Microsoft announced that the end-of-support date for Exchange Server 2010 continues to be moved from January 14, 2020 (within 24 hours when Windows 7 is projected to go dark) to October 13, 2020.

Windows 7 won't be getting any extension for its end-of-support date, so no updates would be shipped after January 14, 2020.

The reason for the extension, Microsoft says, is that many customers are unlikely to reach the deadline and upgrade their systems before January. Consequently, the company wants to give these people more time to move to a newer platform before killing off security updates.

"Our resolve for meeting the evolving needs of our customers is as strong as ever, and that we recognize discontinuing support for a product that has been as popular and reliable as Exchange Server 2010 is definitely an adjustment," Greg Taylor, Director of Product Marketing - Exchange Server/Online, says.

"We also know that a number of you are in the midst of upgrades to some newer form of Exchange Server on-premises, or more transformative migrations to the cloud with Office 365 and Exchange Online. With this thought, we are extending end of support to October 13th 2020 to give Exchange Server 2010 customers more time to complete their migrations. This extension also aligns with the end of support for Office 2010 and SharePoint Server 2010."

Recommended alternatives

Once the new end-of-support date is reached, Microsoft would no longer release bug fixes and security patches for Exchange Server 2010. Technical support would be terminated as well.

Microsoft obviously recommends people to result in the change to Exchange On the internet and Office 365.

"If you migrate fully to Office 365 you actually don't need to worry about 'big bang' version upgrades anymore. You just have to have a smaller number of on-premises servers up to date, and you're good," Taylor explains.

Exchange Server 2013, 2016, and 2019 are the on-premises alternative to Exchange Server 2010.