Date First Published: 22nd March 2024
Topic: Computer System
Subtopic: Computer Software
Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions
Difficulty: MediumDifficulty Level: 4/10
Learn about what end of life is in this article.
End of life (EOL) is used in IT to describe products that are no longer maintained or supported by the software developer or hardware manufacturer. It symbolises the decline stage of the product lifecycle. Marking products as EOL allows hardware manufacturers to discontinue support for old products and focus on newer products. It also allows software developers to focus more on future versions of their programs rather than supporting versions released several years ago.
Examples of EOL products include:
When a hardware device reaches EOL status, support is discontinued by the manufacturer. This means that no official support or hardware repairs are provided by the manufacturer, but it may still be possible to receive support from a third-party service centre.
The length of time that hardware products reach EOL status depends on the manufacturer and how often they are updated. Frequently updated products, such as smartphones and laptops may be discontinued more quickly than other products, such as desktop computers. Hardware manufacturers have been accused of discontinuing hardware products much early than necessary to encourage users to purchase a newer product.
Software, such as operating systems and computer programs can be marked as EOL. When it is marked as EOL, it will still function, but it is no longer supported by the developer. This means that it will not receive any updates for bug fixes or new features, and the software may be incompatible with new hardware devices. The operating system may also be incompatible with new apps and software as more developers continue to optimise for more modern operating systems.
Developers often support the most recent versions of an operating system and mark older versions as EOL. For example, Microsoft continues to support versions of Windows for 10 years after they are released. Microsoft ended support for Windows 7 on 14th January 2020, which was released in late 2009. This means that Windows 7 is still usable, but security updates, feature updates, and technical assistance are no longer provided.
Since official support and updates will be discontinued by the software developer or hardware manufacturer, it will no longer receive any updates for bugs discovered by other users, which can leave computers more vulnerable to security risks, such as viruses. Eventually, almost all products reach a point where they are no longer supported, which means that individuals and organisations may need to migrate to a newer software program, operating system, or hardware device.
Migrating can be time-consuming and result in a period of disruption when moving to a new hardware device or operating system. To help deal with the challenges of EOL products, businesses write detailed EOL support policies that help other users understand what happens after a product reaches the end of life, which can provide advice on the best ways to migrate data to avoid loss and minimise disruption.
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