IBM has announced its withdrawal of standard support for IBM i 7.4 (V7R4) on 30th September 2026.
Customers will of course be able to pay a premium and receive Service Extension, but that comes with the caveats I’ll discuss later. Organisations still running V74R need to start planning their upgrade strategy now to avoid rising risks and costs. IBM strongly recommends staying current with hardware, operating systems and patching. Let’s look at what options are available for customers currently running V7R4:
- Power 10 or Power 11 hardware: You can upgrade directly to V7R5 or V7R6.
- Power 9 hardware: You can upgrade to V7R5.
- Power 8 hardware: You can restore to Power 11 hardware, then upgrade to V7R5 or V7R6.
What Withdrawal of Standard Support Really Means
For organisations running IBM i 7.4, understanding the end of standard support is not simply a technical point - it's a strategic risk and compliance issue. Staying on an unsupported release means you could miss out on:
- New Bug Fixes: No more patches for software defects or performance issues.
- Crucial Security Updates: This is the most serious threat. As new vulnerabilities are discovered daily, unsupported versions may not receive the necessary patches, leaving your systems dangerously exposed to cyberattacks, ransomware, and data breaches.
- Standard Technical Support: You might not get much assistance for troubleshooting and resolving new issues which aren’t a ‘known issue’.
The risks are clear: increased security vulnerabilities, potential regulatory non-compliance, operational instability, and ultimately, higher costs when a breach or failure inevitably occurs.
The Lifeline: Understanding Extended Support
Recognising the complexities of migrations, IBM often offers Extended Support, but this is a temporary and limited solution. Extended Support provides critical fixes and technical assistance to help organisations buy time for planning and executing migration - but it is not a substitute instead acting as a lifeline to provide some level of continued support, including critical security fixes and technical assistance.
Implications of Extended Support:
- Temporary Relief, Not a Solution: Extended support buys you time, but it's not a permanent solution. It's designed to facilitate a planned migration to a newer, fully supported version.
- Higher cost than standard support: Be prepared for a significantly higher price tag compared to standard support. This is an investment in risk mitigation, not a cost-saving measure.
- Limited Scope: While critical issues are addressed, the level of support might be less comprehensive, and no new features or enhancements will be introduced.
- Strategic Planning Window: Use this period wisely. It's your opportunity to thoroughly plan, test, and execute your upgrade to a modern IBM i release.
Talk to Celerity about our expert migration services.
Your Strategic Imperative: Plan Your Upgrade
The IBM i platform continues to evolve, bringing powerful features that keep it relevant and secure for critical business operations. While extended support offers a temporary reprieve, the smart move is to leverage the innovations in V7R5 and, especially, V7R6.
Looking Ahead: The Power of IBM i V7R6
IBM i V7R6, officially released in May 2025, introduces significant security and resilience enhancements that help protect against modern threats. Features such as integrated multi-factor authentication, strong encryption defaults, and system-wide data protection makes V7R6 a strategic upgrade choice for organisations seeking long-term security and compliance. It solidifies the platform's position as a cyber-resilient powerhouse, ready for the challenges of today and tomorrow.
Here are the standout highlights:
- Integrated Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): This is arguably the most significant security enhancement. V7R6 provides native, built-in MFA support, simplifying deployment and drastically improving login security using TOTP (like Google Authenticator). This extends to System Service Tools (SST/DST) as well.
- Quantum-Safe Ready: While Power11 hardware takes this further, V7R6 lays foundational support for quantum-safe cryptographic algorithms, preparing the platform for future threats from quantum computing.
- System ASP Encryption: A powerful new capability to encrypt your entire System ASP without downtime, providing comprehensive data-at-rest protection.
- Stronger Encryption Defaults: Improved default settings for Kerberos and new Crypto APIs (like QC3KDF using PBKDF-2) reinforce cryptographic strength.
- Protection from impersonation: Prevent specific users from impersonating other users they have access to. This enhances security of business data and prevents attacks using profile elevation.
- Granular Security Management: New commands (e.g., CFGHOSTSVR) and function usage IDs offer finer control over server connections and system configuration, reducing the attack surface.
- Password Policy Defaults: New installations benefit from stronger default password system values, encouraging robust password practices from day one.
- Read-Only User Profiles (_NC): Non-changeable system-supplied profiles enhance security for automated processes by preventing unauthorized modifications.
Why Upgrade? The Highlights of IBM i V7R5 – all features also in V7R6
IBM i V7R5, released in 2022, brought a wealth of enhancements focused on modernisation, security, and developer experience.
- Enhanced Database (Db2 for i): Significant SQL improvements, including greater performance, new functions, and easier data access. This empowers developers and analysts with more powerful tools.
- Application Modernization: Further enhancements to languages like Python, Node.js, and Open-Source initiatives, making it easier to integrate IBM i with modern development practices and ecosystems.
- Security Updates: Continuing IBM's commitment to a secure platform, V7R5 included various hardening measures and cryptographic updates.
- System Management: Improvements in management tools, backup/recovery, and high availability capabilities to ensure greater resilience and operational efficiency.
- Networking: Further enhancements to networking capabilities, improving connectivity and performance.