Quarterly Updates for xDM & xDI
More regular, predictable releases to support your evolving data strategy
Our commitment to providing world-class customer success remains the same, now our platform innovation is aligning with that goal. Starting January 2023, xDM & xDI updates will be released together every quarter.
What’s Changing? Key Highlights
We are changing our platform release cadence (xDM + xDI) and maintenance/EOL schedule. Releases will be made quarterly and labeled as LTS or MS.
Support: LTS vs MS
For large customers upgrading slowly: Long-Term Support releases (LTS) every year, maintained for 2 years after the initial release, and supported for 3 years after the initial release.
For customers in need of new features: Mainstream Support releases (MS) every quarter, maintained for 4 months after the initial release, and supported for 1 year after the initial release.
Platform Versioning
Our platform versioning naming convention will be updated to reflect the two support options. Below are the latest versions for xDM and xDI.
Explore Semarchy xDM 2023.1.0
Explore Semarchy xDI 2023.1.0
Updated Communications
If you’re a current Semarchy customer, an email has been issued as well as a note on the customer forum to announce these changes. Otherwise, the most updated terms can be found in the Semarchy Standard Global Support Policy.
Aligned Releases. Updated Quarterly.
Feature and updates for Semarchy xDM and xDI will occur quarterly and be released on the same schedule. This should make our platform released much more predictable and easier to plan accordingly. xDM and xDI’s version scheme will be updated to reflect this update and be easily readable.
High-performance, agile, and extensible data integration for all styles and use cases.
- The new version number scheme will be:
<Release_Year>.<Release_Quarter>.<patch_version> - First release of xDM and xDI under this new schema will be issued in Q1-2023
- Next release issued in Q2-2023 will be named xDM/xDI 2023.2.0
- Patches issued after xDM/xDI 2023.1.0 will be versioned 2023.1.1, 2023.1.2, etc.
Long-Term (LTS) vs Maintenance Releases (MS)
We are changing our platform release cadence (xDM + xDI) and maintenance/EOL schedule. Releases will be made quarterly and labeled as LTS or MS.
Long-Term Support (LTS) releases occur every year and include new features. They are maintained for 2 years after the initial release and supported for 3 years after the initial release.
Who: LTS release options are more suitable for clients with slowly-changing environments or prefer a fully supported environment for an extended period of time, without need for upgrades.
Mainstream Support (MS) releases occur every quarte and include new features. They are maintained for 4 months after initial release and support for 12 months after the initial release.
Who: MS releases accelerate the availability of new features for customer who want to access the latest improvements and enhancements as soon as they’re available. Patches are released only for the latest Mainstream version, so users should play to always upgrade each new Mainstream version as soon as it’s available.
Talk with our world-class support team
We’re committed to your success, that’s why 100% of customers would recommend us over the last 12 months. Let us help answer your questions about how these changes support your data goals.
Updated Terms. Unwavering Support.
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Updated Maintenance Terms
Patch and security releases will be provided during their maintenance periods for both LTS (2 years) and MS (4 months). After that period, customers will have to upgrade to a more recent release that includes the bugs and security fixes they require.
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Unwavering Support Commitment
The changes in our maintenance and release terms does not change our commitment to ensure your success. Customers will still be able to raise issues and open tickets to the technical team during their support periods on both LTS (3 years) and MS (12 months). Patches for both options will occur monthly, more frequently for critical issues.
Previous releases will be removed from maintenance and de-supported according to a schedule published on the website. The latest version of this will be detailed in the Semarchy Standard Global Support Policy.
Have Questions?
FAQs
Changes always bring questions. Below are some of the most common ones we are hearing. The only thing not changing is our commitment to be a leading data platform provider and world-class customer success.
We accelerate the release frequency in order to better serve our customers and the market with new capabilities. We implement the LTS/MS approach to sustainably balance our maintenance (bug & security fixes) and innovation (new features) efforts.
Before this change:
Major or minor releases were performed on an irregular basis, typically every 18 months. As a consequence, customers could not benefit from constant innovation and were waiting for features for longer times.
The end-of-maintenance date of a release was tied to the next release date (2 years after the next release), making it hard to plan regular upgrades.
The new release frequency provides a more regular feature flow and the capability to plan the lifecycle and upgrade of Semarchy products’ deployments.
The acceleration in the release frequency will have a positive impact on the Semarchy Unified Data Platform roadmap. Customers should expect a regular flow of innovation and new features.
It means that this version is eligible for patches and fixes, including security patches. Versions no longer under maintenance are not eligible, even for security patches.
It means that a customer can contact technical support and create support tickets for the version.
All versions under maintenance will receive Bug and Security Fixes. Customers running on a version that is not under maintenance will be encouraged to upgrade to a later version to have a fix for their issues.
All bugs and security issues are always fixed on versions currently in development. Backporting consists in fixing these issues in a version in use by clients and releasing a patch for this version. Not “all” bugs are backported. Typically, critical bug and security fixes are backported at Semarchy’s discretion. Backports take place on maintained versions.
No. MS/LTS are just types of releases that customers can install or upgrade to anytime. In essence, an LTS is the “first release of each year,” and it is maintained/supported for a longer time. MS is “subsequent releases in the year,” and they are maintained/supported for a shorter period of time.
The upgrade path is open. Customers can upgrade from any release (MS and LTS) to any next release (MS or LTS). For example, customers can run their development on a series of MS releases to benefit from the mainstream feature flow and switch to a subsequent LTS release for a feature-stable production.
It is not mandatory to upgrade, but strongly recommended. A version no longer under maintenance will keep on working as usual. However, should a customer require a bug or security fix on that version, we will ask them to upgrade to a later version, including that fix.
We are the average of the software vendors in our domain. We follow the three key trends in the software industry: The increasing volume of Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) raised on software forces vendors and open-source providers to accelerate their release frequency and reduce their products’ lifetime, hence requiring more frequent upgrades from their users.
MS releases occur every quarter, and there is 1 month overlap on the next MS before the current MS is no longer maintained. Remember that upgrading is not mandatory but is recommended to receive bug and security fixes. Customers not facing any bug or relevant security issue in their environments can consider skipping one or multiple MS releases and directly upgrading to the next LTS or MS.
More Questions?
We’re Evolving How We Innovate
As a (proven) customer obsessed company, we’re excited to announce the regular, quarterly platform release updates for both xDM and xDI. Our clients are data leaders, this commitment will continuously support their strategy. Read more about our xDM and xDI platform updates.