What is General Availability?
General availability (GA) is a marketing phase in the software release lifecycle when the product becomes widely available to end users. It means that all commercialization activities, from compliance and security tests to localization and availability across the globe are already completed, and the product can be purchased. This stage is also known as production release when products have been proved to be usable, reliable and free from critical bugs and are signed off as ready to be used. The general availability is also the stage when the released software is expected to support all the promised features.
General availability is usually linked to a specific date that is announced beforehand and can, therefore, vary depending on the region and the form in which it is launched into the market.
General Availability in Release Lifecycle
General availability is a part of the software release lifecycle – a series of steps that a product must pass from the start of development to the live release.
The release lifecycle can be divided into two large phases:
1. Pre-release, which includes
- Pre-alpha
- Alpha
- Beta
- Release candidate
- Release to manufacturing or release to marketing (RTM)
2. Production or live release. General availability belongs to the release phase and immediately follows the RTM stage.
General Availability vs. Beta
Though the product lifecycle encompasses multiple stages, the customers are the most aware of two of them: beta testing and GA. As a rule, companies make their solution public while launching the beta and they announce the date when the product will be generally available in advance. Yet, the two stages have not much in common:
Beta testing occurs when the key solution features are completed, yet there might be various bugs present, ranging from the usability issues to performance and scalability bottlenecks. The beta phase uncovers the issues and generates feedback from the users, meaning that the product can and will undergo further changes and improvements.
A product in beta cannot be viewed as ready, but the one that is made generally available is. The GA stage implies that all tests are passed, and the product is good enough to deliver the promised features and perform fairly well to go live. Generally speaking, the GA stage means that the product has its final version that will be offered to the general public.
Software Support
General availability is the final phase in the product lifecycle, when the product is not only ready for use, but also fully supported with documentation and open pricing. However, it does not mean that the software is released and forgotten. Usually, the product will get supporting releases, called “patches”, “service releases”, or maintenance releases. They fix uncovered bugs and bring enhancements and updates to the software. This support lasts only for a defined period, after which the product is considered to have reached the end of life. It is still available to users, but is retired by the producing company.
