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.
