Update Notification Schedule

This policy describes the types of updates we perform to the Spectrum OnDemand production environment, including the frequency of each update type and the policy we use to communicate updates to you.

Summary of update notification schedule

Update Type Frequency Advance notice
Reference data Monthly, or sooner if needed to prevent data expiration None
Services Any time None
Custom services Any time Limited
Custom data Any time Limited
Platform 2-3 times a year

Minimal risk: None
Minor change: 6-8 weeks
Major change: 2-3 months
Infrastructure Any time None, usually.
Certificates Yearly, usually None
IP Addresses Any time None
Service retirement Infrequently 6-12 months, usually
Access method retirement Infrequently 6-12 months, usually

Reference data

Reference data is data used by services. Examples of reference data include postal data, geocoding data, and spatial data.

Reference data is updated monthly, typically during the first full week of the month. No notice is given.

Services

Services are occasionally updated to ensure that services are returning correct responses. Service updates are driven by customer need and are not applied on a set schedule. Service updates are applied to staging one week prior to being applied to production.

We only send a service update notice to customers who reported the issue being fixed by the update.

Note: Occasionally, new fields are added to the WSDL or WADL. To avoid problems related to WSDL and WADL updates, ensure that you following the practices described in Requirements Checklist.

Custom services

Custom services are created for a specific customer and only available to that customer. Updates are driven by customer need and do not have a set time when they are applied.

Updates to custom services are applied to staging to allow the customer to confirm that the service conforms to their specification. Once the service is approved, the update will be applied to production.

We only send a notice to the customer who commissioned the service.

Custom data

Custom data is used by some custom services. Updates are driven by customer need and occur with reference data updates. If the structure of the custom data has not changed, the update is applied directly to production. If the data structure has changed, update follows the update process for updates to custom services

We only send a notice to the customer who commissioned the service

Platform

Spectrum OnDemand is powered by Spectrum Technology Platform. Keeping up to date with Spectrum Technology Platform allows us to include updates and enhancements to our standard services and numerous improvements to the core processing platform. How far in advance we notify you up a platform refresh depends on the potential impact of the update.

Scope of Refresh Timeline and Communication
Minimal change There is minimal risk to your current use of Spectrum OnDemand services. We apply the update to staging 1 to 2 weeks prior to updating production. No notice is given.
Minor change There is some risk with the change. Risks include minor to field types in a WSDL and significant changes to how a service works. We apply the update to staging 2 to 4 weeks prior to updating production. A notice is sent 6 to 8 weeks before we update production.
Major change The change may require you to make coding changes. Examples include changing the format of a returned value, removing a field from a WSDL, major change in field types, and substantial changes to core technology. We apply the update to staging one month prior to updating production. A notice is sent 2 to 3 months before staging is updated.

Infrastructure

We regularly update the hardware and software supporting Spectrum OnDemand. These updates rarely impact your use of Spectrum OnDemand. We do not give notice of infrastructure updates unless the update involves scheduled downtime. If scheduled downtime is needed, we send a notice at least one week in advance.

Certificates

Certificates are renewed on a regular basis, typically, 2-4 weeks before they expire. However, a security issue may require us to upgrade our certificates earlier. We do not send a notice when updating certificates.

IP addresses

IP Addresses may change at any time, even one minute to the next. To avoid issues related to IP address changes, ensure you are following the requirements described in Requirements Checklist. We do not send a notice when IP addresses change.

Note: If you are a member of the Static IP Pool program, the update policy and announcement period are covered by the Static IP Pool Agreement.

Service retirement

When we retire a service we will provide you a functionally equivalent service, although it may not be possible to return exactly the same information. Before retiring the service we will notify you that the service is deprecated. You should switch to the new service within 6-12 months. After that, the service may be removed from Spectrum OnDemand.

If no customers are paying for the service, we may not provide a replacement service and we may not provide any notice prior to retiring the service.

Method-of-access retirement

If a method of access becomes obsolete we may retire the method of access. Examples of methods of access include:

  • URL (for example, precisely.com)
  • Security protocols (for example SSL)
  • Web service protocols (for example /services)

We will announce that a method of access is deprecated. When we do you should switch to the new method of access within 3-6 months. After that, the method of access method may be removed. In the case of a security vulnerability in the method of access, we may give shorter advance notice prior to removing the method of access.