Exchange Server 2016 / 2019 End of Life

On October 14, 2025 Exchange Server 2016 and 2019 Editions will officially go End of Life – meaning that they will no longer be in support and will not receive any further technical support, security updates, and will no longer have the ability to pass audits - leading to risks from vulnerabilities and compatibility issues with other services.

Microsoft have launched Exchange Server Subscription Edition (SE) to replace these two versions of Exchange, and ITPS can help your organisation move forward by migrating to Exchange Server SE.

Most organisations now have their email systems in Microsoft 365’s Exchange Online but have a ‘Hybrid configuration’ – meaning the management is carried out via a local Exchange Server. So even if you don’t have mailboxes stored on your Exchange Server locally, you still use the server for hybrid management / relaying.

There are two options open to Exchange Hybrid Users:

1. Migrate Exchange Server 2016/2019 up to Exchange Server SE
2.  Remove Exchange Server and manage the mailboxes with Exchange Online Powershell commands.

Management via Powershell isn’t for everyone (you may have internal application or devices needing to relay email locally for instance, or you may prefer a graphical interface for management) - and the removal of Exchange 2016/2019 has to be done in a very precise way or you may experience data loss.

This puts the migration to Exchange Server Subscription Edition as the preferred route for most organisations.

We have pre-planned paths for the upgrade process for both the affected versions of Exchange Server (and by CU level also), and we are ready to assist you in your migration to this new product.

Key Benefits of moving to Exchange Server SE

• Reducing Risk - By upgrading to Exchange Server SE, you will benefit from continued support and patching. Unsupported Exchange Server products expose your network with unpatched vulnerabilities, and will impact your ability to achieve / retain Cyber Accreditations.
• Evolving product - Exchange SE supports modern collaboration and messaging needs, moving beyond a purely communication focus to support evolving work habits.
• Subscription-based licensing - Software Assurance (SA) or a qualifying Microsoft 365 cloud subscription provides a modern, predictable cost model for your IT infrastructure.
• Cumulative Updates - Instead of major version releases, Exchange SE will receive continuous security, hotfix, and feature updates through quarterly Cumulative Updates (CUs), keeping your environment current and secure.

Next steps

If you would like to understand the full impact to your organisation and how best to move forward, our experts are available to provide support and help you create a migration roadmap. Simple speak to your Account Manager, complete this form to call 0191 442 8300.