SharePoint 2016 & 2019: End-of-Life Is Coming Fast — Here’s What Smart Teams Are Doing About It
- Synergy Team
- Oct 16
- 4 min read
If you’re still running SharePoint 2016 or SharePoint 2019, the clock is ticking. On July 14, 2026, Microsoft will officially end all support — no more security updates, no bug fixes, and no safety net when things go wrong.
At Synergy, we’ve worked with SharePoint since its earliest days. Over the years, we’ve seen one pattern repeat: organizations that start planning early save time, money, and stress. Those that wait until the last minute end up scrambling — and paying more to fix issues that could have been prevented with foresight.
Why Microsoft’s End-of-Life Matters More Than You Think
End-of-life isn’t just a software milestone; it’s a business inflection point.
Once support ends, your SharePoint environment stops receiving the security updates and compliance improvements that modern IT infrastructures depend on. That’s when risks start multiplying:
Security vulnerabilities go unpatched, leaving data exposed.
Compliance audits can fail because the system no longer meets current standards.
Integration breakdowns occur as Microsoft 365 evolves and older versions fall behind.
Maintenance costs rise as vendors phase out compatibility and support.
SharePoint plays a central role in most organizations, hosting intranets, document repositories, and business-critical workflows. Running it past end-of-life doesn’t just threaten uptime; it puts collaboration, information governance, and data security at risk.
For companies in regulated industries such as finance, healthcare, or government, the compliance implications are especially serious. Unsupported systems can undermine certifications like ISO 27001 or HIPAA, and even invalidate cybersecurity insurance coverage.
Why Organizations Wait — and Why That’s a Problem
It’s easy to postpone a migration. Other projects take priority, budgets are tight, or teams feel they can stretch “just one more year.” But delaying only compresses the timeline — and with complex environments, six months can vanish quickly in planning alone.
Upgrading SharePoint isn’t a single project. It’s a multi-phase effort that involves:
Assessing your current environment and content,
Mapping dependencies to workflows and integrated systems,
Cleaning up legacy data and permissions,
Testing migration tools and security policies, and
Training users in the new environment.
Each phase takes time, and cutting corners creates risk. By the time 2026 arrives, organizations that haven’t started will find themselves competing for the same migration resources.
We’ve seen how waiting too long can make a migration more complicated than it needs to be. In some cases, organizations that postponed upgrades found that key tools or vendor support had already been retired, stretching a straightforward migration into a longer, more stressful process.
Starting now means setting your own timeline, not letting the deadline dictate it.
This Isn’t Just About SharePoint — It’s About Modernization
The end of SharePoint 2016 and 2019 support is an opportunity to take a broader look at your digital ecosystem.
For many businesses, SharePoint serves as more than a file repository; it’s the backbone of collaboration. Moving to SharePoint Online or SharePoint Subscription Edition can modernize not only your infrastructure but also how teams connect and work together.
SharePoint Online offers built-in integration with Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, and Power Platform, creating a connected, cloud-first workspace. It eliminates patching cycles, simplifies compliance, and scales with your business.
SharePoint Subscription Edition, on the other hand, provides a supported on-premises option with incremental updates and greater control for organizations with strict governance or data residency needs.
Some organizations choose a hybrid model, combining on-prem stability with cloud-enabled collaboration. This approach gives IT leaders flexibility while maintaining security and data control — a smart compromise for enterprises that can’t go fully cloud yet.
Don’t Let Workflows Become the Hidden Problem
Workflows are often the silent engine behind daily operations — and they’re also one of the biggest risks when older SharePoint versions reach end-of-life.
SharePoint 2010 and 2013 workflows, which underpin many on-premises automations, will also lose support in July 2026. If your organization uses SharePoint Designer, Nintex, or custom PowerShell scripts to automate approvals, notifications, or data handling, those workflows may soon fail without warning.
Modernizing workflows isn’t just about replacing old tools. It’s about rethinking automation in a way that aligns with modern governance and productivity expectations. Platforms like Power Automate, Nintex Cloud, and WEBCON don’t just replicate legacy workflows — they improve them with richer visibility, error handling, and integration across systems.
A structured workflow assessment now helps prevent operational disruptions later. Identify what’s mission-critical, what can be retired, and where automation can deliver more business value in your next environment.
What Smart Organizations Are Doing Now
Forward-thinking teams are already moving. Here’s what they’re prioritizing:
Auditing their environments – understanding what’s hosted where, and what’s outdated.
Cleaning up content – removing redundant data to simplify migration.
Testing upgrade paths – validating SharePoint Online or Subscription Edition compatibility.
Mapping workflows – identifying automation tools to replace legacy processes.
Securing buy-in early – aligning IT, compliance, and business leadership on the migration roadmap.
These organizations view modernization not as an obligation, but as an advantage — a chance to streamline operations and strengthen their digital foundation.
How Synergy Helps Organizations Prepare
At Synergy, we’ve guided hundreds of organizations through SharePoint transitions — from single-department intranets to enterprise-level content management systems.
Our process is designed around three key goals: minimizing disruption, protecting data integrity, and ensuring long-term success.
Readiness Assessments – We uncover risks, bottlenecks, and workflow dependencies before migration begins.
Data & Workflow Modernization – We clean up and transition your environment to supported, cloud-ready platforms.
Seamless Migration Execution – Our automation and governance expertise ensure a secure, controlled migration.
Post-Migration Support & Training – Because success doesn’t end at go-live; it continues with adoption.
We understand that for many organizations, this upgrade isn’t optional — it’s essential to maintaining compliance, security, and collaboration at scale.
Looking Ahead
July 2026 may feel far away, but the truth is that modernization projects of this scope take time. Every month of planning now saves weeks of panic later.
Whether your next step is cloud adoption, on-prem optimization, or a hybrid strategy, one fact is clear: the future of SharePoint is modern, secure, and connected.
If you haven’t started planning your upgrade yet, now is the perfect time to begin.