Software Obsolescence: Entering the World of Data Secure Subscriptions

Remember when technology was simple (or at least attack free) and securing your IT systems was straight forward--a slow landline connection the worst of your IT concerns?

The advent of the Internet has changed many things. It's now common to run into a software obsolescence policy for instance.

Software Obsolescence

An Obsolescence Policy is meant to state a company's commitment to supporting the current release of its product in full.  In most cases, “Support” means having live Customer Support available and other add-on products or services for an additional fee.

Support Plans Defined:

Clients on current and active support plans such as Silver / Gold or Platinum can request assistance with new installations or upgrades of Sage products. Product updates consist of bug fixes or enhancements, and or tax table updates.

Platform changes

As operating platforms such as Windows release new versions and updates, providing optimized support for older software becomes impossible-- due to a lack of resources and information from third party SDKs. This was experienced most noticeably with the discontinuation of the OS platforms Windows XP and Vista.

Older versions of products lack optimization with newer technology and are therefore not configured to work with new security features. New security features often block or limit the functionality of programs with older features.

Downloads accessibility

Companies for this reason will remove download links from their website for software that is now (for security reasons) a legal hazard  to provide. Software that will not run properly unless a firewall or anti-virus scanner is turned off should not be provided.

In most cases, access to serial numbers and activation codes is still available for those who claim entitlement to their software. However, many companies are removing install files for older software which means that if the files are not saved previously, they will need to be acquired from another source.

Entering the World of Subscriptions

The subscription format is becoming the new norm for clients who want the freedom of the Cloud. Locking yourself down to an internet-less computer is no longer a viable option. There will always be someone who needs their invoice emailed to them, or some other service done involving the internet and doing so requires updates which for system security purposes are unavoidable.

Plus the freedom to work from anywhere is intangible. Sending and Receiving payments and tracking entries automatically, synchronizing the data that is entered by multiple users enables an organization to be competitive.

Cloud based freedom

As wonderful as the cloud is, there are no doubt tradeoffs. With our daily dependence on software are companies justified in claiming a fee for their intellectual property usage? Is a musician entitled to a royalty fee for every time their song is played on the radio? Most likely yes.

On the upside, please note that updating systems can greatly reduce the risk of attack and loss of company data, so consider making your IT systems as secure and up-to-date as possible.  Unless you are a really small business, it's not really possible or optimal to lock down your software/with perpetual licenses to an internet-less machine. By doing so, entrepreneurs greatly limit their potential.

Why is Security Important?

It may be bothersome to have to continuously update the expensive software that runs a business, but think of the necessity.

Protecting your financial information should be top priority. We've seen many stories in the news lately about businesses with poor IT infrastructure being prone to hacks whereby sensitive customer records are stolen. Therefore, it is very important to maintain a secure system and software that has firewalls and other passwords and security in place to make it extremely difficult for potential attackers.

As technologies change, it's strongly encouraged that non-supported software is upgraded to the most current versions of software. This ensures access to not only support but access to the newest software features.

Thanks for reading :).