Project management in the Microsoft ecosystem has been on quite a journey in the past several years. From the classic Gantt charts of Microsoft Project to the lightweight collaboration of Planner and the enterprise-grade power of Dynamics 365 Project Operations, the toolset has steadily evolved to meet the changing needs of organizations.
With so many products, some tried and true, some brand new, and some on their way out, one of the most common questions we hear from customers is, “Which Microsoft project management tool should we be using?” The answer depends on your goals, your teams, and the level of complexity you need to support.
Let's walk through the landscape.
Microsoft Project
The granddaddy of Microsoft’s project management suite, the desktop version of Microsoft Project remains a key part of the Office desktop apps portfolio and a go-to for professional project managers who need to build and manage project plans. With detailed scheduling, resource leveling, and critical path analysis, it offers unmatched granularity.
Figure 1: Working with Project Desktop
Project's strengths lie in traditional project management rather than modern collaboration. It isn’t cloud-native, doesn’t integrate as seamlessly with Microsoft 365 tools like Teams, and is best suited for individuals or smaller groups of trained PMs rather than cross-functional teams.
With all that being said, Project isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Microsoft continues to support and update the desktop app, and for organizations that don't require integrated project management solutions, it remains a dependable choice well into the future.
Project on the Server, Cloud, & Beyond
Building on the wild success of Project, Microsoft launched several server-side and cloud-based Project solutions over the past 20 years — with mixed results. While not all of these solutions are at end-of-life, Microsoft is no longer actively developing them, either.
Since many of the organizations we work with are still running one or more of these products, it's important to understand where these products are positioned within Microsoft’s long-term roadmap.
Project Server
Before the cloud era, Microsoft Project Server was Microsoft's go-to platform for enterprise project portfolio management (PPM). First introduced in 2002, Project Server extended the capabilities of Project Desktop by adding centralized scheduling, resource management, and reporting.
Built on top of SharePoint (on-premises), Project Server allowed organizations to standardize project governance, support collaboration, and manage large portfolios from a single, on-premises environment. For many IT and PMO teams, it became the backbone of enterprise project management.
Figure 2: Project Server UX
However, Project Server required significant infrastructure and administration, which made it best suited for organizations willing to invest heavily in on-premises deployments. Microsoft released its last version, Project Server 2019, and while it remains supported through July 2026, it is no longer being actively developed.
Project Online
Project Online was introduced in 2013 as Microsoft’s first serious attempt to bring the power of Microsoft Project into the cloud. Built on top of SharePoint Online, it delivered enterprise project portfolio management (PPM) features such as centralized scheduling, reporting, and resource management. For organizations already invested in Office 365, it provided a natural step toward cloud-based PPM without abandoning the familiar Project experience.
While capable, Project Online struggled to keep pace with modern expectations for usability and collaboration. Its interface felt dated compared to newer tools, and its heavy reliance on SharePoint workflows introduced complexity and higher maintenance overhead. As Microsoft’s cloud strategy matured, Project Online began to feel more like a transitional product than a long-term solution.
Figure 3: Project Online UX
By late 2023, Microsoft announced that the new Planner experience with premium plans would take the place of Project Online. From an enterprise perspective, these premium Planner capabilities effectively replace Project Online, offering a more modern UI, tighter integration with Microsoft 365, and extensibility through the Power Platform.
Today, Project Online is officially considered a legacy service. Microsoft has made it clear that no new features will be added, and the retirement of SharePoint 2013 workflows in April 2026 further limits its viability. Organizations that still rely on Project Online are strongly advised to begin planning migrations towards Planner for lighter project management needs or Dynamics 365 Project Operations for enterprise-grade PPM and ERP alignment.
Project for the Web
Although Project Online generated excitement when it first launched, many customers quickly grew frustrated with its complexity and dated interface. To address these concerns, Microsoft released Project for the Web in 2019 as a more approachable, cloud-native alternative. The vision was to provide a modern, user-friendly experience that everyday users could adopt easily, while still offering enough structure to support professional project managers.
Built on the Power Platform, Project for the Web featured a clean interface and flexible customization options. Teams could spin up schedules, assign tasks, and automate workflows with Power Automate, all without the overhead of SharePoint-based administration. For organizations already invested in Power Apps and Dataverse, it represented a forward-looking way to unify project data with the rest of their business applications.
Figure 3: Project for the Web UX
Despite these strengths, Project for the Web landed in an awkward middle ground. It was simpler and easier to use than Project Online but lacked the advanced scheduling, portfolio management, and financial tracking capabilities enterprises depended on. As a result, it never fully displaced the legacy solutions it was meant to modernize.
By late 2023, Microsoft shifted its strategy again, announcing that the new Planner experience would consolidate Project for the Web, Planner, and To Do into a single offering. With its official retirement in August 2025, Project for the Web now serves as a stepping stone in Microsoft’s evolution toward simpler, more collaborative, and more integrated project management tools.
Microsoft Planner
Microsoft Planner represents a major shift in how project management is delivered within the Microsoft ecosystem. Instead of heavy, specialized tools designed primarily for project managers, Planner focuses on lightweight, collaborative work management that anyone on a team can adopt quickly.
Embedded directly in Teams and the broader Microsoft 365 experience (see Figure 4 below), Planner is intuitive, highly visual, and ideal for agile teams, departmental projects, or any scenario where transparency and collaboration matter most.
Figure 4: Working with Microsoft Planner - Part 1
As you can see in Figure 5, Planner offers a fresh, modern UX which enables you to visualize project plans in several different ways: traditional Gantt charts, Kanban boards, timelines, and so forth. There's also built-in tools for generating reports and analytics (Figure 6).
Figure 5: Working with Microsoft Planner - Part 2
Figure 6: Working with Microsoft Planner - Part 3
Power Platform Integration
One of Planner’s biggest differentiators is its tight integration with the Power Platform. Using Power Automate, teams can build workflows that connect Planner tasks with dozens of other business systems, enabling automatic status updates, approvals, or notifications.
With Power BI, project data can be visualized in dashboards that provide real-time insight into progress and bottlenecks. And because Planner data lives in the Dataverse, organizations can extend functionality through Power Apps for custom experiences tailored to their specific processes.
Planner Premium
In late 2023, Microsoft announced that Planner would replace both Project Online and Project for the Web in most enterprise scenarios. To support this shift, Microsoft rolled out Planner premium plans that bring more enterprise-grade features into the tool, including:
A refreshed, modern interface
Deeper Power Platform integration for extensibility and automation
Enhanced collaboration across Teams, Outlook, and the wider Microsoft 365 suite
Scaling Beyond the Basics
While Planner is fast becoming the default tool for most task and project management needs, it does have limitations when it comes to complex scheduling, advanced resource management, or financial tracking. For larger organizations, this often means combining Planner with Power Platform extensions or looking to Dynamics 365 Project Operations for full end-to-end project execution.
Dynamics 365 Project Operations
For organizations that need to go beyond simple task planning into full project execution and financial management, Dynamics 365 Project Operations stands as Microsoft’s flagship solution. Unlike lighter tools in the portfolio, Project Operations is designed to bring together everything from project planning and resource scheduling to billing and profitability tracking — all within a single, enterprise-grade platform.
What sets Project Operations apart is its ability to seamlessly integrate elements of ERP, CRM, and enterprise project portfolio management (PPM) into one unified solution. You can run it in standalone mode or integrate it with existing ERP and CRM systems like Dynamics 365 or even SAP, depending on your landscape. This flexibility ensures project execution doesn’t happen in a silo. Instead, it connects with finance, sales, and operations, giving you a unified view of performance across the business.
Figure 7: Working with Dynamics 365 Project Operations
Key Capabilities
As an enterprise-grade PPM solution, Dynamics 365 Project Operations offers a wide array of powerful project management capabilities. Some highlighted capabilities include:
AI-Powered Intelligence: Automates forecasting, scheduling, and even project status reporting to help managers focus on decision-making rather than administration.
Integrated Time & Expense Tracking: Captures the financial side of projects in real time, reducing delays and errors in billing or cost management.
Real-Time Dashboards: Powered by Power BI, leaders gain insights into project performance, profitability, and resource utilization at a glance.
Microsoft 365 + ERP Connectivity: Tight integrations with Teams, Excel, Outlook, and Dynamics 365 Finance ensure that collaboration and financial data flow smoothly across departments.
Support for Diverse Project Types: From internal IT initiatives to large-scale client engagements, Project Operations provides the flexibility to adapt to different delivery models.
By aligning project management directly with core business systems, Project Operations eliminates the disconnect between execution teams, finance, and customer engagement. For enterprises, this translates into more accurate forecasting, improved profitability, and better visibility into how projects support strategic goals.
Closing Thoughts
Microsoft’s project management tools have gone through a steady evolution over the past two decades. From Microsoft Project and Project Server to Planner and Dynamics 365 Project Operations, the product line reflects a shift toward cloud-based, collaborative, and AI-assisted solutions. Some products have reached the end of their lifecycle, while others are being consolidated into newer offerings, which makes it important for organizations to understand where each tool fits today.
If you're still using Project Server, Project Online, or Project for the Web, it’s worth reviewing Microsoft’s roadmap and considering your next steps. Microsoft is clearly prioritizing Planner for team-oriented work management and Project Operations for enterprise-scale execution, so aligning with these tools will help ensure long-term support and smoother integration across the Microsoft ecosystem. Hopefully this breakdown helps your team evaluate the options available, whether your needs are simple or complex, as you plan for the future of project management in your organization.
