In an effort to add transparency, speed and simplicity to our release process, Google Cloud Platform will align our own release definitions and process with how our developers manage their projects. We are eliminating the confusing (and Google-specific) “trusted tester,” “limited preview” and “preview” phases and replacing them with simple Alpha and Beta releases. These align more closely with standard software practices for pre-release products.

Going forward, all products will be pre-released in Alpha format for testing by a select group of customers, and after passing this phase, will be released to Beta testing. Beta products are available publicly to all customers but will not have SLAs and full support until cleared to General Availability. Timing for each phase varies by product and will be announced accordingly.

Some more precise definitions:

Alpha
Alpha is a limited availability test for releases before they are cleared for widespread use. By alpha, all significant design issues are resolved and we are simply verifying functionality. For Alpha, customers need to apply for access, agree to applicable terms and get their projects whitelisted. Alpha releases don’t have to be feature complete, no SLAs are provided and there are no technical support obligations, but they will be far enough along that customers can actually use them in test environments or for limited-use tests -- just like they would in normal production cases.

Beta
You will mostly only hear about products when they’re released in Beta stage. This means you can now use it openly without access controls. However, beta products will not have an SLA or technical support obligations. Charges may be waived in some cases. Products will be complete from a feature perspective, but may have some open outstanding issues. Beta releases are suitable for limited production use cases, though customers should be aware that this is pre-release software and full, SLA-bound use is not encouraged until General Availability (GA).

Along with the introduction of Alpha and Beta, we are renaming the “Trusted Tester” program, which is designed to give a small group of customers tight integration to our design process during early stages of development, the “Early Access Program" (or EAP). Most products won’t go through this phase, but for certain programs where complexity and breadth of design are significant, we will continue to seek tight integration and feedback from a select group of customers.

These new program names roll out immediately -- we look forward to your participation and your help in making Google Cloud Platform better with each new release!

--Posted by Tom Kershaw, Product Management Director