Summary

  • Microsoft delays the enterprise rollout of new Outlook from April 2026 to March 2027.
  • The pushback gives businesses 12 months' lead time to prepare and for Microsoft to address feedback.
  • Admins can still choose old or new Outlook, but Microsoft likely wants the new client to make a strong first impression.

A little while ago, Microsoft began rolling out a brand new Outlook client. It arrived for consumers first, and Microsoft got to work on making the client work for enterprise users, too. Originally, Microsoft wanted to get all its enterprise users moved over to the new Outlook in April 2026; however, in a recent message, the company has confirmed that it has pushed back the deadline to March 2027, citing the need for businesses to prepare for the change and for Microsoft itself to work on feedback.

👁 A closeup image of Microsoft Outlook's window on a laptop display.
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By  Tom Li

The new Outlook client for enterprise gets pushed back to 2027

Microsoft wants to ensure it gets this one just right

As spotted by TechRadar, the Redmond giant sent out a message to the Microsoft 365 Message Center explaining what's going on. The company originally wanted to swap enterprise users over to the new Outlook next month, but has instead decided to push it back to March 2027 instead.

While that sounds like quite the setback, Microsoft cites two reasons for the delay. It wants businesses to better prepare for the change, and it wants to iron out some feedback:

We’re seeing strong and accelerating adoption of new Outlook as organizations progress on timelines that match their readiness. At the same time, we continue to invest heavily in expanding capabilities and addressing feedback from customers who want to go further with new Outlook. To ensure organizations have the time they need to prepare—and to fully realize the value of ongoing innovation—we’re extending the opt-out timeline and providing 12 months of lead time as we continue delivering key features and improvements.

Once the new Outlook client arrives in the enterprise channels, companies and users will still have control over if they use the old or new client. However, it seems that Microsoft wants to give the new Outlook client a chance to make a good first impression; otherwise, businesses will scramble to use the old Outlook client and will likely take a long time to come around to the new one.