Application Upgrade Planning Considerations

Does your organisation have ambitions to upgrade your Snow Software Technology Intelligence platform, or another business application? Many organizations assume that software upgrades can be executed with minimal disruption, but to ensure a successful outcome, diligence and careful planning are highly recommended. Each situation will differ, but regardless, I always advocate a risk-averse approach be taken. Personally, I have been involved in hundreds of software upgrades, both with Snow Software and other vendors, and based on that experience, I want to share a few considerations for any organisation planning an upgrade as part of the #DoMoreWithSnowServices series.

1. Firstly, prior to any upgrade, especially with enterprise-class solutions, it’s important to run an impact assessment of the upgrade.

2. Once a full end-to-end assessment has been completed, a rollback and Disaster Recovery (DR) plan must be established before proceeding further. This is critical to mitigate the risk of unplanned business impact.

3. Now that you know what will be upgraded, how it will be upgraded, and what the rollback plan is, the next critical decision is who will run the upgrade. For Snow Software’s specific applications, we endorse certified, appropriately skilled, individuals complete the upgrade. Our solutions are packed full of complex features to provide complete visibility and manageability across customer’s technology. This decision should retain a view on quality and the required outcome, not be made purely based on cost.

4. Organizations should not consider an upgrade “done” upon completion of the upgrade on the day. It is imperative that adequate testing is then completed to fully verify the end-to-end solution is operating as expected.

It’s also important to point out that no “one size fits all” when it comes to a software upgrade. For each organization, their installation and complexity will drive the approach required. The timeline for completing an upgrade may vary significantly case by case. At Snow Software, our industry-leading research and development team are continually providing new features and benefits to our product portfolio. These features are specifically targeted based on feedback from customers and partners to ensure we are addressing current business challenges. Customers are the core of our business. To ensure you have access to all these benefits, regularly verify your current product versions against the latest available. The following link can be used to validate the current version of any Snow Software platform or application. https://lnkd.in/eUgfsm5E

Please contact your Snow Software Account Manager, or any member of the Snow tribe, to further discuss how the Snow team can help address your specific needs.