End of Support for Skype for Business Server 2015 and Skype for Business Server 2019: T-12 Months

On October 14, 2025, one year from today, Skype for Business Server 2015, Skype for Business Server 2019, Skype for Business 2016 (client) and Skype for Business 2019 (Client) support has ended.

After October 14, 2025, Microsoft will no longer provide technical support for issues you may encounter with these products, including:

• Technical support for problems that may arise.
• Bug fixes for issues that have been discovered and may impact the stability and usability of the server.
• Security fixes for any vulnerabilities discovered that may make the server vulnerable to security breaches; and
• Time zone update.

Customer installations of Skype for Business Server 2015 and Skype for Business Server 2019, as well as clients running Skype for Business 2016 and Skype for Business 2019, will continue to run beyond October 14, 2025. However, as the end-of-support date approaches and future security risks may arise, we strongly encourage customers to take action now.

Our recommendations are for our customers to Migrate to Microsoft Teams Or get ready Upgrade your organization to Skype for Business Server Subscription Edition (SE) It is scheduled to be released in the first half of CY2025.

Migrate to Microsoft Teams

We strongly believe that you get the best value and user experience by: Migrate from Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams. Migrating to Microsoft Teams is the best and simplest option to help you break your Skype for Business Server deployment. By migrating to Microsoft Teams, you can take your on-premises deployment one step further and benefit from new features and technologies, including advanced generative AI technologies that are available in the cloud but not on-premises.

If you’re migrating to Microsoft 365, you can use the Microsoft FastTrack service. FastTrack shares best practices and provides tools and resources to make your migration to Microsoft 365 as smooth as possible. Best of all, you’ll get support engineers to help you plan and design your last mailbox migration. For more information about FastTrack, see: Microsoft Fast Track.

Prepare to upgrade to Skype for Business Server SE

Earlier this year we Skype for Business Server Roadmapand details about upgrading to Skype for Business Server SE if you want to continue running Skype for Business Server on-premises.

If you’re running Skype for Business Server 2019, we recommend keeping your server up to date and upgrading directly to Skype for Business Server SE if possible.

If you are running Skype for Business Server 2015, we recommend performing a legacy upgrade to Skype for Business Server 2019 now and then performing an in-place upgrade to Skype for Business Server SE if possible. You have the option to upgrade from Skype for Business Server 2015 to Skype for Business Server SE and skip Skype for Business Server 2019 entirely. However, with less than four months left between the release of Skype for Business Server SE and the end of support for Skype for Business Server 2015 and Skype for Business Server 2019, there may not be enough time depending on the size of your deployment and other factors. primary factor. That’s why we recommend upgrading to Skype for Business Server 2019 now, and performing an in-place upgrade to Skype for Business Server SE when available.

Skype for Business Technology Adoption Program

If your organization is currently running Skype for Business Server 2019 and would like to test and evaluate pre-release builds of Skype for Business Server 2019 CU8 or later, you can apply to subscribe to Skype for Business Server SE. Skype for Business Technology Adoption Program (TAP).

There are many benefits to joining TAP, including providing input and feedback on future updates, developing a closer relationship with the Skype for Business engineering team, and receiving pre-release information about Skype for Business. TAP members can also receive support from Microsoft for TAP-related issues at no additional cost.

All nominations are reviewed and vetted before acceptance. No customer will have access to any pre-release downloads or information until all legal paperwork has been properly executed. Nomination does not imply acceptance, as not all candidates are selected for TAP. If you have received preliminary approval, you will be contacted to begin the necessary paperwork.

Related Microsoft products reaching end of support on October 14, 2025

In addition to the Skype for Business products above, we also offer several other products, some of which are often used in conjunction with Skype for Business. Support ends or retirement on October 14, 2025include Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019, Microsoft Office 2016, Microsoft Office 2019, Outlook for 2016, Outlook for 2019And more.

you can Retrieve product and service life cycle information To get more information about Microsoft products and services

Additional notice

For more information about other end-of-support announcements, see the following blog posts:

— Skype for Business Server Engineering Team