Important | End of Support for SCCM 2007 & FEP 2010

The end of support for SCCM 2007 has been announced. Microsoft will end support for SCCM 2007 and Forefront Endpoint Protection on July 9, 2019. After this date, there will be no new security updates, non-security updates, assisted support options, or online technical content updates. To all the Configuration Manager admins, it’s important to know what you must do next.

In addition to Configuration Manager 2007, Microsoft plans to discontinue definition, engine, and platform updates for FEP 2010 once the end of support is reached. Microsoft, in their latest blog post, announced the end of support for SCCM 2007.

Configuration Manager current branch makes deploying and managing Windows easier than ever before with new improvements including the support of the latest Windows 11 features, Windows in-place upgrade, more frequent and easier updates, unified end-user portal, and on-premises mobile device management (MDM).

End of Support for SCCM 2007

Every Microsoft product has its own life cycle, during which the product is actively developed and supported. The below screenshot shows the Configuration Manager timeline starting with SMS version 1.0 up to version 1902. SCCM 2007, first introduced in 2007, is reaching the end of its support. Microsoft announced the end of support date (mainstream) for SCCM 2007 R3 as July 8, 2014.

If you are still maintaining these platforms, Microsoft recommends that you consider moving to the latest version of Configuration Manager current branch.

SCCM 2007 end of support — Configuration Manager Timeline. Copyright Microsoft

My organization is still using SCCM 2007

If your organization is still running SCCM 2007, then this article is vital for you. If your organization is on the current branch already, you don’t have to worry about the end of support for SCCM 2007.

So let’s say your organization has SCCM 2007 running. When you read “end of support for SCCM 2007“, it doesn’t mean that your SCCM 2007 stops working when it reaches that date. However, you need to know what exactly happens after the product reaches its end of support.

As per Microsoft, although SCCM 2007 will continue to function after July 2019. The below conditions will apply to the software.

No Microsoft support will be available: This means you cannot contact MS support in case you encounter any issues with the product.
No security updates or fixes will be available: There shall be no more updates and fixes to the product. If there are any issues, you might need to deal to them on your own.

Should I Migrate SCCM 2007 to the Current Branch?

If you have the same question about migrating from SCCM 2007 to the current branch, you are right! Most people temporarily plan to upgrade from SCCM 2007 to 2012 R2. While that is not a good option, you should plan to migrate to the current branch instead. Most of all, there is no in-place upgrade from Configuration Manager 2007 to Configuration Manager (current branch). Refer to this article for migrating older versions of Configuration Manager to the current branch.

You should also note that Windows 7 and Office 2010 both reach the end of their support lifecycle in 2020. Hence, I strongly suggest migrating the current product (2007/2012 R2) to the current branch. This is because, with the current branch, it has become effortless to deploy and manage Windows 10 and Windows 11. With SCCM’s current branch and Windows 10, you can perform Windows in-place upgrades easily.

Check out some useful deployment guides that you can use with Configuration Manager current branch.

FEP 2010 End of Support

Yes, along with SCCM 2007, Microsoft will end the support for FEP 2010. If you remember, Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010 was integrated with Configuration Manager 2007 when it was released. Once the end of support is reached, you won’t get the definition, engine, and platform updates for FEP 2010.

If you are dealing with FEP 2010, the best option is to migrate to the current version of System Center Endpoint Protection (SCEP) or Windows Defender.