Microsoft continues to 'delay' the plan to launch a new version of Exchange Server for another 4 years

Back in September 2020, Microsoft made an announcement that the next version of Exchange Server would arrive in the second half of 2021. This information immediately received a positive response from user community, because this is something that has been expected for a long time.

However, only a short time later, a large-scale cyberattack campaign targeting Exchange server systems worldwide caused Microsoft's security team to switch over, take a long time to fix and bring all the issues back. things back to stable. This critical issue has prevented Microsoft from keeping its commitment to the release of the Exchange Server version

Currently, with prioritizing resources to focus on security, Microsoft has just announced that the next version of Exchange Server will be released in the second half of 2025 - that is, it will be 'delayed' by 4 years compared to the second half of 2025. with the original plan set forth by the company.

The next version of Exchange Server (let's call it "Exchange Server 2025") will only be available to customers with Software Assurance. Additionally, the new version will also require a Server and Client Access License (CAL). Of course, the update will also be available via the subscription model, but Microsoft says that it will only share more details on subscription pricing, features, branding, and related requirements at some point in time. first half of 2024.

So if nothing changes, Exchange Server 2016 and 2019 will be supported until October 14, 2025. However, Microsoft also left open the possibility that it will continue to maintain support for these old versions depending on realistic figure. In addition, users may not need new hardware or plan to migrate mailboxes when updating to Exchange Server 2025, which is a necessary convenience that Microsoft is trying to implement.

Until the launch of Exchange Server 2025, Microsoft is committed to continuing to roll out the series of essential improvements and features to Exchange Server 2019, as it will continue to be the latest release for at least the next three years. You can see recent improvements to Exchange Server 2019 in Microsoft blog posts HERE.

Jessica Tanner

Update 03 June 2022