What Comes After Microsoft Project Online?
From Project Tracking to Enterprise Strategy Execution
With Microsoft Project Online becoming obsolete in September, many organizations are asking the same question:
What should replace it?
For some, this feels like a straightforward tooling decision — migrate projects, retrain users, move on. But for many organizations, the end of Project Online exposes something deeper.
Because Project Online didn’t just manage projects. It quietly became the system many organizations relied on to understand what was happening across their change portfolio.
And that capability still matters — even if the tool itself is going away.
Why Project Online Became So Embedded
Project Online succeeded because it offered something rare at the time:
- Centralized portfolio visibility
- A shared view across initiatives and programs
- Governance checkpoints and approvals
- Executive-level reporting beyond individual projects
But fundamentally, it was designed for a different era.
Project Online was built to answer: “Are our projects on track?”
Today’s leaders are asking a very different question: “Are our investments delivering the outcomes and value we promised?”
The Risk of a Like-for-Like Replacement
Microsoft’s guidance often points customers toward lighter-weight execution tools. These can be effective for task management, but they don’t replace what Project Online was actually used for.
A like-for-like replacement often results in:
- Fragmented portfolio visibility
- Weaker governance and escalation
- Reporting that looks busy but lacks insight
- A return to spreadsheets for executive decisions
In other words, organizations risk losing strategic oversight, not just changing tools.
A Better Question: What If This Is an Upgrade Moment?
Rather than asking “What replaces Project Online?”, leading organizations are asking: “What capability do we actually need now?”
This is where the conversation shifts — from project management to enterprise strategy execution.
How Amplify Fits — And Why It’s Different
Amplify is not a task-level project tool. It is designed for organizations that have moved beyond managing projects, and need confidence that strategy is turning into results.
Where Project Online focused on activity, Amplify focuses on outcomes.
At a glance:
Amplify does not replace delivery tools. It sits above them, providing the portfolio intelligence layer executives rely on.
“But What About Migration?”
Migration is often the biggest concern when organizations plan for life after solutions they’ve been using for a while, and it’s where many transitions become more complex thanthey need to be.
Amplify is designed to make transitions practical, low-effort, and decision-led, rather than a heavy task-by-task rebuild.
With Amplify, organizations can selectively migrate what matters most, while confidently retiring what no longer adds value.
How Amplify simplifies migration
- Structured portfolio migration, not task overload
Amplify provides guidance to help teams identify which information should be brought across — such as strategic objectives, active initiatives, outcomes, dependencies, benefits, and key risks, and what can safely be archived, including completed task-level activity. - Continuity for active work, without rework
For initiatives that are still in flight, Amplify supports rapid setup using existing project structures, milestones, and lessons learned — accelerating time to value without recreating detailed plans from scratch. - Outcome-led historical context
Rather than carrying forward every activity, Amplify helps organizations preserve what is most valuable from historical programs: outcomes delivered, benefits realized (or missed), governance decisions, and insights that inform better future execution. - Minimal disruption to delivery teams
Delivery teams continue working in their existing execution tools. Amplify sits above those tools, providing enterprise-wide visibility without forcing change at the team level.
And at the same time, organizations gain:
- Elevated decision-making and governance across the portfolio
- Clear accountability for outcomes and value realization
- A single, trusted view of enterprise change aligned to strategy
As many customers put it:
“We didn’t need another project tool. We needed clarity.”
Who This Matters Most To
The end of Project Online is particularly significant for:
- Chief Transformation Officers
- Transformation Offices and EPMOs
- CFOs accountable for benefits realization
- CEOs seeking confidence in execution
These leaders aren’t looking for a new Gantt chart. They are looking for visibility, accountability, and value.
A Natural Evolution — Not a Forced Switch
Project Online helped organizations manage complexity at a point in time.
Amplify helps them navigate it now.
As organizations face:
- Continuous transformation
- Capital and cost pressure
- M&A integration
- Heightened executive scrutiny
The need has shifted from tracking activity to executing strategy with discipline.
Final Thought
Project Online may be going away — but the need for enterprise-wide clarity, governance, and value delivery is not.
For organizations ready to move beyond project tracking and into confident strategy execution, this is not just a replacement decision. It is an upgrade.
Want to explore what comes next?
If you’re planning for life after Project Online and want to understand how Amplify supports enterprise strategy execution and value creation, we’d be happy to talk.
About the Author
Genevieve Smith is VP of Global Marketing at Amplify-Now, where she leads the company’s global brand, positioning, and go-to-market strategy. With over 20 years’ experience across PE-backed SaaS, multinationals, and consulting, she brings deep expertise in strategic marketing and is passionate about elevating the role of the Transformation Office.
