As I’m sure most of you know, Oracle releases new versions of Oracle Service Cloud (OSvC) every quarter. And does it always in the months of February, May, August and November. That is why when we talk about versions we either say “May 16” or “16.5“… “Nov 15” or “15.11“.

But Oracle announced recently that it is going to change the naming and terminology of versions. And the reason they are going to do that is for “clarity and consistency“. This change will take effect from October 2017.

Oracle is going to use the last two digits of the calendar year (e.g. “17” for 2017 or “18” for 2018), and then the letters “A”, “B”, “C”, and “D” for the four calendar quarters – as releases will continue being delivered in February, May, August and November.

So, here is how it is going to wor…

• In November 2017, the OSvC release will be “17D“
• In February 2018, the OSvC release will be “18A“
• In May 2018, the OSvC release will be “18B”
• In August 2018, the OSvC release will be “18C”
• In November 2018, the OSvC release will be “18D”
• and so on and so forth…

When it comes to the “Maintenance Packs”, they will be applied on a monthly basis, and “patches” applied as needed. When it comes to terminology, Oracle will name them “Oracle Service Cloud <version> <month> Maintenance Pack”.

So, here is how it is going to work…

• In December 2017, the OSvC maintenance pack will be called “Oracle Service Cloud 17D December Maintenance Pack“
• In March 2018, the OSvC maintenance pack will be called “Oracle Service Cloud 18A March Maintenance Pack“
• and so on and so forth…

As a side note, updates to Browser User Interface (BUI), the Auto-Upgrade Program, and the Legacy Upgrade Process will not change.