Microsoft has announced that the next version of Exchange Server will be on a subscription basis. This new version, which will probably be called Exchange Server vNext, is available as an on-premise but only against periodic payment of a fee.
| Version |
End of Mainstream Support |
End of Extended Support |
| Exchange Server 2010 |
01/13/2015 |
10/03/2020 |
| Exchange Server 2013 |
04/10/2018 |
04/11/2023 |
| Exchange Server 2016 |
10/13/2020 |
10/14/2025 |
| Exchange Server 2019 |
01/09/2024 |
10/14/2025 |
If you now have an older version of Exchange Server running, I recommend that you migrate to Exchange Server 2019 as soon as possible. After the introduction of Exchange Server vNext, it will no longer be possible to use an 'older version' of Exchange Server, if you don't have a valid license yet. This means that if you don't do anything now that you are trapped in the version you are running now, and the only option will be Exchange Server vNext. I imagine you don't want this.
If you nevertheless decide to use Exchange Server vNext based on a subscription, an upgrade from Exchange Server 2013/2016 or 2019 is easy because it is an in-place upgrade. So, no more migration is needed.
If you plan a migration from an old Exchange Server version to the latest version of Exchange Server based on "perpetual use after payment" in the coming months and you need help with that, let us know.
You may get the impression that I am against the new licensing model for the latest version of Exchange Server vNext. That is not the case, I first want to see what this means in terms of features and price compared to the current license model. See first, believe later!
The bottom line is, if you're going to be staying on-premises long term - start planning and installing Exchange Server 2019 today!