Software is often licensed indefinitely. However, a change of organisation circumstances may result in a decision to stop using a certain system or to move to another. The removal and disposal of the software needs to be considered.

• Disposing of software without adequate consideration could cause great difficulties, especially where you need to restore the application's data files from backup.

• Avoid acting on impulse. Ensure that all relevant parties are consulted.
• Accept that you may need to restore archive records in the future, and ascertain whether you can save the data files in a format which an alternative (or new) application could read.
• For peace of mind, consider archiving such software for an interim period (e.g. onto storage tape) prior to irrevocable deletion. Remember to save all the configuration files and ensure that the necessary documentation is still available.

• If previous version(s) of software are disposed of prematurely, it may be impossible to revert to the old software when problems are encountered with the latest release. See Testing Software before Transferring to a Live Environment.

• Maintain adequate computer storage capacity to permit the new version to be installed without immediate deletion of the old version. Where the installation routine expects to overwrite the current version, take a backup of the old version and its full directory structure.
• Ensure that the latest release has been adequately tested. Do not update a system simply because it is the 'latest release'. See Responding to Vendor Recommended Upgrades to Software; Testing Software before Transferring to a Live Environment and User Acceptance Testing.