I’ve had a few conversations of late where firms have taken comfort from software vendors giving a guarantee that that they wont “End of Life” a product that the firm is thinking of buying.
Observationally, if you are having that conversation (at all) with a vendor, then clearly there is a problem, and this indicates that the product you are looking at is not in the “first flush of youth” or is in imminent danger of being set aside in favour of other products from that supplier.
This is particularly common after software has been acquired by a competitor, as in that set of circumstances, the new owners are more likely to be interested in migrating the userbase to their core product, than maintaining an acquired system that might be competitive with their own.
Agreeing to not put an “End of Life” notice on a software product is somewhat meaningless, and very different from a commitment to continue investing in developing, selling, and supporting a product with a strong future roadmap. End of Life should not even be part of the discussion.
As a legal technology consultant, I’ve reviewed the market in detail and can say that there are a lot of great vendors available whose products are fresh and on an upward trajectory – they can be found here www.legaltechbuyersguide.com
