Macrium Site Manager 8 End of Life – What you need to know
Macrium Site Manager has helped thousands of organisations centrally manage backup and recovery across their environments.
In December 2024 we released Macrium SiteBackup, built on the SiteManager platform, and we are transitioning customers to a more flexible and powerful way to protect their systems.
Macrium Site Manager 8 will reach End of Life (EOL) on 22 January 2026. After this date, it will no longer be supported. This article explains what that means and how to move to Macrium SiteBackup based on your current licence type.
Please note that Reflect 8 will also reach EOL on 22 January 2026. Please check out this blog for your options to upgrade any standalone licenses.
What EOL means
Until 22 January 2026, Macrium Site Manager 8.1 will continue to receive:
- Customer support (for customers with active Support & Maintenance or an Annual Plan)
- Critical bug fixes
- Security patches
After 22 January 2026, Macrium Site Manager will be an unsupported product:
- No further security patches or bug fixes
- No compatibility testing for new operating systems or hardware
- No technical support from Macrium
If you have a perpetual Site Manager licence, the software will continue to run after EOL. However, use after EOL carries increasing security, operational, and compliance risk, especially in connected or regulated environments.
We strongly recommend planning your move to Macrium SiteBackup to ensure ongoing protection, performance, and support.
Why move to SiteBackup
Macrium SiteBackup enables backup, restore, and monitoring of multiple networked computers running the Macrium SiteBackup Agent, all managed through the familiar Site Manager platform.
SiteBackup introduces a range of improvements designed to enhance your backup and recovery operations, including:
- Up to 2× faster performance for increased efficiency
- PXE Rescue Media for swift and flexible system recovery
- File filtering for more control over which data is backed up
- Write failure retrying for greater resilience and reliability
- Improved SiteBackup licensing for smoother scaling and management
Licensing: from MALs to SiteBackup Seats
Previously, centralised backups were licensed using Macrium Agent Licences (MALs) and standalone licences. With SiteBackup, you now purchase SiteBackup Seats, which offer:
- More flexible, per-seat licensing
- Easier scaling as your environment grows
- Simpler management across your fleet
We continue to support both one-time purchase options (for organisations that need long-term stability) and 1,3 and 5-year Annual Plans (for those who prefer predictable, ongoing access to the latest capabilities).
Your Upgrade Options
Your options depend on the type of Site Manager licence you hold for Site Manager 8.
1. You have an Active Annual Plan
If you are on an Active Annual Plan for Site Manager (which already includes support):
- Your licences are automatically compatible with Macrium SiteBackup.
- The licence type (Annual) remains the same.
- After upgrading, your licences will appear as SiteBackup Seats rather than MALs.
- In most cases, you do not need to enter a new licence key; you simply need to upgrade.
What this means in practice:
- Ensure you are running the latest version of Site Manager by upgrading in-product to the version that includes the SiteBackup upgrade wizard.
- Your existing Annual Plan licences will be automatically recognised as SiteBackup Seats.
- You should continue to renew your Annual Plan as normal to retain access to updates, security patches, and support.
2. You have a perpetual Site Manager (MAL) licence with Support & Maintenance
If you have a perpetual Site Manager MAL licence with active Support & Maintenance (S&M):
- You can upgrade to SiteBackup at no additional cost and your licences will be converted into one-time purchase SiteBackup seats that behave like perpetual licences.
- You will receive a new licence key (or keys) for SiteBackup.
What this means in practice:
- Your new SiteBackup one-time purchase licences continue to receive feature updates, bug fixes, and security patches for as long as your Support & Maintenance remains active.
- You should continue to renew Support & Maintenance to remain in support and receive future updates.
3. You have an out-of-support perpetual Site Manager licence
If your perpetual Site Manager licence is out of support (no active S&M):
- You can continue using Site Manager 8, but it is out of support and will be fully unsupported after 22 January 2026.
- You will not receive new features, fixes, or security patches.
To return to a supported, modern solution, you will need to purchase an Annual Plan to move into SiteBackup and back into support. Out-of-support perpetual customers are eligible for a discount on 1, 3 and 5-year SiteBackup Annual Plans.
4. You use your standalone licenses with Site Manager 8?
Macrium Reflect Standalone licenses can no longer be added directly to the SiteBackup central console. As a result, depending on how you are using the license today (installed as standalone on a computer, or already in Site Manager 8 as the equivalent of a MAL) your upgrade path differs.
Check out the KB article on how to proceed or reach out to Customer Support.
How to upgrade
Regardless of licence type, the upgrade process starts in the Site Manager Console and is straightforward.
For detailed guidance on upgrading your specific license type, visit our knowledge base or contact customer support.
Frequently asked questions
Can I continue with my current support and maintenance?
Yes. Customers can renew existing support and maintenance contracts until the product reaches end of life, then switch to the latest version for free (annual plan or perpetual license). Support, maintenance, and upgrades continue as long as the support and maintenance contract does not lapse.
What happens if I don’t have active support and maintenance?
You can continue to use your current version of Macrium Site Manager and will continue to receive security updates and bug fixes until the end of life for this version. You will not be entitled to receive any new features or any free upgrade to the latest version of Macrium SiteBackup.
The option to buy back into support and maintenance after lapsing is only available until 22nd January 2026 by contacting Customers Success. For clarity, existing support and maintenance plans are grandfathered for current customers so that they can continue uninterrupted.
Any customer with perpetual MAL or standalone licenses will receive a discount on 1, 3 and 5 year plans. Contact your local representative for more information.
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