If you are an existing Sitecore customer, you may have recently received the news that mainstream support for Sitecore 8 and 8.1 will no longer be available…. well, that is correct but this doesn’t mean that Sitecore 8 customers globally need to panic and push the upgrade button (yet)!
As with all software products, Sitecore has a life-span and as the development team strive to innovate, push the technology boundaries and release new versions, older releases will inevitably become unsupported which means that mainstream support for and 8.2 and 8.1 will come to an end on the 31st December this year (2018). Furthermore, support for 8.2 will end a year later (31st Dec 2019).
For those still using 8.0 and 8.1, you will no longer have access to mainstream support with Sitecore, this includes security fixes, bugs with the software, assistance with unexpected behaviour during installation or development and compatibility fixes.
For anyone using 7.5 and older, support has already ended and you should definitely be considering an upgrade to your Sitecore solution.
This does NOT mean your website will stop working after the end of support but if you have any issues with the platform as outlined above it will not be covered in your normal annual maintenance fee. You can choose to buy support from the Sitecore services team and/or via your Sitecore Partner should you need it. Equally, if you have purchased extended support then you have a further 3 years for some parts of the standard support.
Not only does upgrading to the latest version of Sitecore guarantee your continued support it also gives you access to a range of new product features and functionality that have since been released with the introduction of the Sitecore Experience Cloud including Marketing Automation and Machine Learning Tool, Cortex.
If you are wanting to upgrade, talk to us about the numerous possibilities. We have a range of fixed-price audits and services to help you make well-informed decisions.
Discover the Latest Version of Sitecore
Whether the time is not right for change in your business or you are considering an upgrade to your Sitecore solution, Sagittarius has a range of support packages that give 24/7 cover meaning you can rest easy that your website is performing at its best all year round.
We’ve put together the following helpful FAQs which might answer some of your questions around this topic:
Q. Will my Sitecore 8 or 8.1 site stop working?
A. No. Your Sitecore platform should continue to function normally after the 31st December 2018.
Q. If I have Standard Sitecore Support and want to remain on a non-mainstream version of Sitecore, do I still pay the same maintenance costs?
A. Yes. For Standard Support customers, the maintenance program itself provides access to software updates. Standard Support is provided as an addition that is free of charge, assuming the customer maintains their deployment on a supported version.
Q. If I’m running an older version of Sitecore and I want extended support after the mainstream support ends, what can I do?
A. Nothing (from Sitecore directly). Anyone that has a valid maintenance plan is automatically entitled to the level of support that corresponds to their product version. As a partner, Sagittarius can assist though.
Q. I would like to prolong the end date of mainstream or extended support for my Sitecore product, how can I do this?
A. This is not possible. Sitecore only provides extended support for production issues and upgrade scenarios and not for developing new functionality. In a few limited cases, Sitecore was able to extend support expiration dates for specific customers. However, given the wide impact on the company, such an extension requires sign-off from Product Support, Product Management, and Product Engineering teams.
If you would like to talk to Sagittarius about your existing Sitecore solution, an upgrade or to discuss a new project, we would love to hear from you, please call 01233 467800 or email hello@sagittarius.agency!
This blog was originally posted by Sagittarius on 6th December 2018.