IBM i Software Roadmap & Support Cycle

For many years, IBM had a practice of delivering a major IBM i software release approximately
every two years. Feedback from IBM i clients, however, was that upgrading to new software
releases required extensive testing, and in some cases certification to adhere to local compliance
regulations. In response, IBM has extended the period between major releases, providing regular
IBM i Technology Refreshes (TR) that enable new capabilities without requiring a release
upgrade. IBM has also increased the support life cycle for major releases. IBM i 7.1 was made
available in April 2010.

IBM’s software support and life cycle strategy reflects the fact that most companies using IBM i

run their most critical business applications on the platform. This strategy includes the practice

of supporting an IBM i release until the next two releases have been made available, plus at least

twenty four months – which translates to approximately six years of support. Automated

operating system upgrades are available to easily move up to the next two releases providing for

an ongoing supported IBM i environment. For example, customers running IBM i 5.4 or 6.1 can

easily upgrade to IBM i 7.1.