Microsoft Office Tutorials: Project for the web and project online

Sunday, June 27, 2021

Project for the web and project online

For a more detailed comparison of features and functionality between Project for the web and Project Online, see the Project service description.

Can I use Project for the web and Project Online side-by-side? How do I transition to Project for the web from Project Online?

For many of our customers, side-by-side transition will be the best approach. This requires no data migration and ensures you can continue to use the functionality you need to manage your existing Project Online projects to completion. Here is our recommended approach to side-by-side usage and transition:

Continue managing existing projects to completion in your Project Online environment.
Create and manage new projects in Project for the web as soon as it meets your business needs.

Can I migrate from Project Online to Project for the web?

For some customers, a direct migration from Project Online to Project for the web will be the right course. This will depend on the complexity, customization, and size of your existing Project Online environment, including configuration, add-ons, custom code, and integrations.

At some point in the future we will be providing native migration tools to move project data from your existing Project Online environment to Project for the web. Our native tools will work best for standard deployments, e.g. those with no custom code or integrations.

If your existing Project Online environment is more complex, we will help you determine the best way to transition from Project Online to Project for the web. We are working closely with our vast Project partner ecosystem to ensure they're ready to help.

Where more help is required beyond native migration tools, you can work with MCS and a Certified Project Partner to determine the best strategy to move your Project Online custom apps and code to Project for the web.

For the most complex deployments, you can enlist a certified Project Partner. We will be providing readiness to our Partner community so that they can develop migration services offering to take your most complex deployments from Project Online to Project for the web.

When will Project for the web reach feature parity with Project Online?

Project for the web gives us an opportunity to re-imagine Microsoft Project.  Rather than re-building feature by feature, we are focused on providing capabilities that meet the changing needs of work management. How we build out Project for the web over time will be based on carefully tracking feature usage and customer feedback to ensure we are providing features that meet real customer needs.

As a user of Project Online, you will want to know when Project for the web is ready to provide the project management functionality you need to run your business. Aligning your move with the availability of relevant functionality will help ease your users' transition. We will provide assistance to help you evaluate your current needs. We are working closely with our Project partner ecosystem to ensure they're ready to help.

We will provide regular updates on this topic, just as we will provide regular updates on our release roadmap.

We do encourage you to start creating and managing new projects using Project for the web, while continuing to manage existing projects to completion in your Project Online environment. 

When will you retire Project Online?

If you are using Project Online, sometimes referred to as Project Web App (PWA) in the product, we understand the important business value it provides you. You can continue to use your existing Project Online environment confidently while you plan a transition to Project for the web. You can start your move as soon as it makes sense for your business.

We will continue to provide key performance and security improvements for Project Online. We remain deeply committed to providing the full support you need and expect, so you can continue to use and invest with confidence in Microsoft Project. 

There is no date to limit the functionality of Project Online at this time, but we encourage customers to plan their transition as soon as possible.  We know that many of you depend on Project Online.  Therefore, any decision on the date to limit functionality will be carefully made taking into account customer feedback and usage data on Project for the web to help ensure your business continuity and success.

Going forward, all innovation will occur in Project for the web. We are committed to providing visibility into our release roadmap, so you can start planning your transition. We will help you understand Project for the web and when it will best support your business needs, so you can transition as soon as it makes sense for your business.  Until then, we will also help you continue using Project Online in the best ways to ensure a smooth transition to Project for the web in the future. 

Your Project Online subscriptions are not going away. All the new capabilities available through Project for the web will be available to you through your existing Project Online subscriptions.

Can I use Power BI reports to report on data across Project for the web and Project Online?

Yes, you can use the Power BI Desktop template file which has reports that aggregate data from both Project for the web and Project Online.

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