IMPORTANT UPDATE: Microsoft Project Online Retirement scheduled for September 30, 2026. From this date Project Online will no longer be accessible, however we can help you transition to Planner Premium and the Wellingtone Accelerator+ or to Project Server Subscription Edition.
Is Microsoft Project Online holding your organisation back?
For years, Project Online served as the default project and portfolio management (PPM) tool for many organisations. It brought structure, visibility, and control to enterprise project delivery. But the world of work has changed.
Organisations have shifted to hybrid working, teams expect intuitive tools that work seamlessly across devices, and reporting needs have become more sophisticated. Meanwhile, Project Online has stood still.
Microsoft is no longer investing in new features for Project Online. Its underlying technology, including SharePoint Designer, is being deprecated. And as of April 2026, core workflow capabilities within Project Online will stop functioning. That’s not just inconvenient, it’s a risk to business continuity, governance, and reporting.
The good news? A modern, flexible, AI-ready replacement is already here: Microsoft Planner for the web, and when paired with Wellingtone Accelerator+, it becomes a true enterprise-level solution.
Introducing Planner Premium: a unified project management tool
Microsoft Planner is not just a rebrand of an existing app. It’s the evolution of Project for the Web, now combined with Microsoft Planner’s simplicity, fully integrated with Copilot and AI Agents.
The result is a unified experience that supports the full range of planning needs, from small team tasks to large-scale project schedules. And it’s all available directly within Microsoft Teams or in your browser.
What you get with Planner Premium:
- Grid, Board, Timeline and People views
- Task dependencies and milestones
- Critical path and timeline-based planning
- Full integration with Microsoft Teams
- Co-pilot support to help generate tasks, status reports and contingency plans
It’s familiar, easy to use, and natively embedded within Microsoft 365. But on its own, it doesn’t cover governance, workflows, RAID, cost or resources management, or portfolio-level reporting.
That’s where Wellingtone’s Accelerator+ takes over
What is the Wellingtone Accelerator+?
Accelerator+ is a Microsoft Power Platform-based application that transforms Planner into a full-featured project and portfolio management (PPM) solution.
It includes:
- Project lifecycle management with workflows
- RAID (risks, assumptions, issues, dependencies) logs
- Portfolio and programme views
- Governance processes and automated stage gates
- Pipeline intake and strategic alignment
- Power BI dashboards for real-time visibility
- Resource and cost management plugins
- Secure deployment in your Microsoft 365 tenant
- AI-ready functionality with Co-pilot and Marty (Microsoft AI Agent)
Accelerator+ is built using Microsoft Dataverse, Power Apps, Power Automate and Power BI. That means it lives securely in your existing environment and only requires native Microsoft licensing.
Why make the move now from Microsoft Project Online?
If you are relying on workflows in Project Online, such as approval triggers, phase gating or change requests, those will break from April 2026 when SharePoint Designer is retired.
Accelerator+ uses Power Automate to deliver all these functions in a much more robust and future-proofed way.
More importantly, Project Online is increasingly disconnected from the way modern teams work. It was not designed with Teams, AI, or mobile-first use in mind. In contrast, Planner and Accelerator+ integrate naturally with the Microsoft 365 environment your users are already in every day.
The longer you delay, the harder the transition becomes. Early adopters are already reaping the benefits of improved user adoption, simplified reporting, and streamlined governance.
Planner + Accelerator+ vs Project Online
| Feature | Project Online | Planner Premium | Planner AND Accelerator+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interface | Outdated, SharePoint-based | Clean and modern | Customisable Power App |
| Task planning | Full | Full | Full |
| Governance workflows | SharePoint Designer | Not supported | Power Automate-enabled |
| Portfolio-level reporting | Limited, static | Not available | Built-in |
| Strategic alignment | Manual | Not available | OKRs Management Plugin |
| Resource and cost planning | Complex or eternal | Limited | Plugin-based |
| Copilot integration | Not available | Yes | Yes (with extended capability) |
| Cross-project dependencies | Not native | Not available | Gives and Gets Plugin |
| Support for plugins | No | No | Yes – cost, resources, OKRs, AI, time tracking |
What does deployment involve?
Wellingtone provides a fixed price Accelerator+ Quick Start package, which includes:
- Discovery workshops
- Requirements gathering
- Configuration and customisation
- Power BI reporting setup
- User training and enablement
- Secure deployment in your Microsoft 365 environment
This can be delivered in 6–8 weeks, or up to 12 weeks for more complex deployments. Whether you’re testing the water with a pilot or deploying organisation-wide, the process is designed to be clear, supportive and collaborative.
Once deployed, Wellingtone also offers a full annual support contract, including:
- A ticket-based support system
- Dedicated Account Manager
- Bank of hours for customisation or enhancements
- Annual Project Management Maturity Assessment
The benefits of moving to Planner + Accelerator+
- Modern user experience
No more jumping between PWA and SharePoint sites. Users get a seamless experience directly within Microsoft Teams or a browser tab. - Built-in AI support
Co-pilot can generate tasks, summarise project plans, create contingency scenarios and support reporting, without writing a single prompt. - Scalable for all levels of maturity
Small teams can use a simple view. Larger PMOs can enable advanced capabilities like OKRs, cross-project dependencies, or strategic reporting. - Improved reporting
Real-time dashboards using Power BI replace outdated Excel exports and manual data collation. Stakeholders can access the data they need, when they need it. - Future-proof architecture
With Power Platform and Dataverse at its core, Accelerator+ is designed to scale with Microsoft’s roadmap and can be easily extended or integrated with other tools.
Who is already using it?
Completed a rapid two-month deployment to replace a legacy tool before the contract expired. Accelerator+ gave them user-friendly dashboards, templates, and Power BI reporting, embedded within Microsoft Teams. Project leads reported huge improvements in ease of use and time saved.
Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS)
Replaced spreadsheets and disconnected workflows with a fully governed PPM environment. Their IT PMO now has visibility across both Agile and Waterfall projects, resource management, and financial tracking – all within one secure Microsoft 365 solution.
Previously used Project for the Web in isolation, but upgraded to Accelerator+ to enable live governance, portfolio reporting and automated visibility across their IT portfolio. The result: better strategic decision-making and a reduced administrative burden on project managers
Get started today
Wellingtone offers a free Envisioning Workshop, where their consultants will:
- Review your current environment and governance
- Map gaps between your current and desired capabilities
- Recommend a tailored roadmap for moving to Planner + Accelerator+
- Provide costing and delivery options for pilots or full rollout
It’s a chance to ask questions, explore the tools in action, and understand how the transition could work for your organisation.
You’ll also get access to the Wellingtone community, extensive training options, and regular roadmap updates that include cutting-edge AI developments and enhancements.
