Great Plains Ver 7 required upgrade to Ver 8? 1

[AnnieBlueEyes]

Our company purchased GPv7 in 2002 (implemented in mid-2003), which was handled by a previous employee. We have received a quote from the company who installed it (and who maintains, if needed) for "re-enrollment" into the Standard A Support Plan. They stated that Microsoft has waived the penalty to re-enroll. Because no one here was in on the original purchase, I was wondering if you might help me to understand what they are proposing.

1. We are being told that we must upgrade to version 8 because Microsoft no longer supports version 7 (as of 3/31/05). I haven't been able to find anything that substantiates this. It's disheartening to think that we have to pay for an upgrade 3 years later.

2. We really did not require a program as complex as GP and are not sure why we would now be forced to pay for an upgrade. It seems to be working fine for us and we don't anticipate that anything will change in the near future.

3. Is this Standard A Support Plan something that is standard from Microsoft and includes license renewals? Are license renewals supposed to be done annually? I'm just trying to understand why there would be a penalty for non-renewal of this plan. (The quote does not state if this is an annual maintenance plan, or what.)

4. Does anyone know if we really need this plan?

5. This quote is pretty high, so I need to make sure it must be done, or what other options may be open to us.

We haven't been real thrilled with this company who is quoting this plan, so I wanted an unbiased response to my questions. I have found so much information in the past on your forums, that I really trust what you would tell me.

I hope this is making sense to you. Thanks for any information you can give me.

 

[barbola]

Versions that are not on SQL Server (ie BTrieve and Pervasive) are no longer supported. I know that support for version 6 is also ending, but I thought if it was on SQL server, it was extended. Not sure, but I think u r right in that version 7.0 is still supported.

Thanks!
Barb E.

 

[jymm]

I am not sure of anyone on this site who is 'thrilled' with their 'partner', BUT - annual maintenance is a needed evil. If you are running payroll (for example) you can not get the tax updates without paying the maintenance. If you have something go wrong (locked batches...) and do not know how to handle it yourself (or you do not have a sql junkie like me) - you are sunk.

I know that Maintenance of the GP products can run 14%-18% of the original purchase price (which is probably in a contract somewhere) depending on some things, but it can get pretty pricey. I know that the first renewal I was involved with I asked which modules we were licenced for and how much the renewal was for each module - then we evaluated which ones we needed and saved about $1k per year with things we did not use. Got new keys to the program, but it was worth it.

about having to move - since you will be paying the maintenance fee (all hail gates) you might as well take advantage of the product updates --- as painful as it is.

if you have not realized it already, you will also get zapped for maintenance of other MS products (sql 2k, office, exchange...) on a regular basis and it is getting more pricey each year. So - even if you decide to forgo the GP maintenance and use it out of what you are licensed for - you will get zapped. (I am no lawyer and do not play one on TV, but it would not hurt to review your contract) -j

 

[AnnieBlueEyes]

Thanks, Barb! We are running GP on SQL Server. Can anyone verify that Version 7 would still be supported?

Thanks, Jymm! We don't use anything but very basic accounting. I'm going to take you up on your advice and see if we can pare down to what's absolutely necessary.

It appears that this program is really not user friendly as far as administering on our own. I'm really upset that we're in this position.

Thanks to you both for your input.

Anne

 

[jymm]

THis is the site where they post things like lifecycle of the products... this help?

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifebizsol

ouch - using it only for accounting, huh? well, if we can be of any help - we will...

 

[AnnieBlueEyes]

That was exactly what I was looking for (even though it gave me the bad news I didn't want to see!)

Thanks so much for your help. I may be back with more questions in the future!

Thanks,
Anne