Still Running MIM? Why 2029 Is Closer Than You Think
Microsoft Identity Manager ends 9 January 2029 – start your transition now
If Microsoft Identity Manager (MIM) is still synchronising identities, provisioning accounts, or managing smartcards in your environment in 2026, a decision can no longer be postponed. And because every MIM environment is different, the right answer for your organisation will not be the same as for anyone else.
Microsoft has extended support for MIM 2016 until 9 January 2029. That extension is a gift, not a reason to wait. From today, there are roughly 33 months left – and identity migrations of any real complexity typically take between 12 and 36 months.
2029 is not the only deadline
January 2029 attracts most of the attention, but the platform MIM depends on is evolving more quickly than that single date suggests.
The list of supported platforms has already changed. To remain supported between now and 2029, a MIM environment must run on:
- Windows Server 2022 (Windows Server 2025 once SP3 is released)
- SQL Server 2022
- SharePoint Server Subscription Edition
- The latest MIM hotfix – 4.7.6.0, released on 22 April 2026
At the same time, several related components are already being phased out:
- Microsoft Entra MFA Server stopped servicing requests on 30 September 2024
- The Azure AD Connector for FIM is deprecated – the Microsoft Graph Connector is now the supported alternative
- MIM Hybrid Reporting cloud endpoints were retired in November 2025 – Azure Monitor replaces them
If your MIM setup still relies on any of these, at least one important deadline has already passed.
The destination exists. The path is not single‑track.
Microsoft’s strategic investment is clearly in Microsoft Entra ID Governance: Lifecycle Workflows, Access Packages, Access Reviews, and Privileged Identity Management. For many MIM scenarios, this is the natural destination.
However, “many” does not mean “all”. Some MIM capabilities still lack straightforward cloud equivalents:
- Certificate management for smartcards and software certificates – still largely on‑premises
- Bastion‑forest PAM with shadow principals and time‑bound Kerberos tickets
- Heavily customised connectors to legacy HR systems, ERP platforms, or bespoke directories
- Synchronisation rules containing years of accumulated business logic
In these cases, the right approach is rarely a simple lift to the cloud. More often, it is hybrid – Entra ID Governance where it fits, a modernised and supported MIM platform where it does not, and a controlled retirement of each component as cloud‑native alternatives mature.
Every MIM replacement journey is unique
After two decades of FIM and MIM work across the Nordics, I have yet to encounter two identical environments. The number of variables is simply too high:
- How many connectors are in use, and how customised are they?
- Is HR or ERP the system of record – and is it on‑premises or SaaS?
- Is PAM in scope, or only synchronisation and self‑service password reset?
- Smartcards in regulated environments – retain, replace, or modernise?
- Cloud strategy – Azure‑first, multi‑cloud, or sovereignty‑driven?
- Delivery capability – strong internal teams or partner‑led execution?
Migration plans that ignore these factors tend to fail in the worst possible way: late, in production, and after significant sunk cost. What is right for one organisation can be entirely wrong for another.
Half a day to get the right plan
This is why we created the Half‑Day MIM Transition Workshop. It is intentionally light in calendar impact, but concrete in outcome.
Together with your IT, identity, and security stakeholders, we assess:
- Current state – how MIM is actually used today, including all dependencies
- Future readiness – cloud strategy, regulatory requirements, and master data
- Solution options – Entra ID Governance, hybrid approaches, and third‑party components where appropriate
- Next steps and roadmap – actions for this quarter, this year, and before 2029
You leave with a fact‑based decision, a tailored transition path, and a roadmap that your engineering and security teams can realistically execute.
No templates. No vendor pitch disguised as advice. Your environment, your constraints, your plan.
Book your Half‑Day MIM Transition Workshop
If you are running MIM in 2026, the question is no longer whether to transition. It is whether you do it on your own timeline or the platform’s. Leave with a 2029 plan that fits your environment – not someone else’s.
Robin Westgaard leads Innofactor’s IAM practice. He has delivered FIM and MIM implementations across the Nordics since 2010 and now helps organizations plan and execute their transition to Microsoft Entra ID Governance..
