Software Product Lifecycle Policy

A timeline is defined to determine the availability of support and maintenance for a specific version of a Movicon software product.  This policy is used by customers and partners to plan utilization and upgrade strategies for a software product.

Definition of Terms:

• Support is access to product experts that can help end-users troubleshoot and solve problems regarding the application of an Emerson software product.

• Maintenance is software releases that include bug fixes and enhancements.

• Version is a specific release of a product that uses a numeric designation to identify it as a major release.  Currently different schemes are used to designate a major release.  The aim is to use the same designation for all MAS software.

• Versioning is the sequence of numbers separated by dots to identify any different releases of the software.

Example: Movicon <X>.<Y>.<ZZZ> where:

X = Major Version (usually released every 3-5 years, and generally requires a license upgrade.

Y = Minor Version (usually released every year and is generally free of charge. It includes bug fixes and product improvements.

ZZZ = Build: (usually released 2-3 times a year free of charge and includes only maintenance bug fixes)

Classifying Product Versions to Indicate Available Level of Support and Maintenance

With the passage of time, newer versions of a software product become available. The new versions are compatible with new operating systems and hardware and include features to meet the emerging needs of end-users.  These new versions will eventually replace older versions.  

This process of releasing new product versions over time creates a need to classify the different versions of a product  to indicate the level of support and maintenance associated with them.  To meet this need, Emerson has created the active, mature, and retired classifications.

• Active is the actual version in production. Support is active and maintenance is active through the updated number of Builds.

• Mature is one of the previous minor versions which is no longer in production but still fully supported. Support is active and Maintenance is granted under certain conditions.

• Retired is one of the previous major versions. Support is no longer available or not guaranteed, and updates are not provided.

*this is for new MS Major Operating Systems, for example Win10, Win11, and include Windows updates, for example Win10 20H2

Software Versions Available for Ordering and Downloading

Only the Active version of a product can be ordered.  This is because licenses are backwards compatible, so a license will support the active version at the time of purchase, and all previously released versions.  A license upgrade is necessary to move to a higher or more current version.

All active and mature versions are available for download from the Customer Center.

Movicon version release policy

Product Versions

Movicon products use a sequence of numbers separated by dots to distinguish different releases of the software products. Specifically, when a software product has a new release, it will be given a unique sequence of numbers where the first number in the sequence identifies the major version.  The second number identifies minor releases, and the third number identifies a simple maintenance update, for that version.

Example: Movicon.NExT 3.2.184

A license upgrade is usually needed to move from one “Major release” to another.  License upgrading is to be established according to the corresponding sales policies.

Maintenance Releases for a Version

Each version has maintenance releases, that is identified by a “build” number which is the last number in the versioning number sequence.  A maintenance release with bug fixes is made available when necessary, according to the maintenance policy in question.  These releases are always free of charge and considered as maintenance releases.

Release Notes

Each version is described in a release note, which is also available on the www.progea.com web site. Release notes state reports all the changes made for each version.  Any software changes are identified with a case number for product traceability and incompatibility purposes.   Customers are strongly advised to read these release notes before installing new versions.

Current Movicon Software Status