14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft announced that the end-of-support date for Exchange Server 2010 has been moved from January 14, 2020 (the same day when Windows 7 is projected to go dark) to October 13, 2020.
Windows 7 won’t be getting any extension for its end-of-support date, so no updates would be shipped after January 14, 2020.
The reason for the extension, Microsoft says, is that many customers are unlikely to reach the deadline and upgrade their systems before January. As a result, the company wants to give these people more time to move to a newer platform before killing off security updates.
“Our commitment to meeting the evolving needs of our customers is as strong as ever, and we recognize discontinuing support for a product that has been as popular and reliable as Exchange Server 2010 can be an adjustment,” Greg Taylor, Director of Product Marketing - Exchange Server/Online, says.
“We also know that some of you are in the midst of upgrades to a newer version of Exchange Server on-premises, or more transformative migrations to the cloud with Office 365 and Exchange Online. With this in mind, we are extending end of support to October 13th 2020 to give Exchange Server 2010 customers more time to complete their migrations. This extension also aligns with the end of support for Office 2010 and SharePoint Server 2010.”
Recommended alternatives
Once the new end-of-support date is reached, Microsoft would no longer release bug fixes and security patches for Exchange Server 2010. Technical support would be terminated as well.
Microsoft obviously recommends customers to make the switch to Exchange Online and Office 365.
“If you migrate fully to Office 365 you really don’t need to worry about ‘big bang’ version upgrades any more. You just have to keep a much smaller number of on-premises servers up to date, and you’re good,” Taylor explains.
Exchange Server 2013, 2016, and 2019 are also the on-premises alternative to Exchange Server 2010.