Microsoft Products End of Support in August–October 2025: What You Need to Know & Do Now
As we draw close to the last quarter of 2025, we have several key services and products from Microsoft that are either retiring or reaching End of Support (EOS). From APIs and systems to cloud and security, these core aspects of a website can profoundly influence the business, security, compliance, and risk your company is exposed to.
This piece covers the critical dates, impacted products, and next steps that your IT and business executives should keep in mind to smooth the way for a secure transition of your technology.
EOS Retirement Dates to Take Note of at a Glance
August 2025: Bing Search APIs Retirement
Retirement Date: August 11, 2025
Microsoft will discontinue Bing Search APIs, which means that after the EOS date, no support, access or new sign up is allowed.
Recommended Alternative
Grounding with Bing Search through Azure AI Agents – allows real time access to public web data for LLMs.
Action Plan
- Audit all the applications which are using Bing Search API.
- Migrate the plan to Grounding over Bing Search.
- Prototype new integration early.
- Train developers and AI teams.
- Do a full cutover well before the August date.
September 2025: Retirement of Azure services
Retirement Window: September 19–30, 2025
Several of your Azure services will be deprecated with no support or updates.
Services Retiring:
- Sept 19: Azure Database for MariaDB
- Sept 30: Azure Basic Load Balancer, Unmanaged Disks, Service Map, HPC Cache, vFXT, Remote Rendering, SQL Edge
Recommended Replacements
Action Plan:
- Audit consumption with Azure Advisor or your own scripts.
- Consult Microsoft migration guides.
- Test migrations by mid-September.
- As you roll out migrations, do so in phases and let teams know!
October 2025: End of support for many products
EOS Date: October 14, 2025
Microsoft is planning to discontinue several business products that are widely used around the world.
Products Affected:
Operating Systems
- All editions of Windows 10
- Windows 11 Version 22H2 (Enterprise, Education, IoT)
Productivity & Office Apps
- Office 2016, Office 2019
- Visio & Project 2016/2019
Communication Servers
- Exchange Server 2016 & 2019
- Skype for Business Server 2015 & 2019
Developer Tools
- Visual Studio 2015
- Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2015
Recommended Upgrades
Action Plan:
- Evaluate current use and legacy obligations.
- Schedule upgrades plan and gauge hardware/software readiness.
- Move to cloud-first options where you can.
- Train and enable users on new tools.
- Protect legacy systems if they must remain in use temporarily (e.g. by using Extended Security Updates).
Why Acting Now Is Critical
Reason & Impact
- There’s no fall-back as there would be post-EOS — systems will break or be UN-secure.
- Security holes — No patches = more cyber risk
- Risks of compliance — Violations of ISO, GDPR, HIPAA, etc.
- Operational disruption — Unexpected downtime, data loss
- Cost-spike — Emergency support or ESU, Microsoft monthly costs can spike rapidly
How We Can Help
Whether you have an internal IT staff, a small presence, or are entrusted with running the space station, our Microsoft certified pros can help with:
- Comprehensive system audit and risk review
- Personalized migration and upgrade paths
- Optimize Azure, Office 365 and Windows licenses
- Training support and post-migration observation
Don’t wait for deadlines — now is the time to secure your systems, data, and compliance.
References
- Bing Search APIs Retirement Notice
Bing Search APIs - Grounding with Bing Search – Azure AI Agents
Grounding with Bing Search - Azure Products Retiring September 2025
Azure products retiring - Azure Database for MariaDB Migration Guidance
Azure Database for MariaDB Migration Guidance - Microsoft End of Support 2025 Overview
Microsoft End of Support 2025 - Extended Security Updates (ESU) Program
ESU Program for Windows
To know more about Microsoft 365 Services, click here on Microsoft 365