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Is Your Database Corrupt ?
Upgrading PC software - Is it time for a new approach?
This article reviews the current upgrade strategy for many of Australia’s
most popular business software products and is published with permission from
one of Australia's most popular business magazines called
National Business Bulletin
This article reviews the current upgrade strategy for many of Australia’s most popular business software products and is published with permission from one of Australia's most popular business magazines called National Business Bulletin
This was a perfectly legitimate
approach by Microsoft, but highlights
that consumers are now faced with
software becoming obsolete.
These regular reviews are becoming
an important business operation.
or Office support at
ONLINE
SERVICES FREQUENCY OF MINOR
UPGRADES
Click on the following button
In the past, PC users have been
upgrading their software only when
they could see enough worthwhile
new features, however, some have run
into substantial issues when
undertaking an upgrade. These can
cost more than the software itself and
are a major deterrent to upgrading.
Microsoft now has a policy of
supporting software for a finite period
of time, generally no more than five
years. The popular products to expire
in the next two years include
Windows NT 3.5 and Windows 98 in
July 2003 and Office 97 in July 2004.
This is discussed in greater detail for
all Microsoft software products at
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/discontinue.asp
When your software nears the end of the
product life cycle, you either have to upgrade
your software or take some of the following steps.
1) Ensure your software disks are stored in a
secure place such as a fireproof safe.
2) Have internal personnel trained in
the use and support of your software.
3) An external organisation may
provide long term support. They too
will need copies of the original software.
4) Download upgrade patches and
store them with your original disks on CDROM.
5) If your software has a knowledge base such as MSDN, you should save these
files. You may need them in the future.
Keeping old versions of software is
not difficult. Viruses, computer harddisk
crashes, theft, fire and installations
of new hardware and software can
render old software inoperable.
SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTION
A new method of purchasing software
is called “Software Subscription”.
Symantec maintains its security software
on subscription services very suited to
continual upgrades. Microsoft Office
now has a yearly subscription offer and
upgrades of software are part of the
service. This includes remembering to
update software, yearly payments and
finding those special passwords and
numbers that were not documented.
http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/subscribe/sub info.html
http://www.microsoft.com/australia/licensing/
In May 2001, we introduced Office XP Subscription, a way to license Office on an
annual subscription basis. Our recent product evaluations have shown that, while
customers do find this model useful, there is confusion around the exact
mechanics of this subscription model. On this basis, we are discontinuing the
program. To minimise inconvenience, we are offering subscription customers a
replacement copy of Office XP (perpetual version) at no additional charge. This
version will never expire and is eligible for future product upgrades. For
details on obtaining your replacement copy of Office XP, please call 1800 642
008.
http://www.microsoft.com/australia/office/
CRITICAL UPGRADES
It is vital that every business fully
maintains its antivirus software
security, firewall and backups.
Some services are proving that they
are worth running on the other side of
the company firewall. Web-based email services allow
you to access your email from anywhere
with nothing more than a browser. Management of databases through
online interfaces.
These types of services require
companies to maintain high speed
access to the internet from company
computers. Examples can be found
with Oracle outsourcing services and
with Microsoft’s .NET and XML
undertakings.
http://www.oracle.com/online_services/
http://www.microsoft.net/
A NEW UPGRADE STRATEGY
Rethink your computer upgrade
strategies by adopting a product early
in its life cycle and using it until the
end of the product life cycle. Research
when your products are to be
unsupported by the vendors, and
consider an upgrade before that time.
The most suitable time to upgrade
would be about six to twelve months
after a major product release, to allow
time for the first upgrade patch of the
software to be available. Once you have
installed the software, you will now
have four to five years of continuous
use of the software before you need to
think about upgrading again.
This should give you the stability
that makes long term use of software
profitable.
In between major upgrades, users
can take advantage of software patches
that are generally downloadable from
the Internet. These software patches
also find their way into the retail
version of the software within a few
months of the original version.
The software patch is an important
part of the software lifecycle, because
the product has then been tested by a
large number of users.
AUTOMATIC UPDATES
A feature of new software is the
availability of automatic updates from
the internet as part of the product itself.
Delay these upgrades for a number of
weeks after they become available to be
confident the software has been tested
by a large number of users.
This article first appeared in the
October Edition of National Business Bulletin. Reprinted with permission.
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