Plan ahead when a software platform approaches end of support

What this means for your practice

Track supplier support dates early enough to consider an upgrade or replacement. Confirm which product and version the practice actually uses before planning the next step.

How to review the arrangement

Ask the maintainer which services would be affected and what planning steps take time. Move the decision date forward in a fictional exercise: which procurement, migration or testing work no longer fits? Record an owner and next decision rather than waiting until an urgent change leaves few practical options.

Put the decision date before the supplier's support deadline

Ask the maintainer to verify the support date against the actual product and version in use. Then work backwards from that date to the decisions, procurement, migration and testing the practice may need. Record constraints such as connected services or contractual arrangements that affect the available options. The end date alone does not tell you how much preparation time the organisation requires.

Compare an upgrade and a replacement where those are genuine options, with the supplier explaining their practical implications and remaining questions. Give the plan a business owner who can coordinate budget and service decisions. Include a fictional delay in the planning exercise to identify which later stages would be compressed. Keep unresolved dependencies visible before the deadline becomes urgent. The aim is an informed choice with time to verify the new arrangement, rather than a hurried purchase based only on a technical warning whose effect nobody translated into a workable plan.

How to check the result

Track unsupported or approaching-end-of-support components without an approved plan.