Document Process Automation Solutions

Transcription

1 Document Process Automation Solutions Product Lifecycle Policy Revision Frequently Asked Questions May 2012 North America

2 1. What changes are you announcing to the DPA Product Lifecycle Program? Effective immediately, Bottomline will permanently suspend the scheduled product sunsetting for products in the Create!form, Optio and FormScape solution suites. Effective April 1, 2012, Bottomline has transferred all of these products into a sustaining state. As a result, Bottomline will continue to provide active support for these products, and where possible, execute product refreshes for embedded and underlying technology components, as well as regulatory-related functional updates. 2. Why is Bottomline making this policy change? A: As a part of our global C1 ( Customers First ) initiative, we have made this change in response to the feedback of our loyal customer base. While we still feel that Transform is the best document automation platform for the future, we understand that currently implemented products already provide significant value and sufficient functionality to meet the needs of many customers today. We further agree that continued operations, and therefore support, of the products currently operating in our customers environment is in their best interest. 3. What products and versions are affected by this policy change? A: Existing customers running FormScape and Covus v3.5 or earlier; Create!form v3.2 for JD Edwards EnterpriseOne or earlier; Create!form v6.4 or earlier; and Optio DCS v6.3.6 & e.comintegrate v7.8.3 or earlier are included in this policy change. It is still recommended that customers upgrade to the latest version of each product to receive the best support. 4. How does this policy change affect me/my organization? If you are a FormScape, Optio or Create!form customer currently operating a Windows, Unix or AS400-based product, you will continue to receive product support from Bottomline for as long as you are on an active maintenance contract. If you are a FormScape customer who has already received a maintenance renewal invoice, your support level will not change and, under the provisions of the new sustaining products policy, you will also be able to renew your maintenance contract beyond Any Extended Support fees already applied to your contract will still be required for continued support. Please make sure that your Customer Care Portal (CCP) log-in is active and that your address is current within Bottomline s customer database. This will ensure that you receive appropriate notifications of upcoming product releases and accompanying support options in the future. To confirm and/or update you/your company s contact information, please log-in to the CCP or call the CTAC Support line at If you are a Create!form or Optio customer on active maintenance, your support level will not change. Annual renewals will be invoiced and processed routinely as in prior years. Under the provisions of the new sustaining products policy, you will also be able to renew your maintenance contract beyond Page 2

3 An Extended Support Fee may be levied at the time of your contract renewal based on the product and version you are currently operating. Extended Support Fees will be added to annual renewals beginning January Can I get credit on the extended support fees that I/my company have already paid for FormScape product(s)? How will those credits be applied? The Extended Support Fees previously levied for FormScape product support remain valid and are required for all customers running Covus or FormScape 3.5 or earlier. 6. How long will Bottomline continue to support the products affected by the policy change? Support for the products included in this policy change is being extended for an indefinite period of time, with no foreseeable end date. We will continually evaluate the viability of product refreshes as technology and regulatory issues evolve. If a product is determined to be unsupportable due to technology, regulatory changes, or declining customer interest factors, we will actively notify affected customers of a planned policy change. 7. What about the Bottomline products not listed above, such as the document archive solutions and products running on UNIX and/or AS400 platforms? Bottomline's policy for Create!form and Optio products running on AS400 and Unix platforms, as well as the archive solutions (Create!Archive, Optio ecompresent, Optio ProCentra Content Center, and FormScape Presenter) has been to provide continued, sustaining support. This policy remains unchanged. The Windows-based products are now being added to this sustaining policy for all customers. 8. Does this mean that Transform is no longer the consolidated, go-forward platform? Transform continues to be the go-forward platform for Bottomline's document automation offerings and the consolidation platform for our legacy products. Future investments for enhanced feature/functionality and innovation will be focused exclusively on Transform. 9. Is Transform still an option for me under maintenance? Will I be required to purchase it now? The Server remains the product upgrade path for Create!form, Optio and FormScape customers on the Windows operating system, and will continue to be covered under an active maintenance agreement. Customers upgrading to the Server will be able to run their documents and their current design tool in the compatibility engine represented by the Create!form Transform Integration Server (CTIS) or Optio Transform Integration Server (OTIS) products. Effective with this policy change, upgrading customers can now also elect to bypass the Transform administration functions. This will achieve the same production and design experience you have today, but with a refreshed technology foundation. The Transform Designer, for customers planning to run their documents natively on the Server (versus in compatibility mode with CTIS and OTIS), will be available for an additional license fee. Page 3

4 10. Can I continue to buy licenses of Create!form, Optio DCS, Optio ecomintegrate, or FormScape? The Create!form (v3.2 or earlier, v6.4 or earlier), Optio DCS (v6.3.6 or earlier), ecomintegrate (v or earlier) and FormScape (v3.5 or earlier) products entered into an End of Sale state on January, 1, 2012 and are no longer available for purchase. Customers requesting additional licenses will need to upgrade to the most current version of the existing document output technology (CTIS, OTIS or Transform) and purchase additional licenses of these products. 11. What is the future for the Optio/Create!form/FormScape products? What is the roadmap? Future development for the Optio, Create!form and FormScape products will be limited to regular technology refreshes to support new operating systems and required third-party product updates provided via the independent operations of the compatibility engines in Transform. The future path for all customers continues to be an upgrade to Transform. 12. What is the upgrade path for Optio/Create!form/FormScape customers? The upgrade paths for Create!form, Optio, and FormScape present a dual option for our customers. Customers will have the choice to roll forward to the most current version of the existing document output technology to ensure their environment is at the most technically current state possible. This is achieved by upgrading to the compatibility engine within Server. Alternatively, customers may elect to migrate to the Transform Foundation Server and run documents natively using the Transform Designer. Native execution on Server ensures that you are both technically current and able to take advantage of any new functionally, innovation or value-added modules delivered within the Transform product family in the future. Upgrade Options If your product is. Current Product Transform Platform Create!form Create!form v3.2 for JDE or earlier CTIS v Create!form v6.4 or earlier CTIS v Optio OptioDCS v or earlier OTIS v Optio e.comintegrate v or earlier OTIS v FormScape FormScape v3.5 or earlier Page 4

5 13. Will Optio/Create!form support the recent release of Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 9.1 tools? Optio and Create!form customers can achieve support for the JDE 9.1 tools by upgrading to CTIS v and/or OTIS v Does this mean that DCS v6.3.6 (or earlier) will support Microsoft Windows 2008 in the future (or other OS)? Customers running versions of DCS for Windows will need to upgrade to OTIS v for Windows in order to receive Windows 2008 Server/Windows 2008 R2 Server support. Need More Information? Please contact your account representative, or the Bottomline Customer Technical Assistance Center online at portal.bottomline.com or by calling About Bottomline Technologies Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ: EPAY) provides cloud-based payment, invoice and banking solutions to corporations, financial institutions and banks around the world. The company s solutions are used to streamline, automate and manage processes involving payments, invoicing, global cash management, supply chain finance and transactional documents. Organizations trust these solutions to meet their needs for cost reduction, competitive differentiation and optimization of working capital. Headquartered in the United States, Bottomline also maintains offices in Europe and Asia-Pacific. For more information, visit Copyright Bottomline Technologies. All right reserved. Bottomline Technologies, the BT logo, Create!form, Optio, FormScape, Covus and Transform are trademarks of Bottomline Technologies, Inc. which may be registered in certain jurisdictions. All other brand/product names are trademarks of their respective holders. Page 5