From MS Project Online to Strategic Portfolio Management
2026 is forcing many organizations to rethink their project stack. The retirement of Microsoft Project Online is not the main topic, but it is the trigger: it puts a date on the need to move from “managing plans” to managing the portfolio based on business criteria. The goal is not to migrate for the sake of it, but to implement a discipline that connects strategy, capacity and financials, with fast, low-risk adoption.
What changes (and why it matters)
- Context: Project Online has a retirement date, so it makes sense to plan an orderly transition. Keeping useful habits (WBS, MPP) is fully compatible with gaining portfolio, capacity and integrated financial governance.
- Approach: lead with PMO value (decision and prioritization), not with the sunset. The move from MS Project to ITM Platform should be a functional upgrade, not a like-for-like replacement.
The pillars of a modern PMO with ITM Platform
1) Strategy → Portfolio (for real) Define objectives, evaluate initiatives and build what-if scenarios; prioritize by value and budget constraints.
2) Portfolio and program management A single view that unifies projects, services and programs; track milestones, progress and dependencies at portfolio level.
3) Actionable capacity (without parallel Excel files) Workload vs capacity by person or role, with overallocation alerts and quick adjustments so you can commit to realistic dates.
4) Tracking and earned value Performance metrics, projections and variance alerts embedded in regular reports.
5) Integrated financials Planned and actual costs and revenues, margins by project/client and revenue recognition models (PoC, milestone-based, fixed per period, rate on estimated hours or direct).
6) Hybrid work: Gantt + Kanban Plan with baselines and critical path; execute on boards with custom columns; always synchronized with the portfolio. MPP compatibility so you don’t lose the effort already invested.
7) Governance and compliance Risks, issues, status workflows and approvals; custom fields to adapt the model to your organization.
8) Operations and reliable data Usable timesheets, contextual collaboration, customizable dashboards, multi-language/multi-currency and exportable reporting.
How it improves on “just staying with Project”
- From isolated projects to portfolio economics: a conversation with executives based on value, cost and revenue/margin by client.
- Capacity as a lever for commitments: scenarios by role/person and hard evidence of overallocation in one click.
- Auditable financials without side systems: consistent recognition models.
- Configurable governance: clear rules and approvals without endless consulting.
- Frictionless hybrid: plan in Gantt, execute in Kanban, both governed from the portfolio; import MPP whenever needed.
Adoption and migration path (without redoing everything)
Migration Lite (focused scope)
- Key parameters and user onboarding.
- Project creation/import via API.
- Manual MPP upload supported by the importer.
- The complex parts (very specific calendars, deep permissions, long histories) are archived or addressed in later phases.
Repoint Power BI
- Reconnect existing dashboards to ITM Platform data so you can preserve your KPIs.
Quick deliverables
- Validation with sample projects, counts (projects/tasks/hours) and first portfolio views for management.
AI that speeds up decisions (and reinforces governance)
- Summaries and variance signals embedded in progress reports.
- PMPilot (conversational assistant) to answer operational questions and navigate portfolio data without building ad-hoc reports. AI doesn’t replace processes: it speeds them up and makes them more consistent.
30-day roadmap
- Week 1 – Preparation: objectives and criteria, basic parameters, users and roles; pilot portfolio (10–20 initiatives).
- Week 2 – Minimum data: API/MPP import, time-tracking rules, first capacity and progress metrics.
- Week 3 – Financials & reporting: costs/revenues and margins; repointing of critical dashboards.
- Week 4 – Governance & go-live: workflows and approvals, risk review, weekly closing cycle and scaling plan.
Decision checklist for your 2026 PMO
Do workflows reinforce governance without blocking delivery?
Do I have explicit prioritization criteria and a portfolio health board?
Can I see in a single view progress, milestones, capacity and margin?
Does my revenue recognition reflect real contracts (PoC, milestones, etc.)?
Are risks/issues connected to tasks, costs and deadlines?
Sign up for a 14-day ITM Platform (with PMPilot) free trial
Frequently asked questions about ITM Platform vs MS Project Online (FAQ)
Does ITM Platform cover classic planning (WBS, Gantt, dependencies, calendars) like MS Project Online? Yes. ITM Platform provides planning with Gantt, dependencies, milestones, calendars, multiple baselines and critical path. It also supports importing .MPP files and creating/updating plans via API to speed up the transition.
How does ITM Platform manage resources compared to MS Project Online? It covers task assignments and, in addition, provides capacity planning by roles and individuals at portfolio level (demand vs capacity, overallocations, “what-if” scenarios). This reduces the need for parallel spreadsheets and improves reliability of date commitments.
Are timesheets and approvals integrated like in Project Online? Yes. ITM Platform includes timesheets with approval workflows and direct connection to costs/revenues and budgets. On top of that, it adds:
- Integrated financial management for projects, programs and services
- Purchasing and vendor control linked to the budget
- Revenues and margins by client/project
- Revenue recognition (PoC, milestone-based, fixed per period, etc.)
- Multi-currency and financial consolidation at portfolio level
- Period closing to ensure consistent accounting cut-offs
Portfolio and prioritization: does ITM Platform offer the same as MS Project Online? It covers portfolio management for programs, projects, services and assets, and adds:
- Prioritization based on business criteria
- “What-if” scenarios for selection and loading
- Consolidated tracking of health (schedule, cost, capacity, value and consolidated financials at portfolio level)
Governance, risks and issues? Yes. ITM Platform provides risks/issues linked to tasks, costs and plans, configurable status workflows and approvals, and custom fields. Everything is configured from a single admin interface, so you can adapt processes and forms without depending on SharePoint. In addition, extensions let you automate processes and connect to other systems (ERP, ticketing, etc.) when you need to go beyond the standard.
Collaboration, team members and external users? ITM Platform includes:
- Chat and contextual conversations on projects, tasks and services
- A simplified team member model, easy to maintain
- Unlimited team members without complex licensing structures
- External users (customers, suppliers, partners) with controlled access to relevant information
- Customer and supplier management linked both to projects and to purchases/revenues
This makes it easier to collaborate with the whole project ecosystem without leaving the platform.
Reporting and Power BI: can I keep my existing dashboards? Yes. In most cases, a simple repoint of Power BI to ITM Platform APIs/data is enough. There are starter templates and a unified data model (portfolio, capacity, time, financials, risks) that reduces ad-hoc ETL and simplifies dashboard maintenance.
Agile/Kanban and hybrid projects (waterfall + agile)? Yes. ITM Platform combines Gantt for planning with Kanban (configurable states, optional sprints) for day-to-day execution, all synchronized with the portfolio. This supports agile project management, continuous services and hybrid models.
How do I migrate my .MPP files and my projects in Project Online? ITM Platform supports MPP import (best-effort), creation via API and a Migration Lite approach: key parameters, users, representative projects/services and critical reporting first; complex elements (very fine-grained calendars, long histories) are tackled in phases.
Does ITM Platform replicate 100% of every detail of Project Online and its SharePoint workflows? It does not aim for a 1:1 replica of the whole ecosystem. In practice, it covers the key functional areas (planning, portfolio, resources, time, reporting, financials) and replaces workflows with native workflows that are simpler and easier to maintain. Extensions and APIs cover the cases that previously depended on SharePoint development or ad-hoc integrations.
Are permissions and security at enterprise level? Yes. Granular roles and permissions, optional SSO, and access control by organization/portfolio/project. Multi-tenant SaaS model with data isolation, audit trail for relevant changes and restricted-access options for external users.
What does ITM Platform add “on top of” what MS Project Online did?
Among other things:
- Resource capacity at portfolio level with scenarios and visible overallocations
- Integrated financials: purchases, revenues, margins, revenue recognition, multi-currency, consolidation and period closing
- Configurable governance and processes without depending on SharePoint
- True hybrid: Gantt + Kanban on a single platform, for projects and services
- Integrated collaboration: contextual chat, customers/suppliers, external users and unlimited team members
- Unified data for BI (less ETL), APIs and report templates
- Applied AI (summaries, variance signals) and the PMPilot assistant to navigate data in natural language
- Extensions to automate and integrate without breaking the standard
Will we still be able to use the Project desktop client? Yes, if you need it for local edits. MPP import/export makes it easy to coexist and gradually move towards an operation centered on portfolio and services.
How do I move my Project Online OData reports? These are usually handled with a Power BI repoint to ITM Platform APIs, mapping equivalent measures and adding new ones (capacity, margins, risks, portfolio financials).
What adoption timelines are realistic? With a focused scope, it is common to get portfolio visibility within weeks: parameters, users, 10–20 representative projects/services, repoint of 2–3 critical dashboards and a basic review cycle. From there, you progressively add advanced financials, services, assets, processes and extensions.