I have trouble calling it Dynamics NAV. To me, it's still Navision. And version 3.6 was new when I first learned Dynamics NAV a few years ago. It's time for the 3.x versions to be retired, and Microsoft is doing just that with version 3.7 on November 12, 2006.
I know software companies have to discontinue support for old versions. I understand that it's just not practical to continue to support versions that are even a few years old. And--practically speaking--it really doesn't mean anything for clients. They can continue to use the old version. But eventually it catches up with them. Eventually, they have to update because the technology gets so old that it's not compatible with current technology, or won't work with the current version of something.
The bad thing from my perspective is that it leaves us in the middle. Clients want support for software the vendor doesn't provide backup for. Like trying to repair washing machines when there aren't any spare parts. Well, it's not quite that bad...software generally doesn't wear out...but eventually, it won't work with current operating systems, hardware, etc.
Unfortunately, when the day comes that the software has to be retired, the software vendor is isolated from the situation, and our client feels like they are being forced to upgrade. And Data Guidance Group catches the angst. It's OK, though. It's just part of the business. I wish all software for our clients could be low cost or no cost.
Of course, most software vendors would argue that software already is...
