Updated: July 9, 2020 (November 5, 2012)
Charts & IllustrationsProduct Life-Cycle Phases and Options
Support for most business and development software is retired in a series of phases. During a support phase, Microsoft is not obligated to offer security patches or any other forms of support, but the life-cycle guidelines set pricing and availability for any support it does offer.
After the Mainstream and Extended phases, Microsoft commonly offers customers of business and developer products the option of entering into a Custom support contract that provides support for legacy products during a product migration.
Microsoft-hosted online services such as Office 365 and Windows Intune follow a different set of support policies and are not eligible for Mainstream or Extended support. Microsoft supports these subscription services while a customer’s subscription is active. Some Microsoft software products (such as the Forefront Protection antimalware products) depend on online services, and the company treats them like online services for support purposes.
| Life-Cycle Phases and Options |
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