Annual Software Maintenance & What’s in it For You

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Every year we are asked to pay an annual software maintenance fee for our business software to the publisher, usually Sage Software. This is not unique to Sage; all major software publishers require annual maintenance fees. You may have wondered at one time or another why you are required to pay this fee and how doing so benefits you.

The thing is, believe it or not, software like most everything else in life needs to be maintained. It must be kept up to date in order to run on new operating systems, and take advantage of new performance and security features. Your software must also be continually enhanced to accommodate changing business requirements and new government regulations, as well as evolving users’ needs. Without on-going maintenance the system your business relies on would soon become obsolete which could force a large investment in another system.

Software maintenance fees are a cooperative effort of all active users to fund the significant costs to keep major software products current and alive. With every new release your business gains a more stable and feature rich business solution, which when used to the fullest will forward your business goals in many ways.

There are other services that your annual software maintenance fees buy. Both Net at Work and Sage offer free web based live and recorded training on the new features in each software version. Sage maintains an extensive on-line knowledge base which is a great place to find answers and tips on how to use your Sage software more effectively.  Then there are the Sage on-line product community forums that are another rich source of information.

In all regular maintenance and upgrades allow you to:

  • Ensure optimal performance
  • Save time and maximize productivity
  • Better manage your business
  • Enhance collaboration
  • Lower total cost of ownership
  • Diminish user interruption
  • Compliance with government regulations
  • Keep up with technology advancements
  • Further streamline operations

Sage Software offers three levels of software maintenance plans, Bronze, Silver and Gold. Bronze is strictly software maintenance while Silver and Gold offer levels of telephone and on-line support in addition to software updates and new versions.

Considering the important role that your software plays in successfully operating your business, annual software maintenance is a very good investment. I hope you agree.