Why some Microsoft apps will no longer be available from 1 September

UPDATE (4.9.2025):

Due to current events, the web interface to "MS Planner" and the "Forms" application have been reactivated today at noon. This gives all users the option of backing up data from the apps. However, this opening does not mean that the services will continue to run again without restriction and for an unlimited period of time. This decision must be made in the relevant committees after appropriate analysis and discussion. We will provide information on a final timetable via the computer centre homepage, the newsletter and the IT managers.

In the meantime, please refer to the original information below...

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"Moderate opening" means first and foremost that the university does not close itself off to new technical developments, but on the other hand endeavours to retain a certain residual digital sovereignty and - where possible - also relies on open source products.

Nevertheless, JMU offers a limited selection of services from the Microsoft365 portfolio, albeit always under the premise of maximising digital sovereignty as decided by the university's IT advisory committee and currently only in a limited form due to data protection considerations.

We are aware that the availability of any other services or add-ins in Microsoft Teams or the Microsoft Office applications that are not listed on our website cannot be centrally prevented. However, we strongly advise against their use, as data protection aspects are not regulated and the availability of the services may be limited in time. Furthermore, there is no local backup for all data stored online with Microsoft 365 services (e.g. in Teams or OneDrive).

Further information on MS365 apps and their use: https://www.rz.uni-wuerzburg.de/dienste/zusammenarbeit/microsoft-365/apps-und-dienste/

Two important points to note:

If you are currently using one of the following applications, you must back up the data in these apps by 31/08/2025:

• Microsoft Clipchamp
• Microsoft Forms
• Microsoft Loop
• Microsoft Planner
• Microsoft Stream for Office 365 E3
• Power Apps for Office 365
• Power Automate for Office 365
• Power BI (Free)
• Power Virtual Agents for Office 365
• Sway
• Whiteboard

And:

If you are considering using alternative applications (even if they are open source), approval from the university's data protection officer is still required! Please contact the officer if you wish to use the application.

Please also note the question of backing up important data with external services that do not explicitly include a backup.