Embarcadero to End Upgrade Editions

 

Note, due to some customers needing longer to get orders processed in their companies, the Upgrade Amnesty has been extended until April 30th.

 

Atanas Popov, the GM of Embarcadero, has just made an announcement about their plans to end the Upgrade versions of RAD Studio, Delphi and C++Builder. If you haven’t already read it I encourage you to do so, but I wanted to follow up with a post of our own.

When I first heard of this plan, I was more than a little surprised. Traditionally the Upgrade version was our biggest seller! Why would they end that?

However when I dug into the data over the last few years it became much less surprising. With our customer base now dominated by people on Update Subscription, the Upgrade versions are now a very low percentage of sales.

Probably the most common question at this point is “Does this affect me?”

If you’re on Update Subscription, then no, it doesn’t. You’re already getting all releases that come out during your subscription, and your renewal is not affected by this.

If you’re not on Update Subscription, then yes, you could be affected:

• If you’re on a recent version (XE7, XE8, 10 Seattle, 10.1 Berlin) you can still Upgrade but only until the end of March April.
• If you’re on an older version, then Embarcadero are running an Upgrade Amnesty until the end of March April, meaning you can get onto Update Subscription at the Upgrade price, even if you’re currently on Delphi 1! (Don’t laugh, just within the last 2 weeks I’ve been talking to someone about helping to move their Delphi 1 code over to a mobile app and a REST server in the cloud. That’s a 23 year jump in one go!)

Some of you at this point might be saying “They run Amnesty several times per year. They’ll do it again in a few months”, and yes, they have run them fairly regularly over recent years. That’s a big part of the reason so many people are now on Update Subscription.

However, if you think about it, after March April this won’t be possible. The Amnesty is the ability to register an Upgrade version, even without a qualifying recent version registered on your account. If you can’t even buy an Upgrade version, by definition there is no Amnesty.

If you’re on an older version and not sure about an upgrade, have a look at our What’s Changed in RAD Studio page to get a high-level overview of additions that you might not be aware of. You can also contact us to have a chat with someone about what you’re doing and what you might be able to take advantage of in a more recent version. We also have technical Migration Workshops you can attend to see what’s involved in upgrading your projects. The most common feedback we get from people who’ve upgraded from older versions is “It wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be”, so I’d encourage you to reach out to us if you’re not sure.

If you’re keen to Upgrade, then you can see your options for purchasing here. Otherwise, if you’ve any questions about this, again, contact us and we can talk it through.