Yes, we were surprised too by IBM’s email of 9 September, announcing the dates for the removal of the sale and support of IBM i 6.1 and 6.1.1.
IBM have been selling IBM i version 6.1 since 2008 – so I guess this shouldn’t be a great surprise, but there are many clients who will need to act fast to move to 7.1 and avoid incurring extended support fees.
So dates for the diary are:
End of Marketing: December 9th, 2014
End of Support: September 30th, 2015
For everyone currently on IBM 6.1 or 6.1.1. you will need to start making plans to upgrade to 7.1 over the next 12 months. IBM will continue supporting clients with 6.1 through the extended support option – but this will come at an additional cost over the existing software support charge.
If you would like any advice then please feel free to contact the technical team – who will be pleased to advise on the options open to you and your application.
