Introduction
Ping Identity and ForgeRock merged in 2023, uniting two identity powerhouses. As a result, product names were rebranded under Ping; however, legacy support policies remained separate — causing confusion. Ping has now introduced a unified End of Life Policy based on a Long Term Support (LTS) model, which comes into effect in February 2026.
This article aims to demystify the new policy, outline key lifecycle stages, and provide practical examples to help enterprises understand the support timelines and plan their identity roadmap with confidence.
Figure 1: Ping Identity and ForgeRock — Names and Lifecycle support Evolution
Versioning Scheme
Ping Identity products use the Semantic Versioning scheme for all their products. The version number is made up of three parts separated by a period
[Major].[Minor].[Maintenance]
An example using the latest version (at the time of writing this article) of PingAM 8.0.1.
- Major version is 8
- Minor version is 0
- Maintenance version is 1
Readers who are keen on decoding the mystery behind version numbers used in the software industry — check out this short read.
Software Product Life Cycle Stages
Ping Identity adopts the following life cycle stages.
- Generally Available (GA) — Software is generally available for sale. Typically, the release date for products is referred to as the GA date.
- Active Maintenance — Software is actively developed, maintained, and supported
- End of Maintenance (EOM) — Software is no longer maintained, but still *eligible for support (*Customers can raise support tickets and receive technical assistance from Ping Support teams as defined by the Ping Support Policy here).
- End of Support (EOS) — Software is no longer maintained or supported
- End of Life (EOL) — Software is obsolete — it’s no longer maintained, supported, or eligible for any updates or extended support
Figure 2: Key Life Cycle stages
Note: Various Software vendors use their own terms for similar product lifecycle stages, which can be confusing. Always check your vendor’s official definitions. This article adopts Ping Identity’s terminology.
Enterprises may purchase Extended Limited Support (ELS) for an additional fee to continue using software after its End of Support (EOS) date. ELS is offered only for specific designated versions, and not all versions qualify.
Using unsupported products (e.g products that have reached End-of-Life) is strongly discouraged and may be prohibited in regulated industries like finance, where authorities such as the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority or Australia’s Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) may mandate it.
Current State Lifecyle : From August 2023 — February 2026
Table 1: PingAM Lifecycle stage dates — Using Heritage ForgeRock Support Policy
The table above shows key lifecycle dates for PingAM Versions 7 and 8. Some key observations:
- Versions such as 7.0, 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3 have reached End of Maintenance but are still supported
- Only Major and Minor version numbers are used to determine EOS, EOL, and EOM
- The last minor version of the previous major release (7.5) does not yet have an EOM date
Future State Lifecyle and Support — Beyond February 2026
The key changes are the introduction of Long-Term Support (LTS) and Short-Term Support (STS) versions. Each product version is marked as either an LTS or a STS. Major Software vendors such as Oracle, IBM have been using LTS model for a number of years.
Versions that are marked as LTS are suited for critical environments where consistent performance and extended security are paramount. Large enterprises such as Banks and Insurance companies would be interested in using LTS versions.
STS versions are suited for environments where early access to new functionality is critical
Table 2: Comparing LTS and STS Versions
Ping Identity plans (not guaranteed) to release new (LTS) versions approximately every two years!
The new support model, starting February 2026, supports both Long Term Support (LTS) and Short Term Support (STS) versions, providing predictable timelines for support and upgrades.
The Table 3 below shows the life-cycle stages for LTS and STS versions using example PingAM releases. This is for illustration purposes only and helps explain how LTS and STS life-cycles work.
Example: Using these version names and release dates to illustrate the Lifecyle timelines :
- AM 10 (STS) released: March 2026
- AM 10.1 (STS) released: May 2027
- AM 10.2 (LTS) released: November 2027
- AM 11(STS) released: February 2028
- AM 11.1 (STS) released: May 2028
- AM 11.2 (LTS) released: August 2028
Table 3: Example Life-cycle dates for a future version of PingAM using the Unified Support Policy
Summary view of Key Benefits for Enterprises
- Stability: LTS versions offer 3 years of guaranteed support.
- Predictability: Clear upgrade planning with a consistent release cadence (~ every 2 years for LTS versions).
- Flexibility: Optional 1-year Extended Limited Support (ELS) for LTS versions.
- Simplicity: One unified policy across all heritage Ping and heritage ForgeRock products.
From Self-Hosted to SaaS: Are Lifecycle stages & Support still Relevant, or Just a Legacy Concern?
Several enterprises have started leveraging Software as a Service (or other Cloud-hosted services).
Ping Identity provides three SaaS Platforms/services :
- PingOne Advanced Services (P1AS) — Single Tenant Services
- PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud (P1AIC) — Single Tenant Services
- PingOne Cloud Platform — Multi-Tenant Services.
Using these cloud services means you can stop worrying about software versions and lifecycle stages. Ping Identity will handle the updates, patches, and support — so you never have to stress about End of Support or End of Life.
It’s like auto-pilot for identity… minus the turbulence!!
Frequently Asked Questions?
- Can I use STS versions in production environments?
Yes, both STS and LTS versions are production-ready and can be used in production. Just remember, STS versions have a “shorter” support period, so plan your upgrades accordingly.
- Are STS and LTS versions patched the same way
Yes, both STS and LTS versions receive regular patches. However, the timing of patches may differ between them, as decided by Ping Identity.
3. Is there a fixed schedule for STS releases, like there is for LTS (every ~2 years)?
No, there isn’t a set schedule for STS releases. Each product family decides its own STS release timing based on feature backlog and customer needs. The goal is to have at least one STS release per year for every product, but some products may have more.
- PingGateway has already started using this model of LTS and STS for a couple of years now. For example, the versions released this year — 2025.3, 2026.6, and 2025.9 — are STS versions, while the upcoming 2025.11 will be an LTS version. So is this new model an extension of this model to other products?
Yes, PingGateway has followed the LTS/STS release model since 2023 without officially using those terms. Starting February 2026, all Ping products will adopt the LTS and STS model: the last minor release of each major release becomes the LTS version, similar to PingGateway’s three-year practice!.
- Is there a mapping table of STS and LTS for the current active product versions?
Yes. Refer to the Ping Identity End of Life Tracker. All active Versions that are marked as LTS and STS are covered under this new End of Life policy. In Table 4 below, notice that PingAM 7.5 is marked as an LTS Version and PingAM 8.0 is marked as STS. All other product versions (such as PingAM 7.4, 7.3, etc) will continue under the existing support policies for maintenance and support.
Table 4: PingAM Active versions marked as STS and LTS
- Will Ping Identity assign specific major versions as LTS and STS, like Oracle does for Java? For example, in Java, versions 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, and 24 are STS, while 17, 21, and 25 are LTS.
No. Ping Identity does not assign entire major versions as LTS or STS like Oracle Java. Instead, for each major release of a Ping Identity product, the last minor version will be the LTS version. All other versions in that major release are considered STS. This means you’ll always have one LTS version per major release, and the rest are STS.
Conclusion
Ping Identity has unified its software lifecycle across heritage Ping and ForgeRock products under a single model supporting both Long Term Support (LTS) and Short Term Support (STS) versions. LTS releases offer a guaranteed three-year maintenance window, giving enterprises the stability to run critical systems and the predictability to plan upgrades with confidence.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Jessica Chow, Matthew Berzinski and Marc Harris for their review comments and suggestions on this article.
References
- New names for ForgeRock products
- Unified End of Life Policy (Effective February 1 2026)
- iUpdate, iUnderstand: Making Sense of Apple’s (and the Software Industry’s) Version Numbers!!
- Semantic Versioning (SemVer)
- PingOne
- PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud (P1AIC)
- PingOne Advanced Services
- Comparison: PingOne Advanced Services and PingOne Cloud Platform
- PingGateway — Release Timeline
- Ping Identity End of Life (EOL) Software Tracker
- Ping Identity Support Policy
- Ping Identity Support FAQ: New Product Support Lifecycle Policies