Questions

Answer

ConstructConnect is committed to providing award-winning products and services. To that end, we must occasionally take an inventory of our products and versions to determine those that need to be retired (or ‘sunset’). We remain focused on current technology and advancing/improving our software, and that cannot be done if we continue to support outdated versions of our software. To help our clients understand which products are supported, we developed this Product Lifecycle guideline.

What can I do if the version I’m using is no longer support?

This depends on if you kept current with your Maintenance agreement with On Center Software.

How does this affect you?

Great question!
Will Windows or your ConstructConnect software simply 'stop' working on the date Microsoft ends Mainstream Support or Extended Support? No, of course, not. In fact, it is likely that nothing is going to change except that ConstructConnect will no longer be testing new releases against that operating system, nor will we register new ‘bugs’ that can only be reproduced on that operating system. We only provide very limited technical support for products running on operating systems not under “Mainstream” support with Microsoft (see below).

When Microsoft ends "Extended Support" for an operating system, they stop publishing security and OS updates. That puts anyone remaining on that OS at risk, and you need to migrate/upgrade to a supported Operating System. This likely means you will need new versions of your ConstructConnect products. If you are off-maintenance, or have been off maintenance for some time, you may be required to renew your maintenance subscription or even purchase new licenses. Contact Customer Success at 866-627-6246 to discuss your options.

Retired Product Versions (Exceptions)

Effective October 1, 2022, ConstructConnect ended support for the following versions:

Retired Operating Systems

On January 9, 2018, Microsoft ended "Mainstream Support" for Windows 8.1, therefore ConstructConnect no longer tests new releases against that platform. In addition, as of January 10, 2023, Microsoft ended "Extended Support" for that platform, so we will no longer provide technical support for versions limited to that OS. Microsoft previously ended all support for Windows 8 (assuming users would upgrade to 8.1, for free).

On January 14, 2020, Microsoft ended support for Windows 7 (and Server 2008/S2008 R2). Any version limited to Windows 7 or earlier is no longer supported or distributed.

If your software version is no longer on support or has been pulled from distribution, please contact our Customer Success team at 866-627-6246 for information on migrating to a supported version of your software.

Upgrading Your Operating System

Any time you are upgrading your Operating System (from Windows 8 to 10 or Windows 10 to 11, etc.), please return all licenses and uninstall your ConstructConnect desktop applications before upgrading the OS. Windows does its best to migrate programs and settings but it is best practice to remove any business-critical programs (such as PlanSwift, On-Screen Takeoff, Quick Bid, your Accounting software, etc.), then download and upgrade Windows (be sure to check for Windows Updates... even on a fresh install you'll be missing some), and finally install and license your ConstructConnect applications.

As a reminder, we regularly update our System Requirements, so it is important to check the latest System Requirements before installing any software, (see Related articles).

Products limited to "retired" versions of Windows

Microsoft has a two-stage End-of-Life plan for its products. First is the end of "Mainstream" support, typically approximate seven years after an operating system is launch; then the second is the end of "Extended" support, typically 3-5 years after Mainstream Support ends. See Related Articles, below, for a list of all supported versions and operating systems.

Note
For information about Microsoft’s Product Support/Sunset policies, please visit: http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/