Microsoft announces Extended Security Update programs for Exchange and Skype for Business
Support has ended, or is coming to an end, for a lot of Microsoft products at the moment. Perhaps the most notable or well-publicized is Windows 10, but this is far from being the end of the story.
In a move designed to push people towards Teams, killing off Skype and Skype for Business made a lot of sense. The same is true of the aging Exchange 2016 and 2019 losing support. But while this makes sense for Microsoft, it is also incredibly disruptive and expensive for businesses that rely on these tools – hence two newly announced Extended Security Update programs.
Aware that people will almost certainly continue to use unsupported versions of Skype for Business and Exchange after the deadline of October this year, Microsoft still needs to consider security. The security implications of running unsupported software can be colossal, particularly for businesses, and this fuels the need for Extended Security Update programs.
Users of Skype for Business need to act fast. There are only a couple of weeks to enrol in the program that will ensure an extra half-a-year of security updates.
Microsoft explains:
With both Skype for Business 2015 and 2019 going out of support in October 2025, we have heard from some of our customers that they have started their migrations to Skype for Business Subscription Edition (SE), but might need a few extra months of Security Update (SU) coverage for their Skype for Business 2015/2019 servers while they are finalizing their migrations.
We are announcing that we now have a solution for such customers. Starting on August 1st, 2025, customers can contact their Microsoft account team to get information about and purchase an additional 6-month Extended Security Update (ESU) for their Skype for Business 2015/2019 servers. Your account teams will have information related to per server cost and additional details on how to purchase and receive ESUs, starting August 1st, 2025.
There is an identical announcement for Exchange 2016 and 2019, with the same deadline and offer of six month extension.
Microsoft is not especially keen for people to take advantage of the ESU program – the company would much rather they moved on to supported products. But as there is a charge associated with continuing to get updates until April 2026, Microsoft could stand to profit from customers who, for whatever reason, are unable to complete their migrations in time.
There are several things to keep in mind, as Microsoft says in relation to both the Skype for Business and Exchange ESU programs:
- This ESU is not an “extension of the support lifecycle” (Microsoft Lifecycle Policy | Microsoft Learn) for Skype for Business 2015/2019 [or Exchange 2016 / 2019]. Those servers still go out-of-support on October 14, 2025, and you will not be able to open support cases for them (unless directly related to an issue with a SU released to ESU customers during the ESU period).
- This ESU is a way for customers who might not be able to finalize their migrations to Skype for Business SE [or Exchange SE] before October 14, 2025, to receive Critical and Important updates (as currently defined by Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) scoring) as SUs that we might release after October 2025. If there are SUs that we need to release, we will privately provide such SUs to ESU customers. Skype for Business 2015/2019 [and Exchange 2016 / 2019] SUs will not be released on public Download Center or Windows Update after October 2025.
- We are not committing to actually releasing any SUs during the ESU period. Skype for Business Server [and Exchange 2016 / 2019] does not often release Security Updates on Patch Tuesday (2nd Tuesday of the month) as SUs are released only if there are Critical or Important security product changes. Therefore, if there are no SUs that we need to release during the time of ESU, there will be no such updates provided. We will, however, confirm with ESU participants each Patch Tuesday whether an SU was provided or not.
- This ESU will be valid for 6 months only (through April 14, 2026). This period will not be extended past April 2026 (you do not need to ask).
How valuable do these programs seem to you?
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