Joshua D. Drake wrote:
Example discussion with customer:
Customer: CMD, should we update to 8.2.3
CMD: Is there something in 8.2.3 that will benefit you?
Customer: We don't know
CMD: Are you having problems with 8.1? (We try to push all customers to
at least 8.1)
Customer: No, it is just that 8.2 is the current release
CMD: True, but 8.3 is due out in the summer and 8.3 is a standard cycle
release
Customer: Oh... o.k. let's wait.
CMD: I think that is probably prudent.
That's how it is with me. I upgraded to 8.1 from 7.4 because there was
nothing in 8.0 that I *needed* and performance was already more than
sufficient on my ridiculous overkill hardware. I recently upgraded from
8.1.x to 8.2.3 only because of the DST updates in Western Australia. I
would not have otherwise. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Furthermore, upgrading is inherently risky. There is always the chance
of human error induced downtime, and so doing it "just coz" is not a
prudent policy.
Finally, in the absence of security concerns or performance issues (and
I mean the "we can't afford to buy better hardware" type edge of the
envelope type issues) there is zero *need* to upgrade. Sure, it may be
better to use a new and shiny version, however I always favor a
realistic and honest assessment of *needs* over *perceived needs*.
All that being said, the older the version you are running, the higher
the weight that should be attributed to the "upgrading is a good idea
just coz" argument. After a point, upgrading is just a good idea "just
coz". I wouldn't recommend anyone continue to run 7.2.x merely because
it was working for them.
Just my 2c (adjusted for inflation).
