Please bear with us as this is likely to be a long post as there is alot to get through

As we will be officially releasing the new version of OP SmartDesk in the coming weeks I though it would be a good time to update you  on some changes that have been made to the software and what the plan is for the next 12 months.

Whats the delay?
We had planned to release the new version of OP SmartDesk on the 14th Jan 2010 however this has been delayed due to our trademark and patent applications not being complete.  Until this is done then  we cannot release the software, we are not in control of how quickly these things get done however we are chasing the patents and trademarks offices on almost a daily basis.

As soon as we have clearence we will publish the new version of OP SmartDesk.

What has changed?
Well, everything really.  OP SmartDesk has been rebuilt from the ground up using the latest in web technologies to allow us to provide some very inovative features.

Database Support
As of v2.0 of OP SmartDesk we will no longer be supporting MS Access and MySQL as a database for the software.  There are a number of reasons for this however the main reasons are as follows:

• Microsoft now provide SQL Server 2005 express and SQL Server 2008 Express and Web editions for free which are much more stable and robust over MS Access and also provide a higher level of secuirty.
• IIS7 on Server 2008 does not support MS Access by default, although there are ways to hack IIS7 to get this working we do not feel comfortable advising customers to make global changes to their servers in order to get a database working.

We will be providing a migration service to those customers using MS Access and MySQL in which we will convert your data to your preffered SQL Server version so you can take advantage of the new version of OP SmartDesk.

Development Road Map.
Our development roadmap has changed in that we will now release five updates per year four of which will be quaterly “feature packs” and will provide enhancements to the user interface and urgent security / bug fixes and one big upgrade that will be released at then end of each year which will include a database upgrade.

We are sure that this will provide a much more stable upgrade platform as the feature packs will not do any data upgrades.

Automatic Upgrades
Once OP SmartDeak has been released you will see that there is an auto upgrade facility so once an upgrade has been released to our upgrade servers you can simply download and upgrade at the click of a button.  The software will download, unpack, verify and upgrade the software automatically for you, all you need to do is ensure you have a data backup before you upgrade.

New Software Editions
When we release OP SmartDesk there will be 3 versions available:

• Lite or Free Version: This will provide entry level access to the world of helpesk software providing access to a single technician in order to log and track requests, unlimited user access and unlimited queues, however this version will not support email polling, SLAs, or asset management.  There is no charge for this version.
• Pro Version: This supports unlimited technicians and users, unlimited queues, email polling, SLAs, and email notifications but will not include Asset Management.
• Enterprise Version: This is the same as the pro version but will also include Asset Management.

This new version structure will allow the most amount of flexability as some customers may not need a full enterprise version of the software as the need is only for a helpdesk, while the Lite or FREE version will allow small sites to have a helpdesk without the initial cost outlay and as the need comes along upgrading to the next edition is easy.

Exisiting customers will automatically get the enterprise version once released as a gesture of thanks and for putting up with us

I hope that this brings a level of clarity and look forward to any feedback you may have.