data, and decisions closer together.

Project Online’s retirement is forcing a lot of PMOs to confront a question they’ve put off for years: Is our technology serving us—or are we serving our technology?

This is the perfect moment to step back and reimagine how your toolset supports the way your business actually delivers work today.

Some PMOs will double down on Microsoft’s modern tools, investing in Power BI dashboards and Power Automate workflows that create visibility and efficiency across portfolios. Others will take this opportunity to move toward more accessible, collaborative platforms like Smartsheet or Monday.com. And the most forward-thinking will blend systems—connecting their PM tools with finance, HR, or CRM systems to build a true digital ecosystem around delivery in OnePlan.

Whatever direction you choose, the real goal isn’t to replace Project Online—it’s to modernize how your PMO enables value.

Takeaway

The retirement of Project Online isn’t bad news. It’s a milestone in the ongoing evolution of how organizations manage work.

Modern PMOs aren’t defined by their software—they’re defined by their ability to align people, data, and strategy in real time. Whether you stay within the Microsoft ecosystem or look elsewhere, the best move you can make right now is to think beyond the tool.

At ProProject Partners, we help PMOs turn transitions like this into transformation—matching the right tools with the right governance and the right people to create lasting business impact.

Because replacing a platform is easy.
Redefining how your organization delivers success? That’s leadership.