The end of
the Microsoft Support Lifecycle will now coincide with the release
of Microsoft’s monthly security bulletin release cycle instead of
preceding it.
Microsoft says
that the reason for the switch is to simplify its product-support
lifecycle to provide increased predictability for its customers.
Hitherto, support for products traditionally has ended at the end
of a calendar quarter before the second Tuesday of the following
month, when Microsoft issues security updates. Microsoft says that
some customers have not been able to take advantage of potential
fixes for products for which support has just ended.
Effective
immediately, Microsoft is now matching the date the product-support
lifecycle ends with the regular, monthly security update release
cycle. "We changed the end of support dates to map to the monthly
security update release cycle so our customers can take advantage
of the latest security updates," says Ines Vargas, group manager
for Microsoft Support Lifecycle Program. "By eliminating that
10-to-15-day gap, we’re making sure that our dates make sense to
our customers – that they’re even more consistent and
predictable."
The first product
to be affected by the change was Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5
whose users were from 10 January able to take advantage of a new
security update to address vulnerability in the server.