Policy

This policy is designed to work alongside the existing WhatsUp Gold Life Cycle page, which remains the primary technical reference for product release status. That page continues to serve as the single source of truth for release lifecycle states (Active, Deprecated, and Retired), version‑specific timelines from General Availability through retirement, the official list of End‑of‑Sale (EoS) offerings and their suggested replacements, and support eligibility criteria based on each release's current lifecycle stage.

This companion policy extends that technical reference by addressing the areas most relevant to planning and decision‑making. Specifically, it defines what Progress expects from customers in response to published lifecycle changes, establishes recommended migration planning timelines tied to EoS dates, explains how license transitions work when offerings are discontinued, and provides commercial clarity around renewals, exceptions, and enforcement. Together, the two pages form a complete framework: the Life Cycle page tells you where each product and offering stands; this policy tells you what to do about it and when.

For complete lifecycle details and version-specific dates, refer to the WhatsUp Gold Life Cycle page. The following summary is provided for convenience so that the policy sections below can be read in context.

Active. A release in the Active state is the current generally-available version of WhatsUp Gold. Customers running an Active release are eligible to receive cumulative updates, bug fixes, and security patches. Support and maintenance renewals are available for Active releases when the customer holds a qualifying license.

Deprecated. When a release enters the Deprecated state, Progress will no longer deliver new feature enhancements for that version. Customers still receive critical security fixes on a case-by-case basis, but the Deprecated designation is an explicit signal that migration planning should begin. Customers should treat a Deprecated status as the starting gun for evaluating and scheduling their move to a supported release.

Retired. A Retired release has reached the end of its support lifecycle. Progress does not issue updates, cumulative patches, or individual hotfixes for Retired releases. Security vulnerabilities discovered in Retired versions may be disclosed but will not be remediated through a product update. Customers running a Retired release are strongly encouraged to migrate to the current Active version as soon as operationally possible.

End-of-Sale (EoS) Offerings. Certain WhatsUp Gold editions, add-ons, and license types are periodically discontinued as the product's packaging evolves. Once an offering reaches its published EoS date, it is no longer available for new purchase, cannot be renewed at the next support and maintenance anniversary, and is replaced by one or more current offerings as identified on the Life Cycle page. Customers holding an EoS offering should transition to the designated replacement well in advance of their next renewal date.

Progress publishes lifecycle and End‑of‑Sale information specifically to give customers the time they need to plan. In return, customers are expected to treat those published dates as firm planning milestones and to take ownership of their migration readiness.

What Progress expects from customers

• Monitor published timelines. The Life Cycle page is updated whenever a release changes state or a new EoS date is announced. Customers should review it periodically and subscribe to WhatsUp Gold release communications.
• Engage early. As soon as a Deprecated or EoS designation is published, customers should contact Progress Sales, their account manager, or an authorized partner to discuss migration options. Early engagement provides the widest range of commercial and technical choices.
• Plan and execute before deadlines. Migrations should be scoped, tested, and completed before the applicable EoS or retirement date. Progress provides recommended timelines in the Migration Planning Timelines section of this policy to assist with planning.
• Allocate appropriate resources. License transitions and deployment changes may require internal IT resources, budget approvals, and testing cycles. Customers should factor these requirements into their project timelines well in advance.

What customers should not expect

• Automatic renewals after EoS. Once an offering has passed its End‑of‑Sale date, it cannot be renewed at the next support and maintenance anniversary. There is no automatic conversion or grace period.
• Last‑minute exceptions. Requests for policy exceptions submitted after an EoS date has passed; particularly those citing insufficient preparation time—do not constitute grounds for renewal or extended support. The published timeline is considered sufficient notice.
• Extended support based on tenure. Long‑standing customer relationships and historical usage patterns do not extend published lifecycle timelines. All customers are subject to the same published dates and deadlines.

The table below translates published lifecycle dates into a recommended customer action plan. These timelines are designed to give organizations of all sizes adequate runway for evaluation, procurement, testing, and deployment. Customers who follow this schedule will have the smoothest transition experience and the most options available to them.

WhatsUp Gold's licensing and packaging model evolves over time as the product adds capabilities, consolidates editions, and aligns with industry trends such as subscription‑based licensing. These changes are a normal part of product strategy, and customers should expect that the specific offering they purchased today may eventually be replaced by a differently structured offering in the future.

Key principles governing license transitions

When an offering reaches its End‑of‑Sale date, it is permanently removed from the price list and cannot be renewed at any subsequent support and maintenance anniversary. Customers holding a discontinued offering are expected to transition to one of the replacement offerings identified on the Life Cycle page. This may include moving from a perpetual license to a subscription model, consolidating multiple add‑on licenses into a higher‑tier edition, or adopting a differently sized device‑count license.

What customers should understand about replacement offerings

The replacement offerings listed on the Life Cycle page represent the officially supported transition paths. Progress does not guarantee that a replacement offering will be functionally identical to the discontinued one, nor that it will carry the same commercial terms (pricing, discount structure, or contract duration). Replacement offerings reflect the current product strategy and are priced accordingly. Customers who have questions about commercial terms should engage their Progress account representative or authorized partner as early as possible in the planning process.

Commercial concessions, extended renewal windows, or one‑time exceptions to accommodate late migrations are not part of standard policy. Customers are encouraged to use the planning timelines in the Migration Planning Timelines section of this policy to ensure they complete transitions before any disruption to their support coverage.

Many WhatsUp Gold customers work with authorized Progress partners for procurement, deployment, and ongoing management. These partners play a critical role in lifecycle transitions as well, and Progress strongly encourages customers to leverage their partner relationships during migration planning.

Authorized partners can provide hands‑on assistance with migration assessments to evaluate the scope and complexity of moving to a replacement offering, architecture changes that may be required when consolidating editions or changing license tiers, and license alignment to ensure the new offering correctly maps to the customer's monitored environment and operational requirements.

Engaging a partner early in the lifecycle; ideally 12 or more months before an EoS date—yields the best outcomes. Early engagement reduces the risk of delays in the renewal process, minimizes the likelihood of escalations driven by time pressure, and helps avoid gaps in support coverage that can occur when a migration extends past the current maintenance term.

Progress is committed to applying lifecycle and End‑of‑Sale policies consistently across all customers, partners, and internal teams. The following guardrails ensure that escalation requests are handled fairly and predictably.

Exceptions do not change policy. A request for an exception—whether submitted by a customer, a partner, or an internal team—does not alter the published EoS date or the renewal eligibility of a discontinued offering. If an exception is evaluated, the decision is made on a case‑by‑case basis and does not set a precedent for other customers or future requests.

Lack of awareness is not grounds for renewal. Because lifecycle and EoS dates are published on a publicly accessible page and included in product communications, a customer's claim of not having been aware of a change does not constitute grounds for renewing a discontinued offering or extending support beyond the published timeline.

Escalations are evaluated against objective criteria. When an escalation is raised, Progress evaluates it based on three factors: the published lifecycle status of the offering at the time of the request, the customer's documented engagement history (i.e., whether the customer took timely action to plan their migration), and the availability of supported alternatives that the customer could transition to. Requests that demonstrate good‑faith early engagement but were delayed by genuinely unforeseen circumstances receive more favorable consideration than requests that reflect deferred planning.

This framework is designed to ensure that Sales, Support, and Renewals teams apply the same standards uniformly, providing a predictable experience for customers regardless of region or account size.

This document, together with the WhatsUp Gold Life Cycle page, constitutes Progress Software Corporation's official and public policy governing WhatsUp Gold product lifecycle management, End‑of‑Sale designations, and customer migration expectations.

All lifecycle dates, EoS designations, and offering statuses published on the Life Cycle page are authoritative. In the event of any discrepancy between this policy document and the data published on the Life Cycle page, the Life Cycle page takes precedence for dates and offering statuses, while this policy governs the interpretation of customer responsibilities, commercial terms, and escalation procedures.

Progress reserves the right to update this policy at any time. Material changes will be reflected in the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. Customers are encouraged to review this policy periodically.