Preparing for Sage MAS 4.0

As you may know, Windows 98 and NT 4.0 have been scheduled for support retirement on June 30, 2003. This effectively means that Microsoft will no longer provide technical support, security updates, or service packs for these products. As a result, Sage Software has announced an end of life support date of 12/31/2003 for those systems running NT 4.0 and Windows 98.

Newly released specifications for the upcoming versions 4.0 of Sage MAS90 indicate that the software will no longer support Windows 98 or Windows NT workstation. In order to maintain a supported network configuration for Sage MAS90 we strongly recommend that our customers consider an upgrade to Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Professional. In addition to keeping your network compatible with future releases of Sage MAS90, an upgrade to Windows Server 2003 will provide increased reliability, better system management features as well as an integrated remote access solution.

With the rapid advancement of new computing technology over the past few years we believe that the best upgrade path for most companies is to invest in new hardware. Hard drives have become larger and faster, memory prices have dropped and processors have become cheaper and more powerful. Much of the new hardware was designed to specifically support new features of the latest Windows operation systems which will contribute to increased performance and system stability. Many older systems are at the low end of the minimum requirements for the next generation Windows operating system and will require some type of hardware upgrade to work adequately.

The current minimum recommended hardware configuration for PCs running Sage MAS90 and Windows XP Professional are a Pentium III @ 550 MHz and 256MB of Ram. When you factor the costs of the new Windows license, hardware upgrades and installation you will nearly reach the cost of a brand new computer. With the cost of a business class desktop in the $550 - $750 range it may be more cost effective to replace aging systems with new hardware. Below is an example of the average cost that would be required to upgrade existing computers to Windows XP.

Desktop hardware is not the only component that has become more affordable. The price of server hardware has also dropped in recent years. A powerful small business server can be had for around $2500 depending on the options and redundancy that your business requires. We believe that you will find that the new hardware far out performs your existing system while maintaining compatibility with existing applications. The current Windows server platform, Windows Server 2003, includes several features designed to help businesses work more efficiently. The operating system was designed to be more reliable, more secure and more powerful than previous versions.

The hardware prices listed above are estimates and may include time sensitive rebates and upgrades. Please contact us for current pricing and a formal price quote. Hardware upgrade pricing is based on estimated hardware configurations and may not reflect the total cost of necessary upgrades. Implementation cost will be billed at our current hourly rate and will be based on actual time spent in support of this project.