Please find below this quarter�s update regarding Microsoft Support Lifecycle, including the next deadlines of support, the support extensions, the products and/or service packs being retired, along with the MSL Excel file attached listing the main products.

Microsoft�s Support Lifecycle policy provides consistent and predictable guidelines for product support availability at the time of product release. Microsoft will offer a minimum of 10 years support (5 years of Mainstream support and 5 years of Extended) for Business and Developer products. For more detailed information on the policy or the lifecycle of a product, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/lifecycle.

Service Pack Policy Updated: In response to customer feedback, Microsoft is pleased to announce modifications to the service pack support policy. Support for service packs will now vary according to the product family, but will remain consistent within the product family. In the past, decisions were made for individual products. Based on the modified policy, Microsoft will no longer make decisions based on individual service packs as they are released. Instead, each service pack will follow the support timeline previously established for the product family. For instance, a Windows service pack will be supported 24 months after the release of the next service pack, whereas Office service pack will be supported 12 months.