They say change is the only constant, and this stands true for the world of Microsoft products as well. If your Organization is still using Sharepoint 2013 — the time is almost up. With the ‘end-of-life’ scheduled for April 11, 2023, you have got just 32 days left from being in an ‘unsupported status’ by Microsoft. So, if you are using this version, you need to be prepared and have a plan in place to migrate before the deadline.  

What does SharePoint 2013 end-of-life mean for your business? And what would be the best move next? We cover all of that and more, in this article. 

How can the ‘end-of-life’ affect your business?

• Security risks

One of the most significant risks is that SharePoint 2013 will become vulnerable to Security threats after its end-of-life. Once Microsoft stops providing the routine security updates and patches, your organization may end up being prone to security breaches from hackers or cybercriminals. And if this ends up occurring, you will also not get any support from Microsoft in remediating. 

• Compliance risks

It is imperative for businesses to adhere to industry regulations. Therefore, the compliance of any system needs to be regularly updated to help ensure that it meets the latest standards. The reputation of your organization may come under serious scrutiny with such compliance risks involved, and you might even incur some hefty legal, financial, and operational penalties. 

• Loss of data

Without regular security updates, your organization’s data may not just be susceptible to malicious attacks, but you also risk never being able to recover it in case your database gets corrupted. So, by using an unsupported on-premises version, you are at risk of theft or loss of confidential information as well as data corruption, both of which can cause significant negative impact on your organization’s operations and its reputation. 

• Loss of productivity

Using an unsupported system can really compromise with your productivity. For instance, you may not be able to access newer features and use the latest applications. Even if you do, they may take longer to load, and you might even come across some unexpected errors. Because of this, your organization can potentially lose valuable time and resources by not migrating from SharePoint 2013. 

What should you do next?

Fortunately, there exist several alternatives for organizations to migrate to. While you can upgrade to the newer on-premises versions like SharePoint 2016 and 2019, they will eventually be out of support as well. Moreover, in case you were considering SharePoint 2019, you may have to migrate to the 2016 version first before upgrading to 2019, which can be a fairly lengthy process.  

While there are different alternatives, SharePoint Online takes the day. This is because: 

• The ability to integrate with Microsoft 365 applications 
• Latest, high-level security features 
• Compatibility with mobile devices, making information accessible on the go 
• HIPPA, FIMSA compliance, among others 

• Easy external collaboration efforts with users 
• Ability to create document libraries for enhanced collaboration efforts 
• No separate provision of physical space, resources, and personnel for maintenance 
• More file storage available than the on-premise versions of SharePoint  

Conclusion

SharePoint 2013 end-of-life is right around the corner with only the last few days left, and there lies the need to upgrade to enjoy the latest features, security updates, and more. While there are various alternatives available, moving to SharePoint Online is the best as it will benefit businesses the most because of higher security, lesser maintenance needs, more storage, mobile-friendly interface, the ability to share with external partners, and more.   

At NGenious Solutions, our expert team has successfully helped several organizations efficiently navigate their SharePoint migration journey. We help assess your current environment(s), plan implementation and deployment, and more. You can trust us to help you throughout the SharePoint migration process!