White paper · Modernization

Platform End of Support 2025 to 2031: A Modernization Planning Guide

Windows Server 2016 end of support is January 12, 2027, when extended support ends and paid Extended Security Updates begin. Other dates: SQL Server 2016 on July 14, 2026, .NET 8 and 9 on November 10, 2026, SAP ECC mainstream maintenance at the end of 2027 and Dynamics GP on December 31, 2029.

September 2026 · 8 pages · PDF

Key findings

What this paper shows

The window is now

Nine major platform deadlines fall between October 2025 and January 2027 alone.

Extended support gets dearer

Windows 10 commercial ESU runs for up to three years, into October 2028, at 61, 122 and 244 US dollars per device.

ERP clocks are running

SAP ECC mainstream maintenance ends at the end of 2027 and Dynamics GP support ends on December 31, 2029.

Runtimes move fastest

.NET 8 and 9 end on November 10, 2026; Node.js and PHP versions retire every year.

Sequence beats speed

Dependencies between systems, not individual dates, should set the order of work.

Executive summary

The summary

Every business system runs on platforms with published end of support dates. After those dates, vendors stop shipping security fixes, integrations break as other systems move on, and auditors and customers start asking questions.

Between 2025 and 2031 a large share of the software that mid sized and enterprise organizations rely on reaches that point: Windows 10, Office 2016 and 2019, Exchange Server 2016 and 2019, SQL Server 2016, Windows Server 2016, .NET 8 and 9, SAP ECC and Microsoft Dynamics GP, alongside faster moving open source runtimes such as PHP and Node.js.

Extended support programs exist for some products, but they are a bridge, not a destination. Windows 10 commercial Extended Security Updates cost 61 US dollars per device in the first year and double each year after.

This guide consolidates the dates, sets out the six options for any system approaching end of support, and gives a planning method and checklist to turn a list of deadlines into a funded, sequenced modernization roadmap.

Who this is for

CIOs, IT directors, application owners and finance leaders responsible for business systems, infrastructure and technology budgets.

Inside the paper

  1. Why end of support is a business risk
  2. The deadlines at a glance
  3. Extended support is a bridge, not a destination
  4. Six options for every system
  5. A planning method that holds up
  6. Planning checklist
  7. How Inventh can help
  8. Sources
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  • Full analysis and tables
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