ReACT Lifetime Support Policy…………..

In common with most software solutions Electronic Business Systems (EBS) has a Lifetime
Support Policy for its products and a number of ReACT customers have requested guidance on what “end of life” provision they should be making.

The EBS policy provides consistent transparency and the ability to forecast support for the ReACT software product portfolio. This policy applies to all EBS developed software solutions and comprises 6 years of support consisting of 5 years mainstream and 1 years extended support.

Mainstream Support

When a new release of ReACT is approved it is available on the EBS product portfolio. At this point mainstream support commences consisting of the following and subject to a paid support contract being in place:

Case support logging  where an issue raised with EBS is progressed through the incident support workflow as documented in the standard  EBS support level agreement (SLA)
Security Updates
Bug fix updates
The ability to raise Requests for Enhancement (Request to change).
Contact with EBS by telephone, email and web. (For issue investigation this also includes access to a remote connection tool).

Extended Support

Once a ReACT version reaches its 5th year mainstream support comes to an end and extended support is activated. Extended support comprises:

Security Updates
Pay as you go (PAYG) support is available for bug fixes only.

Please note that EBS is unable to accept requests for warranty support when a product is in a period of extended support.

What does this mean for ReACT users?

As ReACT approaches its final twelve months of mainstream support, and subject to a support contract being in place, the account manager will contact the customer to explain the options available relating to upgrading and/or migrating and the limitations that will be in place for EBS to provide the level of support users are accustomed to.

Effectively the end of mainstream support for the product should prompt users to take action.

EBS releases a road-plan for each product annually. This road-plan, available from the account manager, clearly highlights each product and version of each product and its mainstream and extended support period after which no new security updates, non-security bug fixes, free or paid assisted support is available.

With end of life support in mind, it is important to keep ReACT software up to date, not just for technical reasons, but also because ReACT is updated regularly to provide the latest functionality and recognised best working practice.

For more information about existing ReACT versions in use or to enquire about software upgrades please email Paul Johns at  paulj@e-b-s.co.uk or telephone 0121 384 2513.

Mike Blomer MBE
ReACT Consultant