Windows Service Pack Roadmap Shows Gaps

A new Windows Service Pack Roadmap posted by Microsoft provides information on the approximate availability date and contents of the next Windows service packs. The roadmap could prove valuable to corporate customers, who rely on service packs to deliver tested fixes for bugs and security vulnerabilities, and give them a standard support baseline for their computers. However, the roadmap implies the next Windows XP service is not due for some time, and releases beyond that have not been set. As a result, customers need maintenance plans for Windows that don’t rely solely on service packs.

The latest version of the Windows Service Pack Roadmap was posted to Microsoft’s Web site in Aug. 2003 and will continue to be updated quarterly. In addition to providing information on the current service pack and approximate availability and contents of the next service pack, the roadmap also gives customers information about the preceding service pack. It does so because as part of the Windows Product Life Cycle, older service packs are supported for one year after the delivery of the current service pack. (For a summary, see the chart “Windows Service Pack Roadmap Summary“.)