Microsoft Planner Consulting Services for Modern Project and Task Management
As a Microsoft Solutions Partner for AI Business Solutions, Optimum helps organizations plan, manage, and modernize their work in Microsoft Planner, including teams migrating off Project Online.
One Home for Your Team's Tasks, Timelines, and Projects
Microsoft Planner is the unified work management hub for Microsoft 365, bringing together task management, project planning, portfolio visibility, and Copilot-powered AI in a single experience. From simple Kanban boards to enterprise project portfolios, Planner and Planner Premium help teams manage work at every level.
Many organizations struggle because work, projects, and reporting live in different tools, or because they’re preparing for the retirement of Microsoft Project Online on September 30, 2026. Planner provides a modern path forward.
As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, Optimum helps organizations configure Planner and Planner Premium around their real-world processes, governance requirements, and reporting needs. For Project Online customers, we also provide migration services that preserve critical data and accelerate adoption.
Our Comprehensive Microsoft Planner Consulting Services
Project Online to Planner Migration Assessment
We start by mapping what’s actually in your Project Online environment: active Project Web App sites, custom fields, resource pools, reporting dependencies, and any SharePoint workflows tied to approvals or stage gates. From there, we identify what has to move immediately, what can be rebuilt more simply once it’s in Planner, and what a realistic timeline looks like given the September 30, 2026 retirement deadline.
For organizations with complex reporting or governance built up over years, this assessment is usually where we catch the details a quick self-migration would miss.
Planner and Planner Premium Setup and Configuration
We configure Planner around how your team actually plans work, from basic Grid and Board views for straightforward task tracking to Planner Premium’s Timeline and People views for teams that need dependencies, baselines, and milestones. If you’re not sure whether you need Premium, that’s part of the conversation.
Many organizations already hold a Planner and Project Plan 3 or Plan 5 license through their existing Microsoft 365 agreement, so the capability may already be available before any new spend is required.
Portfolio, Timeline, and Dependency Configuration
For teams managing multiple related projects, we set up Planner’s Portfolio feature alongside baselines, milestones, and task dependencies so leadership can see project health across a program without chasing down individual plan owners. This is the piece of Planner Premium that most directly picks up where Project Online’s portfolio views left off.
Data and Plan Migration
We handle the technical work of moving your existing plans, schedules, and historical data out of legacy tools and into Planner. This isn’t always a simple import. Planner doesn’t currently support directly importing .mpp files from Project desktop, and Project Online’s Roadmap feature doesn’t carry over automatically, since it has to be rebuilt as a Planner Portfolio. We manage those gaps directly so your team isn’t stuck rebuilding history by hand.
Governance and Permissions Setup
Every Planner plan sits on top of a Microsoft 365 Group, which has its own implications for access, sharing, and compliance. We configure plan-level permissions, tenant-wide Planner settings, and group structures that match how your organization actually needs to control access, so the right people see the right projects without unnecessary friction or an unmanaged sprawl of groups.
Microsoft 365 and Teams Integration
Planner works best when it’s connected to where your team already collaborates. We integrate Planner plans as tabs inside relevant Teams channels, connect tasks to Outlook and To Do, and align Planner with your existing SharePoint sites, so project updates show up where people are already working instead of requiring a separate check-in.
Copilot and AI-Powered Planning Enablement
We help teams put Copilot to work inside Planner for tasks like drafting a new plan from a project brief, summarizing status across tasks, and highlighting risks or blockers within a portfolio. Microsoft has also begun rolling out early AI agent capabilities for project and portfolio management as part of its broader direction for Planner. We’ll help you understand what’s genuinely usable today versus what’s still maturing, so you’re not building a process around a feature that isn’t fully there yet.
Custom Reporting with Power BI
For organizations that need reporting beyond what’s built into Planner natively, we connect your Planner data, through Microsoft Graph, to Power BI for dashboards tailored to how your leadership actually reviews project performance, rather than relying only on Planner’s built-in charts and views.
Adoption, Training, and Change Management
A new tool only helps if people use it. We build role-based training and a phased rollout plan, often starting with a small group of champions before a wider launch, so adoption doesn’t stall once the initial configuration work is done.
Ongoing Optimization and Managed Support
Microsoft updates Planner frequently, and your governance, reporting, and configuration needs will keep evolving as your portfolio grows. We provide ongoing support to keep your Planner setup aligned with how your organization actually operates, including periodic reviews as Microsoft adds or changes capability.
Moving Off Project Online? We'll Get You There
Microsoft Project Online retires on September 30, 2026, making now the time to plan your next step.
Whether you’re preparing for the transition or modernizing an existing project management environment, Optimum helps organizations migrate to Microsoft Planner and Planner Premium with confidence. From assessment and data migration to governance and adoption, we ensure your teams are set up for long-term success.
Benefits of Our Microsoft Planner Services
Included in Your Existing License
Many organizations already hold a Planner and Project Plan 3 or Plan 5 license today, which means Planner Premium may not require new spend to unlock.
Native Microsoft 365 Integration
Planner lives inside the Microsoft 365 tools your team already uses daily, so project work doesn’t require a separate login or a separate habit.
AI-Powered Planning with Copilot
Copilot inside Planner helps with plan creation, status summaries, and portfolio-level insight, cutting down on manual reporting work.
Right-Sized Implementation
We configure Planner around your actual complexity, not the most expensive tier available, so you’re not managing capability you’ll never use.
Faster Time to Value
An assessment-first approach means less rework later. We build the right configuration the first time instead of reconfiguring after adoption stalls.
One Partner Across Your Microsoft Stack
Optimum’s expertise spans Power Platform, Azure, Microsoft Fabric, and Copilot, so your Planner implementation connects to the rest of your Microsoft investment.
Running a Larger, Project-Based Business?
Microsoft Planner and Planner Premium are excellent for managing projects, tasks, and portfolios. But if projects are your product, you may need more than project management alone.
For consulting, professional services, engineering, and other project-driven organizations, Dynamics 365 Project Operations adds quoting, resource management, time and expense tracking, project accounting, and billing to the same platform. Optimum can help you evaluate whether Microsoft Planner, Dynamics 365 Project Operations, or a combination of both is the right fit for your operational, financial, and reporting needs.
Why Choose Optimum for Microsoft Planner Consulting
As a Microsoft Solutions Partner for AI Business Solutions, Optimum brings certified expertise to Planner implementations and migrations, but the credential isn’t the reason clients stay with us. It’s the assessment-first approach: we look at how your team actually works before we configure anything, and we’re honest when a different platform, including one outside the Microsoft ecosystem, fits your needs better.
That honesty comes from experience across more than one platform. Optimum is also a Smartsheet Elite Solution Partner and a ClickUp partner, which means our Planner recommendations aren’t the only tool we know how to sell. For organizations migrating off Project Online, that cross-platform view matters: we help you land on the right platform for your team, not just the closest available replacement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Microsoft Planner?
Microsoft Planner is Microsoft’s unified work and project management app inside Microsoft 365. It combines simple task tracking, team collaboration boards, and, with Planner Premium, portfolio management features like baselines, dependencies, and Gantt style timeline views, along with Copilot AI capabilities built in.
Is Microsoft Planner a replacement for Project Online?
For many organizations, yes. Microsoft’s own guidance points Project Online customers toward Planner with Premium features as the recommended path forward. It’s not a full feature-for-feature match. Some capabilities, like certain roadmap and reporting configurations, work differently in Planner than they did in Project Online, so it’s worth assessing your specific setup before assuming a like-for-like move.
What happens to my Project Online data when it retires?
Microsoft has stated that Project Online and the data stored within it will no longer be accessible after the September 30, 2026 retirement date. Organizations still on Project Online should plan to export or migrate their data before that date rather than after it.
What's the difference between Planner and Planner Premium?
Planner’s base experience covers boards, task assignment, and simple ordering of work. Planner Premium, included in Planner and Project Plan 3 and Plan 5 licenses, adds portfolios, baselines, dependencies, custom fields, and Gantt or timeline views for teams managing more complex projects.
Does Planner support Gantt charts and task dependencies?
Yes, through Planner Premium. The base Planner experience is board focused with simple task ordering, while Planner Premium adds full dependency tracking and timeline or Gantt style views for scheduling work across weeks and months.
How does Microsoft Planner work with Copilot?
Copilot is built into the Planner experience and can help draft plans, summarize project status, and surface risks or blockers across a portfolio, reducing the manual reporting work project managers typically do by hand.
What's the difference between Planner and Dynamics 365 Project Operations?
Planner is built for managing projects as an internal function, tasks, timelines, and team collaboration. Dynamics 365 Project Operations is built for organizations that run on projects as their business model, connecting sales quoting, resource scheduling, time and expense tracking, and billing into one platform. Larger, project-based businesses, particularly professional services and consulting firms, are the typical fit for Project Operations rather than Planner alone.
How does Optimum help with a Project Online to Planner migration?
We start with an assessment of your current Project Online environment, including active portfolios, custom fields, and reporting needs, then build a migration plan that protects your data and gets your team running in Planner with minimal disruption, including cases where the full migration extends past the September 30, 2026 retirement date.
Let’s connect!
Reach out to our experts to discover the perfect software solution for your unique business challenges. Schedule your complimentary consultation and get all your questions answered!
Call us at (713) 505 0300 or fill out our form, and we’ll contact you within one business day.
