Two important changes to the Oracle Lifetime Support policies for Oracle E-Business Suite were announced at OpenWorld.  These changes affect EBS Releases 11i and 12.1.

The changes are detailed in this My Oracle Support document:

• E-Business Suite 11.5.10 Sustaining Support Exception & 12.1 Extended Support Now to Dec. 2018 (Note 1495337.1)

A new document answering the top Frequently Asked Questions about these support changes is now available:

• E-Business Suite Releases - Support Policy FAQ (Note 1494891.1)

Questions answered in this new FAQ include:

1. Why is Oracle providing an exception for Severity 1 Production Support for the first year of Sustaining Support for EBS 11.5.10?
2. Will customers need to purchase an additional contract for the 11.5.10 Exception to Sustaining Support?
3. What defines Severity 1 Production Support in the 11.5.10 Exception to Sustaining Support?
4. What are the differences in the Lifetime Support Policy feature benefits from Extended Support to the Severity 1 Production Support in the 11.5.10 Exception to Sustaining Support?
5. More questions about US 1099, Payroll legislative updates, security patches, and more
   

1. Changes for EBS 11i Sustaining Support

The first change is that  we will be providing an exception for the first 13 months of Sustaining Support on Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11.5.10 (11i10), valid from December 1, 2013 – December 31, 2014. This exception support will be comprised of three components:

1. New fixes for Severity 1 production issues
2. United States Form 1099 2013 year-end updates
3. Payroll regulatory updates for the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia for fiscal years ending in 2014

Customers environments must have the minimum baseline patches (or above) for new Severity 1 production bug fixes as documented here:

• Patch Requirements for Extended Support of Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11.5.10 (Note 883202.1)
  

2. Changes for EBS 12.1 Extended Support

More time:  Extended Support period for E-Business Suite Release 12.1 has been extended by nineteen months through December, 2018. Customers with an active Oracle Premier Support for Software contract will automatically be entitled to Extended Support for E-Business Suite 12.1.

Fees waived:  Uplift fees are waived for all years of Extended Support (June, 2014 – December. 2018) for customers with an active Oracle Premier Support for Software contract. During this period, customers will receive all of the components of Extended Support at no additional cost other than their fees for Software Update License & Support.

Where can I learn more?

There are two interlocking policies that affect the E-Business Suite:  Oracle's Lifetime Support policies for each EBS release (timelines which were updated by this announcement), and the Error Correction Support policies (which state the minimum baselines for new patches).

For more information about how these policies interact, see:

• Understanding Support Windows for E-Business Suite Releases

What about E-Business Suite technology stack components?

Things get more complicated when one considers individual techstack components such as Oracle Forms or the Oracle Database.  To learn more about the interlocking EBS+techstack component support windows, see these two articles:

• On Apps Tier Patching and Support: A Primer for E-Business Suite Users
• On Database Patching and Support: A Primer for E-Business Suite Users

Related Articles

• Extended Support Fees Waived for E-Business Suite 11i and 12.0
• EBS 12.0 Minimum Requirements for Extended Support Finalized