End of Life?

[Mike O'Connor]

Does anyone have any information on when/if FileMaker will be phasing out older clients or server versions? Just trying to keep ahead of the curve (barely)

[CobaltSky]

Hi Mike,

I understand that the policy is that the current version and the two prior releases are 'supported'. I think that realistically, although that may mean that technical notes may be published which cover issues in versions across that range, the majority of developmetn effort (updates, bug fixes, new features etc) is going to be focussed on the current releast (and/or future releases).

The same is broadly true of third-party vendors, many of whom now no longer provide official support for their products for use with the fp3 file format.

Ultimately, it is a judgement call. Until last year, I still had one client who was running v4.0, and It's not much more than a year since I was asked to do some consulting on a medical installation using v3.0. But these are the exception rather than the rule, and most current clients are on 6,0 with a few still on 5.5. I think that as a general principle, it tends to be a false economy to fall much further behind than that. Otherwise the investment to catch up again escalates (software and hardware are one thing, but in my view the *real* costs are those associated with training/learning time, lost productivity - and 'technology stress' associated with generational incompatibilities/dysfunctions etc).

If you're doing a job, you need current technology tools for the job. Perhaps an 'every other version' approach might be suitable/workable in some cases, but much beyond that, IMHO the 'total cost of ownership' starts to go up, not down.