We’re continuing to make changes to our suite of web tools, including our content management system. The key for us is to keep our software both evolving and in line with current server solutions. To that end, we’ve added some additional security features, and have upgraded the system software capabilities (database, Apache, etc.) to ensure ease of installation or upgrading.
One of the things that always concerns me is the constant nature of web evolution. It always seems to be a matter of tossing what you had in favor of what’s new, and the relative costs that go along with that. We would prefer that our customers evolve as their needs to – but also based on their usage of the tools they’ve engaged us to provide. The net result is that upgrading with our team is painless, fast, and often involved additional capabilities as well.
On multiple occasions each year, we go through all of our servers, review the software being used, and work to ensure there is a solid solution in place to meet the needs of our clients. While we charge our clients for annual maintenance support for their installed applications, there is no requirement for us to maintain the latest versions (or most stable versions) of software for each box. But, as a matter of course, we keep that issue on the table and review our systems on a quarterly basis. It keeps us busy, but it also provides our clients with some confidence that we’re involved in their success.