What Does SharePoint 2016 End of Life Mean?

The Sharepoint 2016 end of life implies the mainstream support of the 2016 server will end in July 2021. It implies that the companies will have to comply with a monthly cumulative update patch structure.

Monthly Public Updates

SharePoint Service 2016 used to get public updates on a monthly basis. These updates encompass improvements in stability, performance, and functionality. Companies will continue to receive updates across the mainstream support phase of SharePoint Server 2016. But this Mainstream support by the company will end on July 13, 2021.

The updates that the SharePoint server 2016 receives are cumulative. This means that they include all previous updates as well. Subsequently, IT executives would not necessarily need to have the previous version to upload the latest one.

Earlier, the company announced distinctions between the Public Updates as well as cumulative updates on the SharePoint server. However, there are no distinctions now. Experts recommended applying cumulative updates to systems that are experiencing constant issues. Microsoft, on the other hand, recommends its users to install Public Updates immediately. This is because the companies execute thorough validation of each of these updates internally as well as with selected partners and customers prior to releasing. This process is carried out to ensure optimum quality.

Build Support of One Year

SharePoint build will be provided with one year support, which will begin from the initial release of the build. By the end of the year, the company plans to release a minimum supported build for SharePoint 2016 server. Companies will have to run the supported built or a newer version of the same to receive the support. Failing to update the support would mean that the application would receive the security patches.

The company also said that to receive its support, the server of the companies must be running on the latest minimum supported build, or else they will need to upgrade first. Additionally, Microsoft also does not plan to roll out service packs for its SharePoint 2016 server.

What After July 2021?

Presently, organizations have one year to choose which SharePoint (office 365) migration to go for –  SharePoint Online or SharePoint 2019.

SharePoint 2016 was launched after SharePoint Online with a lot of new on-premises features. Microsoft continues to add new functionalities to its product, with a majority of them aimed at encouraging the companies to shift to cloud systems.

Feature Comparison of SharePoint Online and SharePoint 2019

SharePoint is designed to deploy other features taken from the Office 365 infrastructure. Coming to the comparison, the following are the common aspects between SharePoint Online and SharePoint 2019 –

  • Integration with OneDrive
  • Modern sites, pages, home, libraries, and overall interface
  • Massive support for files and extended character length
  • Underlying SharePoint Framework

SharePoint Online is deeply integrated with other infrastructure of Microsoft Office 365 and has strong connectivity with various cloud apps. This allows SharePoint Online to offer additional features such as –

  • Collaborations between multiple teams
  • Flow for codeless as well as low-code app
  • Workflow implementation
  • PowerApps
  • Delve for AI-centric surfacing of information and content
  • Hub sites for content/ search and single-point branding
  • Social media Yammer

Differences in Administration Utility

When it comes to administrative control features, SharePoint 2019 stands ahead of its counterpart. This is because the core nature of SharePoint Online does not allow it to have complete access to physical servers that are hosting the deployment.

Moreover, SharePoint 2019 included new administrative features into the administrative suite of 2016. Some of the new additions include modified PowerShell, APIs to facilitate digital data services integration, hybrid scenarios support, and health analyzer.

SharePoint Online offers fewer features to facilitate administrative control; however, it is backed by the administrative functionality of Office 365. One of the core functionalities is the admin center, in which both SharePoint and Office can be accessed simultaneously. There is also security as well as a compliance zone for the governance of data, threat management, and reporting.

Deciding between SharePoint Online or SharePoint 2019 needs organizations to evaluate the features, functionalities, and migration barriers. After SharePoint 2019, the company will be pushing forward to SharePoint 2024 and so on. It is clear that the company is constantly pushing clients towards SharePoint Online and envisions to retire the maximum of its less profitable and complex to manage on-premises systems.

 

Sharepoint 2016 end of life
Sharepoint 2016 end of life