Have you ever started an upgrade to your network only to find out that your licenses are too old? Has your IT maintenance contract ever lapsed, then when you try to add equipment back onto a contract, you learn that the manufacturer no longer supports the product? Are you left banging your head against your desk wondering why you weren’t aware of this before now, and now that it's too late?
When performing an IT upgrade, there's a variety of circumstances where you could find yourself left with an unsupported environment. That's why it's important to familiarize yourself with the correct terminology to ensure that you never lose coverage.
Understand the Product Lifecycle
Products go through a lifecycle which includes introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. The first two stages focus on bringing the product to market and growing market share. In the maturity phase, sales growth tends to slow down and stabilize. During the decline phase, the product will eventually reach the end of its lifecycle.
There are many reasons that a product may reach end-of-life. Some examples include a change in market demands, new innovations in technology, or a product that matures and becomes obsolete. It’s critical to keep up with manufacturer notices regarding products that are nearing end-of-life. This will also keep you abreast of new upgrade options once these products are replaced.
The Difference Between End-of-Life and End-of-Sale
Within the decline stage of the product lifecycle, it’s important to know the difference between End-of-Life (EOL) and End-of-Sale (EOS).
End-of-Life
End-of-life (EoL) indicates that a product is at the end of its useful life (from the vendor's point of view), and a vendor stops marketing, selling, or sustaining it. The vendor may simply intend to limit or stop support for the product.
End-of-Sale
The End-of-Sale (EoS) date is the last day to order the product through the vendor’s point-of-sale mechanisms. After this date, the product is no longer for sale. For a period of time after the EoS date is announced, a vendor may provide continued support for hardware and software issues.
IT Maintenance Tips
Renew your contracts. It is important to make sure that your core equipment and licensing is renewed every year. This will prevent you from experiencing a lapse in coverage and will also allow you to extend your contract through the Last Date of Support (LDoS) if need be.
Routinely assess your environment and explore new offerings. ConvergeOne can review your IT environment to identify which areas are covered and which ones to consider upgrading.
Explore a Smarter Path
Learn more about C1CX, our fully managed cloud offering that makes it simple for you to move any legacy UC or CC system, from any platform, to the cloud where you'll no longer have to worry about planning and budgeting for lengthy upgrade cycles. Schedule a C1CX Cloud Workshop with ConvergeOne and let's build you a roadmap to the cloud that’s customized to your unique business goals and objectives.
Topics: Maintenance Services
