End-of-Life (EOL) Products
End-of-life (EOL) is a term for a product that will not receive continued support, security updates or online content as indicated by the manufacturer. For businesses, this means that any EOL hardware and software can present a security risk and steps should be taken to isolate, upgrade or migrate.
As a managed IT services provider, we connect and monitor our client’s IT environment with a purpose-designed tool that indicates EOL dates so our team can proactively manage these products. For businesses who manage their own IT, we recommend going to the manufacturer’s website and looking for their EOL product list. For example, Microsoft releases lists that are viewable by year or you can enter your product into their search bar to check it against their database. Most notable for 2020 is the EOL for Windows 7 on 14 January 2020, which no longer receives security updates by Microsoft.
Microsoft Products Ending Support in 2020
Search Microsoft Product and Services Lifecycle Information
It’s important to keep in mind that a product reaching it’s EOL doesn’t necessarily need a replacement and may just require an upgrade to the latest version. However, in some cases, a business may rely on a specific piece of hardware or operating system due to integrations that needs specialised EOL management.
If you have any questions about EOL products or need advice on how to manage them, talk to our team on 1300 248 748 or email
sa***@bi*******.au
.
For more on cyber security, visit our cyber security page or read our article.