Open Door Technology

Maintenance – Software maintenance refers to all manner of updates:  Base, Improvement, Critical Update, and Hotfix releases.  A maintenance plan is required in order to access any software updates.

Support – Technical support refers to the assistance provided by our Support Team in the form of instruction, clarification, and problem resolution.  A support plan is required in order to receive the services provided under Technical Support.

Release Status – Every release is classified with one of the following statuses:

·         Active – Available for download from our SerenicSource site.  Partners with a maintenance plan in place will be able to access software updates for their customers covered under a current maintenance plan at no additional charge of software license fees for active versions.

·         Retired – Versions that have been retired are no longer covered by the maintenance plan.  Software updates for retired versions, including hotfixes, are billable.

·         In Progress – The release is currently in one of the product development phases of Requirements, Design, Code, or Test and will be the next version to be deployed.

Software Defect – An error or flaw that produces an incorrect or unexpected result or causes the software to behave in unintended ways is identified as a defect.

Software Enhancement – Any change to the software that provides for new or improved functionality or features is referred to as an enhancement.

Severity – We use a rating of 1 to 4 to identify the severity of the defect/enhancement in our Issue Tracking System, which is a very important variable in determining the priority and target version for release.

·         1 (Critical):  System, process or implementation down/inoperable with no workaround available.

·         2 (Serious):  System, process or implementation compromised and a workaround exists, but it is not easy to perform or introduces a risk of error.

·         3 (Moderate):  System, process or implementation not performing optimally, but a reasonable workaround exists.

·         4 (Cosmetic):  No immediate adverse impact; usually includes misspelled words, improper grammar, poor sentence structure in messages, etc.

Release Types:

Base – A Base release is designated by the first and second dimensions of the version number (i.e. 7.10, 8.00) and follows the Microsoft Dynamics NAV release schedule.  Base releases can be downloaded from the Product Downloads page accessed via the Product Info page.

Improvement – An Improvement release is designated by the third dimension of the version number (e.g., 7.10.01 would be Improvement 1 for the 7.10 Base release).  Improvement releases always include enhancements as well as improvements to address defects.  We target a major release (Base or Improvement) every 12 – 15 months.  Improvement releases can be downloaded from the Product Downloads page accessed via the Product Info page.

Critical Update – A Critical Update release is designated by the fourth dimension of the version number (e.g., 7.10.01.03 would be Critical Update 3 for the 7.10.01 Improvement release).  Critical Updates are primarily focused on improvements and roll-ups of hotfixes, but may include minor enhancements.  Additionally, our Payroll Year-End release containing the regulatory updates (e.g., W-2s, T4s) is deployed as a Critical Update.  Critical Update releases can be downloaded from theProduct Downloads page accessed via the Product Info page.

We target the release of Critical Updates to fall anywhere from 3 to 9 months after a Base or Improvement release.  Typically, there is a single Critical Update for each Base/Improvement release, excluding those for payroll year-end, which are targeted for December each year.  For example, 7.00.00.01 was released 4 months after the release of the 7.00 Base release (7.00), but there were also versions 7.00.00.02 to 7.00.00.05 released between December 2013 and January 2014 for the 2013 Payroll year-end.

Hotfix – A Hotfix release is provided to address a very specific issue that is preventing the completion of a critical business process through normal use of the software or through the use of a reasonable workaround and can be downloaded from the Hotfixes page accessed via the Support page. 

The Hotfix will update the version tag of the affected object(s) with “HF#####”, where ##### represents the number assigned via our Issue Tracking System (ITS).  It is important to note that Hotfixes are not cumulative.  Every Hotfix is created using the appropriate public release version, which means that applying one Hotfix could overwrite another Hotfix if the same objects are affected. 

All published Hotfixes created since the last public release of software are automatically included in the next planned release of the software with the exception of the Payroll Regulatory Releases.  The Payroll Regulatory Releases are deployed as a Critical Update but, for ease of application; do not typically include any modifications except those specifically required for the Payroll Regulatory update. Therefore, Hotfixes made available since the last public release will likely not be included in the following Critical Update release for regulatory changes.

Retirement Policy:

Kenek provides maintenance for a Base release (e.g., version 6.0, 7.0, 7.1) until it is retired, which is 5 years from the release date.  It is important to note that an Improvement release is only deployed for the most current, active Base release.  So, even though both 6.00 and 7.00 Base versions were active at the time we deployed our Improvement release in December 2013, we only provided those enhancements and improvements in a 7.10.00 Improvement release and did not deploy a 7.00Improvement release.  However, we do provide Hotfixes and specific Critical Updates for all active versions.

Critical Update releases are only deployed for the most current Base/Improvement release with the exception of the Payroll Critical Updates.  We provide these particular Critical Updates for all active versions.  For example, the Payroll Year-End Regulatory Critical Update for Calendar Year 2013 was deployed for versions 6.00.00, 6.00.01, 6.00.03, and 6.00.04 because the Base release of 6.00 was still active in 2013. 

Base 6.00 was retired effective 12/31/2014, which meant we deployed Critical Update releases providing the Payroll regulatory updates necessary for Calendar Year 2014 for versions 6.00.00, 6.00.01, 6.00.03, and 6.00.04, but we did not provide updates for those versions for Calendar Year 2015 or beyond.

·        In summary: Retired versions of Kenek VISIONPayroll are not eligible for Critical Updates. Any software updates or modifications requested by a customer or deemed necessary to address a reported issue for a retired version will require the execution of a services contract. 

Retired versions of Kenek VISIONPayroll are included under a Care Plan (support plan).  Any customer with a Care Plan may contact our Support Team and receive assistance, regardless of their software version.

Kenek strongly encourages customers to plan for an upgrade at least every 18–24 months so they are benefitting from the software improvements and enhancements covered by their annual maintenance fee.