SharePoint 2010 stands as the most popular release of the software amongst enterprises. Microsoft announced in November that they will be discontinuing support for the software version as of October 13, 2020.
What does this mean for SharePoint 2010 users?
Microsoft will no longer be releasing product updates or security patches for the software. This will leave any active deployments at risk for attack by hackers.
Enterprises who wish to continue utilizing SharePoint 2010 can either stay-on premises or migrate to SharePoint Online.
On-Premises SharePoint
For enterprises who are keeping their software on premises, experts recommend upgrading to SharePoint Server 2016 or 2019.
Before doing this, however, they’ll need to migrate to SharePoint Server 2013 first. This means that enterprises will have to plan accordingly for their migration, as it won’t be a one click process.
SharePoint Online
Office 365 is a cloud-based service that is an umbrella product for all of Microsoft’s tools, which includes SharePoint. There is also a higher-level option (Microsoft 365) that includes Office 365 and Windows 10 with Enterprise Mobility and security.
Is this a good thing?
With so many enterprises still using SharePoint 2010, how could ending support for the software be a good thing? AvePoint solution engineer Hunter Willis suggests that ending support for 2010 will be a good opportunity for these enterprises to clean their environments and make a move to a modern platform of either SharePoint Server 2019 or Office 365.
Luckily, since there have been three releases of SharePoint since 2010, plus Office 365, enterprises don’t have to worry whether the software they choose to upgrade to is secure and/or stable.
For any of your SharePoint questions, check out the Software Six blog for software industry news.