Managing obsolescence usually means keeping a shelf of spare parts. Software breaks that model. Unlike a physical component that can be stored and pulled when a machine fails, obsolete software can't be backstocked in any traditional sense, but it does carry a trailing tail of support that stakeholders need to plan around.
According to PMMI's Managing Obsolescence report, that tail comes in the form of firmware updates, which independent analysis cited in the report suggests typically continue for five to 10 years after a product is discontinued, though the window varies widely.
Those updates matter for more than functionality. As manufacturing operations grow more digital, each connected system adds a potential point of vulnerability, and firmware maintenance is a frontline defense.
The stakes are highest around security. The report notes that 91% of consumers express concern about cybersecurity within U.S. manufacturing, while only 15% of manufacturers feel very confident in their own cybersecurity capability.
That gap frames obsolete software as a security exposure, not just an operational inconvenience. Continuing to supply firmware updates in the window after software is declared obsolete can help close the exposure—shoring up operational security while addressing the concerns customers already hold.
The distinction shows up in the data on how long support lasts, too. Component manufacturers reported keeping obsolete backstock available across a range of timeframes, with most falling at three years or less, but software's firmware-support horizon can stretch well beyond a typical parts window, making it a separate planning conversation rather than an extension of the same one.
For end users and their supplier partners, the takeaway is that a digital obsolescence plan can't simply borrow the logic used for mechanical parts.
Knowing when firmware support is scheduled to end, and whether critical security updates will continue past a discontinuation date, gives operations time to migrate or harden systems before an unsupported program becomes a liability on the plant floor.
SOURCE: 2026 Managing Obsolescence
For more insights from PMMI's Business Intelligence team, find reports, including Managing Obsolescence, The Ripple Effect: CPG Sustainability and the New OEM Spec Sheet, and Processing State of the Industry at https://www.pmmi.org/business-intelligence.
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