SharePoint Server 2016 and 2019 reached end of support on 14 July 2026, so if you are still running either version you are now on a platform that no longer receives security updates or fixes from Microsoft. SharePoint 2010 and 2013 have been out of support for longer still. Moving to SharePoint Online removes that exposure, and a planned SharePoint migration typically costs between £20,000 and £50,000 and takes 4 to 16 weeks depending on the size of the organisation.
Every on-premises version up to and including SharePoint Server 2019 is now outside Microsoft support:
The only on-premises version Microsoft still supports is SharePoint Server Subscription Edition. For organisations with no regulatory reason to keep content on their own servers, SharePoint Online is the more practical destination, as it is where Microsoft is putting its development effort and it is the version that works with Microsoft 365 Copilot. We have written more about the dates in our post on SharePoint Server 2016 and 2019 end of support.
The servers carry on working after the end of support date, which is why some organisations leave them running, but the risks build up the longer they stay in place:
SharePoint Online is part of Microsoft 365, so the content you move sits alongside Teams, OneDrive and Outlook rather than in a separate system people have to remember to use. The main gains are:
Our guide puts the cost of a SharePoint migration at £20,000 to £50,000. The things that move the price are how much content you have, how many custom solutions and workflows are built on the old farm, and how much restructuring you want to do on the way across. Typical timescales from our SharePoint migration services guide are:
| Organisation size | Typical timescale |
|---|---|
| Under 500 users | 4 to 6 weeks |
| 500 to 5,000 users | 6 to 10 weeks |
| Over 5,000 users | 10 to 16 weeks |
If you are moving from file shares or another intranet platform rather than SharePoint Server, our intranet migration page covers that side.
We run workshops and review sessions with each client to build a list of requirements that fits how they work. Whether you use a partner or not, the steps below are a reasonable starting point.
Work out how much content there is, where it sits and who owns it, then decide what moves, what gets archived and what gets deleted. Old farms usually hold a fair bit of content nobody has opened in years, and there is no point paying to migrate it. Managers and team leads should be involved here as they know what their teams still use.
SharePoint 2010 and 2013 workflows are retired in SharePoint Online, and farm solutions do not move across either. Anything built on them needs to be rebuilt, usually in Power Automate, Power Apps or modern SharePoint lists, so list them early as this is where timescales tend to slip.
We use ShareGate for most migrations, as it handles bulk moves, permission mapping, reporting and incremental passes well. Microsoft's own SharePoint Migration Tool and Migration Manager are fine for simpler file moves.
A migration is a good point to fix permissions, set retention rules and decide who can create sites. If you move a messy permissions model straight across, Copilot will surface whatever people have access to, including things they should not see, which is why our SharePoint governance work is often run alongside the migration.
Tell users what is moving and when, give them dates for any downtime and go-live, and run short training sessions on the new sites. Asking people early what they struggle with in the current setup makes adoption a lot easier.
No, the servers keep running, but Microsoft no longer issues security updates, bug fixes or technical support for them, so the risk to your data grows over time.
Yes. Migration tools such as ShareGate move content directly from older versions to SharePoint Online without upgrading through each version in between, although classic workflows and custom solutions need rebuilding.
Yes, for any content you want Copilot to use. Copilot works with content held in Microsoft 365, so documents left on an on-premises farm are not available to it.
If you want to talk through moving off an unsupported SharePoint version, get in touch.