Early access: Early access features are limited
to a closed group of testers for a limited subset of
launches. Participation is by invitation only and may
require signing a pre-general-availability agreement,
including confidentiality provisions. These features may
be unstable, change in backward-incompatible ways, and
are not guaranteed to be released. There are no SLAs
provided and no technical support obligations. Early
access releases are rare and focus on validating product
prototypes.
Alpha: Alpha is a limited-availability test
before releases are cleared for more widespread use. Our
focus with alpha testing is to verify functionality and
gather feedback from a limited set of customers.
Typically, alpha participation is by invitation and
subject to pre-general-availability terms. Alpha
releases don't have to be feature complete, no SLAs are
provided, and there are no technical support
obligations. However, alphas are generally suitable for
use in test environments. The alpha phase usually lasts
six months.
Beta: At beta, products or features are ready
for broader customer testing and use. Betas are often
publicly announced. There are no SLAs or technical
support obligations in a beta release unless otherwise
specified in product terms or the terms of a particular
beta program. The average beta phase lasts about six
months.
