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| lastupdated | 2026-06-02 | ||
| keywords | lifecycle policy, lifecycle, end of service, end of marketing, version, terms of service, deprecation | ||
| subcollection | overview |
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{: #cloud-lifecycle-policy}
IBM Cloud® makes it easy for you to access and take advantage of the latest capabilities within services across the platform, whether that’s the latest operating system, Kubernetes version, database engine or other service features. It might take time to migrate or upgrade workloads to the latest versions in some cases, so we provide lifecycle guidelines to help you plan. IBM Cloud is committed to communicating the lifecycle and guidelines for version support throughout the life of a service. It's important that, as a service user, you understand the lifecycle as it is a series of stages that can help you meet availability and compliance requirements.
{: #policy-statement}
IBM Cloud has a commitment to provide up to twelve months advance notice regarding changes to the availability of a service or its features. This provides you with time to plan for any service updates or migrations that you might need to perform as a result of the change. The lifecycle policy provides guidelines for all IBM Cloud portfolio products, including compute, storage, software, bandwidth, and so on, that are slated for end of marketing (EOM) or end of support (EOS). EOS refers generally to the discontinuation or withdrawal of a feature or service, including versions of software (such as an operating system or database), where applicable.
Where there are dependencies on third parties for support, such as commercial software vendors or open source communities, notifications and length of time to EOS will depend on the timing of notification that is provided by the third party to IBM Cloud. IBM Cloud will not offer third-party software or services that have reached end of life, not supported by the third party, or both. For example, if an open source community announces an EOS date that is less than 12 months in the future, IBM Cloud will align EOS to that date. Other circumstances, such as legal, compliance changes, or both, might also shorten the 12 months notice period. For full information, including how IBM provides notifications of the changes, see the IBM Terms Service Description document{: external}.
{: #deprecation-notification-milestone}
IBM Cloud provides general service lifecycle and notification dates for an IBM Cloud product offering:
- General availability: The effective date that a product becomes available to users and when the version and release are published.
- End of support announcement: The date IBM Cloud announces the end of support for a product currently offered. The announcement is normally issued 12 months before the planned EOS effective date, though this time might be reduced, as previously described.
- End of marketing: The effective date that the product ceases to be active on the standard price list and can no longer be ordered or purchased. The service remains up and running for existing clients but no new instances can be created.
- End of service reminder: Reminder notification that EOS is coming in 30 days. This reminder is sent out through IBM Cloud notifications and by email.
- End of support effective date: The last date IBM Cloud delivers standard support, imaging, or reload services for a version or release of a product.
{: #os-version-details}
Individual services might have other policy information on the lifecycle of their service. Ensure that you review the documentation for each individual service for other details. If a service doesn't document additional policy information, the service follows the policy that is outlined in the IBM Terms Service Description document{: external}.
{: #communications-lp}
IBM Cloud is committed to providing announcements for upcoming changes that affect IBM Cloud platform and services. To stay updated on lifecycle changes and service updates, you can use any of the following tools:
- If you're looking for IBM Cloud status, platform announcements, security bulletins, or maintenance notifications, see IBM Cloud status.
- If you're looking for information about end of support, see the End of support announcements.