February 27, 2026
WHAT'S HAPPENING: Microsoft 365 Pricing and Packaging Updates
WHEN: July 1, 2026 As previously announced, Microsoft will be making substantial changes to their Microsoft 365 pricing and features in the summer of 2026. There is a new article with new details on affected SKUs and anticipated pricing (note that the $ shown in the article is USD MSRP).
The new features are going to begin rolling out in June, and you will receive at least 30 days’ notice in Message Center before packaging changes become available in your tenant.
WHAT'S HAPPENING: Exchange Web Services Access for Kiosk / Frontline Worker Licensed Users
WHEN: June 30, 2026
At the end of June 2026, Microsoft will block Exchange Web Services (EWS) access for mailboxes that have licenses without EWS rights. The change follows customer feedback, which led to extending the deadline to June 2026 to give users more time to remove their dependencies on EWS. The affected licenses include Exchange Online Kiosk, Microsoft 365 and Office 365 F1, and F3, which previously did not enforce restrictions. After this date, users with these licenses will no longer be able to use EWS unless they are assigned a license that includes EWS access, such as Exchange Online Plan 1 or 2, or Microsoft 365/Office 365 E3 or E5 licenses.
WHAT'S HAPPENING: Project Online Retirement
WHEN: September 30, 2026
Microsoft Project Online will be retired on September 30, 2026. After this date, the service will no longer be available. This change affects only Project Online and does not impact Project desktop, Project Server, or Planner. Current users can continue using Project Online without disruption until the retirement date. After that, access to projects and data will end, so backing up data beforehand is essential. Transition options include: - Planner, which offers modern project management features and AI assistance. - Project Server Subscription Edition, for advanced project and portfolio management. - Dynamics 365 Project Operations, for customers needing timesheet and resource scheduling tools. - Project desktop, which remains available and unaffected.
WHAT'S HAPPENING: Teams and Places Licensing Changes
WHEN: April 1, 2026
Microsoft is updating its Teams and Microsoft Places licensing to make advanced communication and collaboration tools more accessible and easier to use. Starting April 1, 2026, users with licenses that include calendar access in Outlook and Teams (such as Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Basic, Business Standard, Business Premium, and others) will gain enhanced workplace coordination features through Microsoft Places. These features include Places Finder for better room booking with detailed info, a new event calendaring experience, and Places Explorer for map-based space reservations.
Additionally, the Teams Shared Space license (formerly Teams Shared Devices license) will be expanded to allow management of up to four desks per license, along with shared spaces like rooms and hotdesking devices. This license offers desk booking, space management, space analytics, and integration with third-party spatial data. Existing customers with legacy licenses won’t need to take action but can assign more spaces with no extra cost.
For large-scale communication, all Teams Enterprise users will soon have access to advanced town hall and webinar features previously exclusive to Teams Premium. These include improved chat, reactions, real-time event insights, customizable themes, enterprise content delivery network (eCDN) support, and immersive 3D event experiences. Events can host up to 3,000 attendees with full features and up to 10,000 in a view-only mode. Customers can also purchase attendee pack licenses to increase capacity up to 100,000 attendees.
WHAT'S HAPPENING: Teams Live Events Retirement
WHEN: June 30, 2026
Microsoft is retiring Teams live events and the related Microsoft Graph APIs by June 30, 2026. After this date, scheduling new Teams live events will no longer be possible, but events scheduled before June 30, 2026, can still be held through February 28, 2027.
This change affects organizations currently using Teams live events, those using Microsoft Graph APIs for live event management, and users scheduling events via Viva Engage or Microsoft Dynamics 365. Specifically, scheduling through Dynamics 365 will stop after June 30, 2026, starting February 3, 2026, and Viva Engage will lose scheduling ability from April 15, 2026. Existing Graph API integrations will remain available until June 30, 2026.
WHAT'S HAPPENING: Retirement of Standalone SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business Plans
WHEN: May 31, 2026
Microsoft has announced the retirement of SharePoint Online Plans 1 and 2 and OneDrive for Business Plans 1 and 2. Customers will not be able to purchase these subscriptions after May 31, 2026; only renewals for existing customers will be permitted. By January 2027, no further renewals will be allowed but subscriptions on existing agreements will remain valid until they expire. By December 2029, all standalone plans will be fully retired, and customers will need to transition to Microsoft 365 suites, capacity packs, or pay-as-you-go storage options.
WHAT'S HAPPENING: Power Apps Per App License Discontinued
WHEN: January 2, 2026
Power Apps is no longer sold to new customers using the Per App SKU, as of January 2, 2026. Existing Enterprise (EA) customers can continue using and renewing this license without disruption and can add or adjust users anytime during their agreement without extra purchase orders. For current MPSA customers, the SKU will not be offered for new purchases, but they can keep using it until their agreement ends. After the agreement ends, you'll have a 60-day period to switch to an alternative.
WHAT'S HAPPENING: Microsoft Defender Experts Suites Now Available
WHEN: January 1, 2026
Microsoft’s new Defender Experts Suite is a managed XDR offering available only through Enterprise Agreement customers. It’s intended for organizations already licensed with Microsoft 365 E5, the Defender Suite, Defender Suite FLW, or Defender + Purview Suite FLW, and comes in two plan options depending on the level of expert involvement needed. A promotional offer runs until December 2026 for customers with M365 E5 or Defender + Purview Suite FLW who purchase more than 1,500 seats of the new suites.
Read more here.