Will technical upgrades be possible again?

Miklos_Hollender

Back in Classic times we called it a technical upgrade when we installed a new client but did not merge the objects nor migrated the data, it was the same database.

This was fairly cool because if you customized the living heck out of a 2.6 database you could still use it with a 6.0 client and thus be compatible with later versions of Windows etc. etc. the only thing you lost is that you had to downgrade regulatory changes - which happens not so much in an EU country.

This was lost with the introduction of the RTC, you cannot use 2009 RDLC reports in 2013, and I am not even completely sure about 2013 R1/R2 this way.

I would like to ask those who can see in the cards of Microsoft, will this be brought back? If I go through the l hell of redoing all my Classic reports in 2013 RDLC and merge all the objects and migrate all the data, can I just do a one-hour-long technical upgrade to NAV 2017 later if I am not so much interested in the business logic changes?

davmac1

At Directions we were told that technical upgrade from NAV 2013 to R2 is supported, though they still recommend upgrading the objects as well to take advantage of new functionality.
Unless they have changed their mind, it is now supported again.
(Though I don't know why you would want to make your life more difficult with a technical upgrade to R2 and its new limitations.)

Rob_Hansen

I haven't tried this, but if a NAV 2009 database has working RDLC layouts for all reports, is it feasible to do an executable upgrade to NAV 2013 and use the Upgrade Report function on all reports? I know you'd have to get rid of forms and probably export reports to a fob, then get rid of them all, then upgrade the executable, then bring the reports back in and upgrade them...so not a quick flip of a switch...but still curious as to whether it would work.

Marije_Brummel

Technical upgrades will be possible again. I doubt if they will be supported.

They were never officially supported in the old days either, but everyone did it.

tinoruijs

So we can all continue to not upgrade our clients installation and keep them on old versions?
:-k
I'm not sure if I still want to do that.
Off course it all depends on what a customer wants. And wants to pay for.

Miklos_Hollender

tinoruijs wrote:

I'm not sure if I still want to do that. .

Just understand that there are entirely different approaches. Sometimes NAV is seen as a functional ERP product with minor customizations, in this sense it makes sense. Some cases it is basically just a development environment for an in-house system (khm khm certain large well known sports clothing company khm), then not. I have seen the VAT 2010 changes downgraded to 4.3 (not a the mentioned company) and it wasn't really hard. Part of the picture is how stable is regulatory environment. I think the EU helps in these things, it stabilizes them. Not a whole lot changed in the last 10 years, just minor VAT stuff.

(Granted, customers who purchase 2-3 add-ons sometimes manage to kind of be in both worlds at the same time... add-ons are a special case as they require a huge up-front investment.)