Microsoft Products Reaching End-of-Life in or by October 2023

As an ongoing effort, Miro will deliver the Microsoft products reaching end-of-life (EOL) in or by October 2023 in a clear, concise way.

Two (2) things are very important – and potentially critical – to your organization:

1. Microsoft Office 2019

Including Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac and all the applications such as Outlook, Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, the EOL is October 2023. That is this October! And this is for Mainstream Support. The Extended Support end is currently two (2) years later. There are some steps you might take:

1. Upgrade to Microsoft Office 2021 which was released in October 2021 and runs in the Modern Lifecycle until October 2026.
2. Upgrade to Microsoft Office 2021 LTSC which was also released in October 2021 and also runs until October 2026. However, this is a Fixed Lifecycle.

The difference between the Modern Lifecycle Policy and the Fixed Lifecycle Policy is that products under the Modern Lifecycle Policy are supported as long as customers stay current and accept all servicing updates and apply them within a specific timeframe whereas the Fixed Lifecycle Policy has a defined support timeline at the time of product launch with a minimum of five years Mainstream Support and an additional period of Extended Support (for some products). To be eligible for support under the Fixed Lifecycle Policy, customers may be required to deploy the latest Service Pack or update.

3. Do nothing. But this version of Office Application products will no longer be supported except as self-help, which only includes those fixes released during the Mainstream Support and Extended Support phases.
2. Windows Defender For Windows 8 and 8.1

Originally released in October 2012, this product is already out of Mainstream Support and it does not have any Extended Support. In other words, the Sustaining Rules apply which involves self-help, which only includes those fixes released during the Mainstream Support and Extended Support phases.

The reason this is listed is that it coincides with the support lifecycle of Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. The latter, Windows 8.1, saw its Extended End Date end in January of this year. So if you have that version of Windows installed, you have yet another reason to upgrade to Windows 11 (and potentially buy new hardware). Read Miro’s blog on this.

Miro recommends considering an upgrade. This is for continuing support and does not consider legacy applications or third-party applications that require the older Microsoft technology. And without getting into the details of budgets, it is assumed (probably correctly) that some of the decisions regarding an upgrade have to do with money.

Some of Miro’s Clients allowed their software to languish at a level that Microsoft no longer supported. And while the Client halted Software Assurance on these product licenses, it created “shelfware” – whose right-to-use is perpetual.

For example, a Client was still using Windows Server 2003. This version is long out of support and the Client understands this. But the product, which is not covered by Software Assurance, cannot be upgraded to a newer version. Hence, it will appear on the Microsoft License Statement (MLS) as uncovered. And should that server ever be connected to the Internet, that’s where the security issues arise! Even if the server was in a standalone environment, the licenses – if the server and software were ever upgraded – would represent a cost to that Client.

Another example involves another Client who has an older version of SQL Server deployed. These licenses – also not covered by Software Assurance – were not eligible for Extended Support Updates (ESU). And Software Assurance, having never covered these licenses, was required for ESUs. Thus, the Client was forced to purchase new licenses with Software Assurance to mitigate that situation.

The graphic below illustrates the more common Microsoft products that will reach end-of-life (EOL) in or by October 2023.

Figure 1: Microsoft Products Reaching EOL in or by October 2023

Product	Release	Start Date	Mainstream End Date	Extended End Date
Access 2019		9/24/2018	10/10/2023	10/14/2025
Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises (Fixed Policy)	Fall 2018 Update, version 13.x	10/1/2018	10/10/2023	10/14/2025
Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises (Fixed Policy)	Spring 2019 Update, version 14.x	10/1/2018	10/10/2023	10/14/2025
Dynamics GP 2018		12/1/2017	1/10/2023	1/11/2028
Dynamics GP 2018 R2		10/2/2018	1/10/2023	1/11/2028
Dynamics NAV 2018		12/1/2017	1/10/2023	1/11/2028
Excel 2019	Original Release	9/24/2018	10/10/2023	10/14/2025
Excel 2019 for Mac	Original Release	9/24/2018	10/10/2023
Internet Explorer 7	Original Release	10/18/2006	10/10/2023
Microsoft Office 2019		9/24/2018	10/10/2023	10/14/2025
Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac		9/24/2018	10/10/2023
OneNote 2016		9/22/2015	10/10/2023	10/14/2025
Outlook 2019		9/24/2018	10/10/2023	10/14/2025
Outlook 2019 for Mac		9/24/2018	10/10/2023
PowerPoint 2019		9/24/2018	10/10/2023	10/14/2025
PowerPoint 2019 for Mac		9/24/2018	10/10/2023
Project 2019		9/24/2018	10/10/2023	10/14/2025
Publisher 2019		9/24/2018	10/10/2023	10/14/2025
Service Bus for Windows Server		10/18/2012	1/10/2023
Visio 2019		9/24/2018	10/10/2023	10/14/2025
Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2018		11/15/2017	1/10/2023	1/11/2028
Windows Defender For Windows 8 and 8.1	For Windows 8	10/30/2012	1/10/2023
Windows Defender For Windows 8 and 8.1	For Windows 8.1	10/30/2012	1/10/2023
Windows Server Update Services for Windows Server 2012		10/30/2012	10/10/2023
Windows Server Update Services for Windows Server 2012 R2		11/25/2013	10/10/2023
Word 2019		9/24/2018	10/10/2023	10/14/2025
Word 2019 for Mac	Original Release	9/24/2018	10/10/2023

The red font in the graphic above illustrates past dates.

Not all versions or releases expire. For more details, see Lifecycle data export – Microsoft Lifecycle | Microsoft Docs.

Contact Miro, your trusted software licensing advisor, for more information.