Microsoft Is Cleaning House in 2026 — Here's What It Means For Your Business

Microsoft has a busy retirement schedule this year and some of it will affect small businesses directly. Here's what's actually worth paying attention to.

The one from this week

Microsoft is retiring the standalone Access Database Compare utility (DATABASECOMPARE.EXE) in June 2026. Customers have until June 20th to use it before it's removed entirely. Honestly, most small businesses won't notice this one — but if you use Microsoft Access as a database tool, now's a good time to review what you actually depend on.

The bigger ones coming later this year

Microsoft Publisher is being retired in October 2026 — it will no longer be part of Microsoft 365, and users won't be able to open or edit Publisher files after that. If anyone on your team still uses Publisher for newsletters, flyers, or business cards, start moving those files to Word or Canva now — not in September when you're scrambling.

Also worth knowing: Office 2021 is being discontinued on October 13th, 2026. If you bought a one-time Office license rather than a Microsoft 365 subscription, your software won't get security updates after that date. It'll still work, but it becomes a risk.

And prices are going up

Microsoft 365 plans are seeing price increases effective July 1, 2026 — ranging from approximately 5% to 33% depending on the plan. If you're on a Microsoft 365 subscription, expect your renewal to cost more in the second half of this year.

What to do

Nothing urgent for most of you right now — but if you're still on Office 2021 perpetual licenses or using Publisher regularly, let's talk before the fall crunch hits. A 30-minute conversation now is easier than an emergency migration in October.

— Kevin