Are EnvisionConnect users moving to Windows Vista?

Ordinarily, I am the first to push folks to upgrade to the latest and greatest, and—as a Microsoft partner—Decade Software cannot recommend not upgrading to Microsoft's latest operating system.

However, I want to at least caution those who are considering it.

Initial tests running EnvisionConnect and Windows Vista are positive. We know of no known issues, but like many software vendors, we are concerned with the sluggishness of Windows Vista.

Some have even started a campaign to force Microsoft to reinstate Windows XP as it's flagship product.

As such, I recommend weighing the Pros and Cons yourself before jumping in.

J. Peter Burzzese at this to say at InfoWorld magazine...

"Some say Vista isn't ready for the enterprise, although my last post describes how Vista was put into use at Continental Airlines immediately - and planes didn't fall out of the sky. So, obviously it is satisfying some, albeit not all. As for the 'Save XP' campaign... it seems like a moot point. Come 2009, if you're not ready to move to Windows Vista, its successor will probably show up long before the extended support for Windows XP ends in 2014."

...and you thought the Apple/Linux debate was all there was to worry about.

Why so much ado about San Bernardino County?

By now, you've heard that San Bernardino County has migrated from Envision to EnvisionConnect. You've likely heard that they have completed billing and have over 40 inspectors in the field carrying Toughbooks running EnvisionConnect Remote, but maybe now you're asking yourself:

• Hasn't Nevada County used EnvisionConnect for nearly a year?
• Haven't many other Environmental Health regulators across the country adopted EnvisionConnect since then?
• Hasn't Anchorage, Alaska successfully migrated from Envision to EnvisionConnect?
• Hasn't Sacramento and Orange County been beta testers for a couple of years now?

Of course, the answer to those questions is a resounding "yes".

That brings us to your next question: What's so special about San Bernardino County?

Encyclopedia's describe San Bernardino this way:

"San Bernardino County is the largest county in the contiguous United States by area, containing more land than each of nine states. The county is larger in area than the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware combined. Any of those states could be replaced in the list by New Jersey, Vermont, or New Hampshire."

San Bernardino County

That makes the county sound pretty important, but that's not exactly why it's so important to us. We are very close to our long-time customers, most of which still use Envision—and many have done so since the original DOS version. Some of the staff at these agencies are like family—or at least like co-workers. We have known them a very long time, and it is important to our staff that we keep them happy.

EnvisionConnect was actually designed by the Envision user community, and no matter how many new customers climb aboard, it is the final approval of our long-time customers that keep us on the edge of our seats. We've tried hard to cook what they ordered, and we're awaiting the moment they taste it and tell us whether we got it right.

That's where San Bernardino comes in.

Envision is a complicated application. It provides the tools to manage a vast number of programs regulated by the environmental health industry. Some Envision agencies regulate more programs than others. San Bernardino County is an agency that uses most of the programs regulated by Envision.

We knew that if San Bernardino's migration proved successful, everyone else's would as well. Today, Dan Avera and his team are smiling, but our smiles are bigger.