Product life cycle

The life span of HMS products

HMS' products are meant to stay on the market for a long time. To manage the products in a structured way during their lifetime, HMS has established a product life cycle policy over a series of phases.

HMS-product-life-cycle

How will I know the life span of my product?

HMS Industrial Networks (HMS) develops products that are meant to stay on the market for a long time, often more than 10 years. The products are designed to be used in industrial applications, which brings high demands on reliability and availability. Product lifetimes are influenced by many factors such as component availability and technology development. HMS always strives to keep the products up to date and maintain backward compatibility.

To manage the products in a structured way during the lifetime, HMS has established a product lifecycle policy over a series of product lifecycle phases. Within this scope, HMS is committed to notify customers of any change in product lifecycle status well in advance, for customers to be able to plan their operations in an efficient way. The transition between the different phases may need to be done faster in force majeure situations beyond HMS control, including exceptional and extreme situations on the electronic components market.

Overview of the product life cycle management

Description of HMS product life cycle phases

The Ramp-up phase begins with the “public release” when a new product is launched on the market. If the optional Ramp-up phase is applied, the phase lasts up to 6 months. During this phase, the lead time maybe longer than standard lead time.


Length of phaseUp to 6 months
Compulsory phaseNo
NotificationsPublic Release
Lead timeLead time may be longer than standard
PriceStandard price list
ERP StatusRamp-up
Recommended in new projectsYes
New feature developmentYes
Bug fixesYes
Security patchesYes
Cloud services availabilityYes
Product certification (excl. conformance)Yes
Technical supportYes
Product returns (RMA)Yes
WarrantyStandard warranty
DocumentationYes
PromotionYes
Product web pageYes

The product is in volume production and is promoted and sold actively according to the price lists for the Active phase. During this phase, HMS add new product features, proactively maintaining and improving the product with bug fixing and security patches.

 

Length of phaseYears
Compulsory phaseYes
NotificationsLimited notification
Lead timeStandard lead time
PriceStandard price list
ERP StatusActive
Recommended in new projectsYes
New feature developmentYes
Bug fixesYes
Security patchesYes
Cloud services availabilityYes
Product certification (excl. conformance)Yes
Technical supportYes
Product returns (RMA)Yes
WarrantyStandard warranty
DocumentationYes
PromotionYes
Product web pageYes

A limited notification is sent to customers through HMS sales channels before the product is moved into the Limited phase. Extended lead times are normally applied, and active phase price lists are no longer valid, different unit prices may apply.

In the Limited phase, no further product enhancement, documentation, development, or conformance testing is done by HMS. If HMS decides that a bug fix or an update anyway is required to ensure normal operation, an exception will be made to this policy. Limited technical support is offered where response times may be longer. Only high severity security issues with severity higher than 6.9 according to CVSS scoring will be considered.

The Limited phase is optional if a substitute product has been released or there have been no product orders for several years.

Products in the Limited phase are not recommended to be included in new customer projects.

 

Length of phaseAt least 12 months
Compulsory phaseOptional if substitute product available
NotificationsLimited notification
Lead timeExtended lead time
PriceDifferent prices may apply
ERP StatusLimited
Recommended in new projectsNo
New feature developmentNo
Bug fixesLimited
Security patchesOnly issues with high severity > 6.9 according to CVSS scoring
Cloud services availabilityYes
Product certification (excl. conformance)Yes
Technical supportLimited (lower priority)
Product returns (RMA)Yes
WarrantyStandard warranty
DocumentationYes
PromotionNo
Product web pageYes


An exit notification is sent to customers through HMS sales channels before the product is moved into the Exit phase. The Exit phase lasts at least 12 months after which the product is made obsolete. Lead times may be long and a “Last time buy” will be scheduled as a one-time delivery. Active phase price lists are no longer valid and different unit prices may apply.

In the Exit phase, no further product enhancement, documentation, development or conformance testing is done by HMS. If HMS decides that an update anyway is required to ensure normal operation, an exception will be made to this policy. Limited technical support is offered where response times may be longer. Only critical severity security issues with severity higher than 8.9 according to CVSS scoring will be considered.

From the “Last time buy”, depending on available stocks, HMS may replace the product with a substitute product in the case of warranty returns (RMA).

Products in the Exit phase are not recommended to be included in new customer projects.

 

Length of phaseAt least 12 months
Compulsory phaseYes
NotificationsExit notification with “Last time buy” due date
Lead timeLong lead time
PriceDifferent prices may apply
ERP StatusExit, after “Last time buy” blocked for new orders
Recommended in new projectsNo
New feature developmentNo
Bug fixesNo
Security patchesOnly issues with critical severity > 8.9 according to CVSS scoring
Cloud services availabilityYes
Product certification (excl. conformance)Until last production or “Last time shipment1”
Technical supportLimited (lower priority)
Product returns (RMA)Same product or substitute depending on stock availability and certifications
WarrantyLimited to 1 year warranty
DocumentationYes
PromotionNo
Product web pageYes (in legacy section)

HMS will not accept orders after the product has been made obsolete.

In this phase, no further product enhancement, documentation, development, conformance testing, bugfixes, security patches or product returns (RMA) is done by HMS.

However, in certain cases, HMS is willing to allocate engineering and manufacturing resources to provide a limited amount of re-engineered backward compatible spare parts. Such projects are quoted individually by HMS and funded fully by customers. HMS offers this possibility up to 5 years after the product is obsolete.

No technical support and cloud services availability are guaranteed.

 

Length of phaseForever
Compulsory phaseYes
NotificationsN/A
Lead timeN/A
PriceN/A
ERP StatusObsolete
Recommended in new projectsNo
New feature developmentNo
Bug fixesNo
Security patchesNo
Cloud services availabilityNot guaranteed
Product certification (excl. conformance)No
Technical supportNot guaranteed
Product returns (RMA)No
WarrantyN/A
DocumentationYes (in legacy section) but not guaranteed
PromotionNo
Product web pageNot guaranteed

Note: Once a product is obsolete, some sold products may still be under warranty. During this warranty period, HMS will ensure the following services:

  • Cloud Services availability
  • Product certification (excluding conformance)
  • Limited technical support
  • Product returns (RMA): same product or substitute depending on stock availability and certifications.
    Security patches: only issues with critical severity > 8.9 according to CVSS scoring