Roadmap and support for MDS

Question

I want to understand if there is an end of support date set for MDS which I couldn't find via https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/.

We are evaluating MDS for a new solution. It appears to ticket all the boxes from functional/non-function point of view but there is a concern on (MDS) platform risk. I am keen to find out if there any information which might help with articulating the risk if there is any.

Background information:

• Our MDS instance runs off SQL2017-WS2016 (Azure. managed instance)
• We are aware of this native Azure Master Data Management Solution but don't necessary want to jump on to it considering cost and effort associated with it along with implementation risk. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/reference-architectures/data/migrate-master-data-services-with-cluedin

Answer 1

When is the end of life (end of support) on Microsoft SQL Server 2019 MDS and DQS, I couldn't find via https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/.
Do you have any updated information?

https://profisee.com/solutions/microsoft-enterprise/master-data-services/

I found this link says that MDS "Support ends in 2026", but this is not from Microsoft site, so I was wondering if we have official announcement from Microsoft.
Thanks

Answer 2

Hi Eliot, thanks for the question. As discussed on the call today, to the best of my knowledge MDS is not yet deprecated and is still supported, however it likely won't get many (if any) feature updates in future. Likely any updates for MDS will only be security related. This article lists the deprecated features for MDS.

Logically speaking, Azure Purview is designed to take over a lot of what is in MDS and is probably the best place to start. However there are some caveats right now:

• Purview may not have 100% feature parity right now, and may not have feature parity in the future either (by design)
• The features and capabilities which become available in Purview may be functionally different or procedurally different to what is in MDS currently
• Purview is being built to support a broader use-case than just what MDS does, and so may have other drawbacks which don't exist in MDS

I also recommend you review the alternative options available in the market to ensure you get the best capability set (for your business) for the investment. If you do decide to move to MDS in Azure, I recommend you start thinking ahead about how you are going to replace or migrate off of MDS if/when it gets deprecated. I also recommend you regularly monitor its lifecycle closely and schedule regular assessments of alternate options.