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The single most common reason for pursing an upgrade is to remain current with your solution’s product lifecycle plan. Software, like many things has a planned lifespan and the vast majority of software providers expect for their customers to upgrade their solutions on a 3 to 5 year cycle. Related product support and development plans are geared towards this expectation and customers who choose not to adhere to this lifecycle plan can unwittingly expose their organizations to unnecessary or unwanted risk. For example, many regulatory and tax features, as well as their related support are phased-out over time, as new releases are introduced, encouraging customers to consider these newer, more feature-rich and technically capable releases.

The second most common reason for pursuing an upgrade is to take advantage of any new functionality and or desirable technical enhancements embodied within the new release. As industries change and evolve, new technologies are born and Governments continue to propagate new regulations, therefore change is inevitable and must be accommodated. For most software providers, a new release is meant to accommodate this change, while enabling an organization to recognize and seize upon new opportunities brought about by change.

The third most common reason for pursing an upgrade is to escape an otherwise unstable or undesirable release. Unfortunately, all software solutions contain abnormalities or bugs that can otherwise inhibit or restrain the intended use of some functionality. If this restraint becomes significant, an upgrade to a newer release just may be the prudent course of action. However, prior to making this choice, proper due diligence must be conducted to validate this presumption; otherwise the current situation could actually be exacerbated.

Last, some organizations simply choose to remain on an older release of their software despite all the forgoing justifications and reasons. These organizations feel that a delay is justified based on their own unique situation. For example, a delay could be justified based upon the level of effort and investment necessary to complete the proposed upgrade, perhaps because of significant modifications in the past, the loss or availability of key personnel to assist with the upgrade, or for purely business reasons.

While these reasons might seem simple and easily justifiable on the surface, managers should dig deeper to ensure their decisions are indeed warranted, as their results could prove even costlier than the actual upgrade itself over the long run. So, should you upgrade or wait? The decision is yours!