Microsoft SMTP AUTH Deprecation in 2026: What You Need to Know

5 minute read time · Updated March 25, 2026

Microsoft SMTP AUTH/ Basic Authentication Deprecation

If your MIDAS booking system is currently configured to send emails via Microsoft’s SMTP servers, it’s time to take action.

Microsoft has announced that it will be retiring support for SMTP AUTH (also known as “Basic Authentication” for SMTP) in 2026. Once this change takes effect, any application which is configured to use Microsoft SMTP endpoints for outgoing mail will no longer be able to send emails.

For MIDAS, if you’re using Microsoft’s SMTP servers, this means that booking confirmations, reminder emails, and other automated notifications sent from MIDAS would silently fail – potentially disrupting your organization’s scheduling and communications.

Here’s what you need to know, and what steps to take before the deadline.

What Is SMTP AUTH and Basic Authentication?

SMTP AUTH is a method that allows applications to authenticate with a mail server using a username and password in order to send outgoing email. It has been widely used for decades.

Why is Microsoft removing Basic Authentication and SMTP AUTH?

It’s worth noting that Microsoft’s decision to retire SMTP AUTH is driven by their own platform strategy around modern authentication – it doesn’t mean that sending email via SMTP is inherently insecure. Under the hood, SMTP works the same way it always has, and the username/password authentication used by SMTP hasn’t fundamentally changed. What Microsoft is retiring is the ability to authenticate to their mail servers this way, as they push users towards OAuth-based access within their ecosystem. MIDAS does not currently support OAuth, but this is not a concern — there are plenty of reliable, independent SMTP providers that continue to support standard SMTP authentication without any issues.

Are You Affected?

You may be affected if your MIDAS booking system’s outgoing email settings are currently configured to use any of the following SMTP servers:

smtp-mail.outlook.com — used by personal Outlook.com/Hotmail accounts
smtp.live.com — an older endpoint also associated with Outlook.com/Hotmail/Live accounts
smtp-legacy.office365.com — a temporary fallback endpoint for Microsoft customers that stilled relied on SMTP AUTH after the initial Basic Auth deprecation push.
smtp.office365.com — An Exchange Online endpoint used by Microsoft 365 services.
outlook.office365.com — another Exchange Online endpoint sometimes used in place of smtp.office365.com

You can check your current email sending settings via MIDAS Admin Options > Email.

The good news is that the fix is straightforward, and we’ve made it as easy as possible for MIDAS customers.

For Cloud-Hosted MIDAS Customers

If you’re on our cloud-hosted platform, we have the simplest possible solution for you: switch to MIDAS’s built-in Zero-Configuration Email Delivery.

This option requires no SMTP credentials, no third-party accounts, and no technical configuration on your part. MIDAS handles email delivery on your behalf, so you don’t need to worry about SMTP servers at all. You can find full details on how to enable this feature in our dedicated guide:

👉 Zero-Configuration Email Delivery for MIDAS

We strongly recommend all cloud-hosted customers make this switch at their earliest convenience – and certainly before Microsoft’s 2026 deadline.

For Self-Hosted MIDAS Customers

If you run MIDAS on your own server or hosting environment, you’ll need to update your outgoing mail settings to use an alternative SMTP provider. Fortunately, there are several excellent options available, many of which offer generous free tiers that would suit most MIDAS installations.

We recommend the following providers:

SMTP2GO

SMTP2GO is a reliable, cloud-based email delivery service with a free tier that allows up to 1,000 emails per month. It’s straightforward to set up and works seamlessly with MIDAS’s outgoing mail settings. Simply create a free account, verify your sending domain, and update your MIDAS SMTP settings with the credentials provided.

Mailgun

Mailgun is another popular transactional email service offering a free tier for low-volume sending. It provides robust deliverability, detailed sending logs, and is well-suited for automated system emails like those generated by MIDAS. After signing up and verifying your domain, update your MIDAS SMTP configuration with your Mailgun credentials.

To update your SMTP settings in MIDAS, navigate to MIDAS Admin Options > Email and enter the new SMTP server details provided by your chosen transactional email delivery service.

Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late

According to Microsoft, their revised SMTP AUTH Basic Authentication Deprecation Timeline is as follows:

Now to December 2026: SMTP AUTH Basic Authentication behavior remains unchanged.
End of December 2026: SMTP AUTH Basic Authentication will be disabled by default for existing tenants. Administrators will still be able to enable it if needed.
New tenants created after December 2026: SMTP AUTH Basic Authentication will be unavailable by default. OAuth will be the supported authentication method.
Second half of 2027: Microsoft will announce the final removal date for SMTP AUTH Basic Authentication.

While Microsoft’s deadline is the end of December 2026, we recommend customers make this change sooner rather than later.

Email is a critical part of how MIDAS keeps your staff and visitors informed – from booking confirmations to reminders and notifications. A disruption to outgoing mail can go unnoticed until someone realizes they never received a confirmation, which can cause real-world scheduling problems.

Taking a few minutes now to update your settings will ensure uninterrupted email delivery well into the future. If you have any questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact our support team – we’re happy to help.

Tags: email, microsoft, smtp

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MIDAS at 20: Celebrating Two Decades of Room Booking Innovation

6 minute read time · Updated March 11, 2026

March 2026 marks 20 years since the very first public release of MIDAS. We first unveiled Version 1.00 of our room booking and resource scheduling software to the world on 11th March 2006.

Where it all began

Work actually began on MIDAS a few months earlier. In December 2005, Mark Harrington, the creator of MIDAS, was working in a brand new Performing Arts College – the first of its kind in Greater Manchester, UK.

This new school for students aged 11-16 boasted impressive state-of-the-art facilities. These included sports facilities, dance studio, 300-seat community theatre, outdoor stage, recording studios and rehearsal space.

All these spaces were available for internal use during the school day and for hire by external clients and community groups in the evenings, weekends, and school holidays.

Soon after the new school opened, the school appointed a Community Facilities Manager, Miriam. Her role was to oversee bookings and the smooth operation of the exciting new facilities. Demand from the local community was immediately high.

It soon became obvious that the software the school had been using for handling their room bookings was not up to scratch. It was simply not meeting the increasing demands on the busy new facilities.

The (now defunct) software named “VenueBooker”, was slow, cumbersome, buggy, and not very user-friendly.

After much discussion, frustration, and plenty of “wouldn’t it be great if we had a system that could…?” conversations, they soon realized that no existing alternatives did everything they wanted from an ideal room scheduling system.

The Problem That Sparked an Idea

Mark had a strong programming background. He was confident he could build something that covered everything a Community Facilities Manager would need — facilities, clients, and bookings.

So Mark sat down with Miriam and the two of them brainstormed how she wanted the software to ideally function.

Dozens of sheets of paper later, covered with all kinds of scribbled notes, arrows, and flow charts, Mark had something to go away and work on!

A few days later, Mark had a working prototype: MIDAS v0.01.

Mark named the software “MIDAS”, although to this day he has never confirmed whether that’s an acronym that stands for “Mark’s Infrastructure Daily Allocation System“, or “Miriam’s Infrastructure Daily Allocation System“(!)

Over the Christmas holidays of 2005, Mark worked diligently to develop and improve MIDAS, ready to deploy it at the school in the new year.

He even spent New Year’s Eve sitting in front of his computer at the stroke of midnight, coding away!

Within the first few weeks of 2006, MIDAS went “live” at the school for the first time. It transformed the way staff and external clients booked rooms.

Now for the first time, staff could check room availability themselves using just their web browser. The booking process was simpler, more efficient, and streamlined. Bookings increased substantially, revenue rose accordingly, and double-bookings were finally a thing of the past.

Going Public

Mark quickly realised MIDAS could help other schools and organisations facing the same challenges. Just a few months after the first internal prototype, he publicly released MIDAS v1.00 on 11th March 2006.

What began as a solution for one school has since grown into a trusted booking system that organisations across the world rely on.

Fast forward to 2026

For twenty years, MIDAS has evolved alongside changing technologies, shifting user expectations, and an increasingly competitive software landscape.

In that time, we’ve helped thousands of users in dozens of countries manage millions of bookings.

Our resource scheduling software remains in active development and we remain true to our original ethos of helping organizations of all shapes and sizes better manage their facilities and resource bookings.

Through browser revolutions, mobile adoption, cloud computing, and changing security standards, MIDAS has continuously adapted without losing its core mission.

New feature-rich updates are released at least three times a year, and many loyal customers stay with us for years.

Celebrating our 20th Anniversary

To coincide with our 20th anniversary, today we’re releasing the latest update to our MIDAS software, v4.42. Read about the new features in MIDAS v4.42.

Also to mark the 20th anniversary of our MIDAS room booking software, for a limited time – until 31st March 2026 – new customers get 20% off with Promo Code MIDAS20.

The Future

We’re tremendously proud to have been here for the past 20 years.

In that time, hundreds of competitors have appeared, many of whom were short-lived and have since vanished. MIDAS has stood the test of time.

To all our customers, whether you’ve been with us for the past 20 years, or just the past month – we appreciate you choosing MIDAS and sincerely thank you for your support! – You’ve committed to us, and we in turn continue to be fully committed to you.

New to MIDAS?

If you’ve never come across MIDAS before today (where have you been for the last twenty years?!) we appreciate that there’s a vast array of options out there today when it comes to choosing a room booking system.

Maybe you’re currently considering a change and are evaluating a number of different scheduling software solutions.

Whether you’re looking for a cloud booking or self-hosted booking system, a subscription or a perpetual license – we’ve got the facility management software for you!

When evaluating potential booking solutions, make sure you take into account 3 key factors:

How long a product has been established?
How frequently are updates released?
How responsive and reliable is customer support?

With MIDAS, you get a solid product from a trusted booking software provider with a proven track record. You get a stable system that’s in active development with unrivalled support to back it up!

Did you know that we even offer a no-obligation free 30-day trial today? Get yours today and experience the reliability that has defined MIDAS for two decades.

Twenty years ago, MIDAS began as a solution to a single school’s challenge. Today, it stands as a proven, stable, and continually evolving room booking solution trusted by organizations worldwide.

If you’re searching for a system built not just for today, but for the long term, now is the perfect time to experience MIDAS for yourself.

Don’t forget – use code MIDAS20 at checkout for 20% off your first purchase or subscription. Offer ends 31st March 2026.^*

* Promotional Code valid until 31st March 2026 and is valid for initial MIDAS purchases or subscriptions only. We reserve the right to withdraw this offer at any time.

Tags: birthday, discount

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Why We’ve Switched from OpenAI to Claude

5 minute read time · Updated March 5, 2026

Over the past week, a significant and fast-moving controversy has unfolded in the AI industry – one that has caused us, along with many others, to take a hard look at which AI companies we choose to support and partner with.

We’ve decided to switch. From today, MIDAS is moving away from OpenAI and over to Claude, the AI assistant developed by Anthropic.

Here’s why.

What Happened

If you haven’t been following the news, here’s a quick summary. The US Department of Defense had been using Anthropic’s Claude AI on its classified networks – the first AI to be deployed in that context. As the contract came up for renegotiation, the Pentagon demanded that Anthropic remove two key restrictions from the agreement: a prohibition on using Claude to power fully autonomous weapons systems, and a prohibition on using it for mass domestic surveillance of American citizens.

Anthropic refused. Their CEO, Dario Amodei, was unequivocal: current AI models are simply not reliable enough to be trusted with lethal autonomous targeting decisions, and mass surveillance of citizens is incompatible with democratic values. The company had tried for months to reach a workable agreement, but the Pentagon’s position was that it required the ability to use AI for “all lawful purposes” without restriction – a standard that, as legal experts have noted, is far broader than it sounds.

The fallout was swift. President Trump ordered every federal agency to immediately cease using Anthropic’s technology. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Anthropic would be designated a national security supply chain risk. Hours later, OpenAI – having apparently been in talks throughout – announced it had struck a deal with the Pentagon to fill the gap.

Many of OpenAI’s own employees were furious. A number of them, along with other prominent tech figures, signed an open letter opposing the government’s retaliation against Anthropic. Sam Altman himself had written in an internal memo just days earlier that OpenAI shared Anthropic’s “red lines” – before going on to sign a deal that critics said those red lines were far less robustly protected.

The contrast in the two companies’ behaviour was stark and, for us, clarifying.

Why This Matters to Us

We’re a small UK software company. We make room booking software. We’re not in the defence industry, and the intricacies of US military contracting aren’t something we’d normally have strong opinions about.

But this issue isn’t really about US military contracts. It’s about what kind of company you’re doing business with – what they stand for, and what they’re willing to sacrifice to stay in favour with those in power.

Anthropic chose to walk away from a government contract worth up to $200 million rather than remove safeguards they believed were ethically essential. OpenAI, in the same week its CEO had privately affirmed those same values to his own staff, made the opposite choice.

We think that matters. The companies whose technology we choose to use reflect, in a small way, on us. And we’d rather reflect the values of a company that held its ground.

What We’ve Changed

We used OpenAI’s models primarily in two places within our products and workflows:

Miriam, our virtual assistant. When no live support agents are available, visitors to our website can get help from Miriam, our AI-powered chatbot. Miriam was previously powered by OpenAI. She’s now powered by Claude.

Code optimisation. As we written about previously, we’ve been using AI assistance to help our human developers optimise MIDAS source code – identifying opportunities to make our software run faster and more efficiently. We’ve switched that workflow from ChatGPT to Claude as well.

In both cases, the transition has been smooth. Claude is a highly capable model, and we’re pleased with the results so far.

We’re Not Alone

Claude surged to number one on the Apple App Store in the days following the controversy. Thousands of individuals and organisations made the same decision we did – not because Anthropic asked them to, but because the situation made the choice feel important.

It’s worth noting that this isn’t simply about picking a “winner” in a commercial rivalry. We genuinely hope the situation with Anthropic and the US government is resolved fairly and without further retaliation. Anthropic has, by all accounts, been one of the most thoughtful voices in AI development when it comes to safety and responsible deployment. The idea of that voice being sidelined – or punished for speaking up – should concern anyone who cares about where this technology is heading.

A Note on AI in MIDAS

As we’ve said before, AI is not taking over the development of MIDAS. Our software is, and will remain, built and maintained by our human team. But AI tools have become a genuinely useful part of how we work – and it matters to us that we use them thoughtfully, including being selective about whose tools we use and why.

If you have any questions about these changes, or about how AI is used in our products, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Tags: AI, Anthropic, artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, Claude, OpenAI

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User Interface Improvements in MIDAS v4.42

2 minute read time · Updated March 3, 2026

MIDAS v4.42 introduces a range of user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) improvements designed to make our booking software even faster, clearer, and easier to use. In this post, we’ll highlight some of the UI and UX improvements introduced in MIDAS v4.42.

If you follow our blog, you’ll already know about some of the new and improved features in v4.42. One example is the expansion of administrative permissions.

Administrative Area Improvements

The old “Manage MIDAS” screen has been split into separate sections, each now controlled by its own dedicated permission and accompanied by a unique icon.

Redesigned administrative area icons in MIDAS v4.42

Changes have also been made within each administrative area. We’ve moved the previous “Save Changes” button from underneath the settings to being fixed in the top-right corner. This eliminates the need to scroll through lengthy settings pages to save changes.

We’ve also refined the way changes are saved within administrative screens.

Improved Save and Change Indicators

The addition of a new “Unsaved Changes” indicator alongside the new save button draws user’s attention to changes they’ve made to settings which have yet to be saved.

Unsaved Changes indicator in MIDAS administrative settings

In addition to the UI and UX improvements in the administrative area, we’ve also improved the “Quick Tour” in MIDAS v4.42.

Enhanced Quick Tour Experience

The “Quick Tour” is shown to new users by default upon their initial sign in. It provides a brief overview of the user interface and controls.

We have replaced outdated third-party code previously used to generate dynamic tooltips. In its place we’ve written new code for generating these tooltips. This has allowed us to make improvements, one of which is better highlighting of elements in the “Quick Tour”.

These updates reflect our ongoing commitment to making MIDAS both powerful and easy to use. By continually refining the interface and enhancing usability, we help administrators and end users work more efficiently every day.

If you’re new to MIDAS, start your free trial today and experience the improvements firsthand.

Tags: UI, user interface, v4.42

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