Event Endpoint Management continues to be enhanced

Event Endpoint Management continues to be available and enhanced as part of IBM's integration platforms.

End of Marketing announcement for IBM Event Automation

Event Streams and Event Processing are deprecated and no enhancements will be provided. Support and security fixes will be provided in line with published support lifecycle policies. Future event-driven solutions that make use of Apache Kafka and Apache Flink will be delivered by IBM Confluent.

For more information, see how you can plan your transition.

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Plan your transition from IBM Event Automation to IBM Confluent Platform

IBM is evolving its event-driven integration portfolio to bring together Confluent’s event streaming technology with IBM’s integration and event governance capabilities. IBM Event Automation consists of three capabilities: Event Streams for Kafka-based event streaming, Event Processing for Flink-based stream processing, and Event Endpoint Management for event discovery and governance.

As part of this evolution, IBM Event Automation will no longer be available for ordering from October 9, 2026. Event Streams and Event Processing will transition to IBM Confluent Platform for Kafka- and Flink-based capabilities, while Event Endpoint Management will continue to be enhanced as part of IBM Integration SaaS (formerly IBM webMethods Hybrid Integration) and IBM Integration Software (formerly IBM Cloud Pak for Integration).

Event Streams and Event Processing within IBM Integration SaaS and IBM Integration Software will no longer receive new enhancements, while support and security fixes will continue according to IBM’s published support lifecycle policies. Going forward, IBM’s innovation for Kafka- and Flink-based event streaming and processing will be delivered through the IBM Confluent Platform.

For existing users, there is time to plan a transition; there is no immediate requirement to replace existing deployments. Here is what is changing, how IBM plans to support you, and what you can do now.

What does this mean for the capabilities I use today?

The path forward depends on which IBM Event Automation capabilities you use.

If you use Path forward
Event Streams Plan your transition to IBM Confluent Platform for Kafka-based event streaming
Event Processing Plan your transition to IBM Confluent Platform for Flink-based stream processing
Event Endpoint Management Continue using Event Endpoint Management within IBM Integration

Event Streams and IBM Confluent Platform share Apache Kafka as a foundational technology, helping simplify the transition for Kafka workloads. For Event Processing customers, IBM intends to evolve capabilities for authoring Flink solutions as part of the IBM Confluent Platform.

Event Endpoint Management continues as a strategic capability that extends Confluent Platform’s governance capabilities. It can work with any Apache Kafka-compatible platform and enables teams to document Kafka topics using AsyncAPI, making events discoverable alongside APIs and governs their reuse across integration teams.

How will the transition work?

Every Event Automation environment is different, so there is no single migration path for every user. IBM plans to support customers through a phased transition rather than requiring an immediate cutover.

Phased transition approach diagram

A phased approach allows customers to plan, migrate, and validate workloads while existing deployments remain supported according to IBM’s published support lifecycle policies.

Assess your current environment

Start by identifying which Event Automation capabilities you use today and the workloads and dependencies associated with them.

For Event Streams, this can include Kafka clusters, topics, schemas, producers, consumers, and connectors. For Event Processing, identify your Flink workloads and dependencies. For Event Endpoint Management, review event catalogs, AsyncAPI definitions, and event governance requirements.

This establishes a baseline for a transition plan.

Define your future architecture

Map the capabilities you use today to their future direction:

  • Event Streams → IBM Confluent Platform
  • Event Processing → IBM Confluent Platform for Apache Flink
  • Event Endpoint Management → IBM Integration SaaS or IBM Integration Software

Customers using multiple capabilities may therefore move toward an architecture combining the IBM Confluent Platform for Kafka and Flink with IBM integration capabilities for event governance and broader integration requirements.

Establish the target environment

IBM intends to provide entitlement flexibility to help existing customers through the transition.

Existing Event Streams and Event Processing entitlements continue to support existing environments for the remainder of the applicable purchased subscription or ELA term. IBM also intends to support eligible customers in providing early access to equivalent Confluent Platform environments to facilitate parallel migrations.

This provides an opportunity to prepare and validate the target environment while existing workloads continue to operate.

Migrate and validate your workloads

IBM Confluent provides tools such as cluster linking that facilitate users to migrate to Confluent from other Kafka platforms. IBM intends to augment these with additional migration tools such as KCP, Cluster Linking and Gateway, and expert services to simplify the move from Event Streams deployments to IBM Confluent Platform.

Depending on the environment, migration planning can account for topics and schemas; producers, consumers, and application dependencies; connectors, security, and networking; and operational requirements such as disaster recovery and rollback. For more information, see the guidance about migrating Event Streams to Confluent platform.

For Event Processing customers, IBM Confluent Platform provides the strategic direction for Flink-based processing, with IBM intending to evolve Flink authoring capabilities within the platform. Flink SQL programs created by using the Event Processing UI can be re-platformed due to consistency of the underlying Flink runtime. For more information, see the guidance about migrating Event Processing to Confluent Platform for Apache Flink.

Cut over when ready

Once workloads and dependencies have been migrated and validated, producers, consumers, and dependent applications can transition to Confluent according to your operational requirements.

Event Endpoint Management continues to provide discovery and governance for Kafka events, including those running on the Confluent Platform.

Optimize your future environment

After the transition is complete, organizations can decommission migrated Event Streams and Event Processing environments when appropriate, and continue optimizing their event-driven architecture.

Event Endpoint Management can remain part of this future architecture, providing event discovery, governance, and reuse alongside IBM Confluent Platform.

How much time do I have?

Customers have time to plan and execute their transition.

Date What it means
July 14, 2026 IBM Integration Confluent add-on became available
October 9, 2026 IBM Event Automation is no longer available for new ordering
November 10, 2026 Ordering completes for the listed Event Automation annual Software Subscription and Support renewal parts
April 30, 2028 Normal support for IBM Event Automation ends
May 1, 2028 Sustained Support for IBM Event Automation begins for eligible customers
April 30, 2029 Extended Support for IBM Event Automation ends

Sustained Support can remain available for eligible customers according to IBM’s published Sustained Support policies. Customers should refer to the official IBM announcement and product lifecycle information for authoritative support and ordering details.

Where does the IBM Integration Confluent add-on fit in?

For organizations using IBM Cloud Pak for Integration or IBM webMethods Hybrid Integration, IBM has introduced the IBM Integration Confluent add-on.

The add-on enables organizations to combine Confluent event streaming with IBM integration capabilities across applications, APIs, messaging, B2B, and files.

This can support use cases such as triggering integrations from real-time events, creating event streams alongside APIs, reacting to B2B activity as it happens, making events available to multiple consumers, and bringing real-time events into traditionally batch-oriented processes.

IBM Confluent Platform is also available as a standalone product.

What happens to Event Endpoint Management?

Event Endpoint Management continues to be enhanced.

Rather than being replaced by Confluent, Event Endpoint Management can augment Confluent Platform and other Apache Kafka-compatible platforms.

Organizations can use Confluent for Kafka-based data and event streaming while using Event Endpoint Management to document events through AsyncAPI, make them discoverable alongside APIs, and govern their reuse across integration teams.

For existing Event Endpoint Management users within IBM Integration SaaS or IBM Integration Software, no entitlement changes are necessary for Event Endpoint Management because of this transition.

What about my existing entitlements?

Existing Event Streams and Event Processing customers continue to use their current entitlements for the remainder of the applicable purchased subscription or ELA term.

IBM intends to provide entitlement flexibility to support the transition, including appropriately sized Confluent Platform entitlements for eligible customers to establish a parallel environment for migration.

Specific entitlement and commercial arrangements will depend on the customer’s contractual agreement, deployed capabilities, and future requirements. Customers should work with their IBM representative or IBM Business Partner to determine the appropriate approach.

What should I do now?

You do not need to migrate everything today, but now is the time to start planning.

  • If you use Event Streams, assess your existing Kafka environment and begin defining its transition to IBM Confluent Platform.
  • If you use Event Processing, identify your existing Flink workloads and requirements and include them in your transition planning.
  • If you use Event Endpoint Management, it will continue to provide discovery and governance for events within your future Kafka environment.
  • If you use several Event Automation capabilities, assess them together and define a future architecture combining the IBM Confluent Platform with IBM Integration SaaS or IBM Integration Software as appropriate.

Contact your IBM representative or IBM Business Partner to review your current environment and determine a transition approach that fits your architecture, contractual timeline, and business requirements.

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