dBase Support & Development

dBase Support Services

We have over 2 decades experience offering extended dBase support, development and dBase services to small and large UK and global enterprises.

There is no longer support by dBase for the following versions of dBase: dBase III, dBase III+, dBase IV, dBase 5.0 for DOS, dBase 5.c for Windows, Visual dBase 5.x and Visual dBase 7.01. As a result dBase will no longer accommodate providing compatibility for this technology in future software releases and operating system upgrades.

We offer a tailored working arrangement to cater for the diverse range of operational demand for supporting and maintaining core legacy business systems. We work with leading corporate customers in supporting business critical systems from a standard office based cover to 24/7/365 support agreements.

Contact us today to discuss how dBase Support can help your business.

Will my dBase Applications stop working?

No, the end of extended support does not mean the program will stop working on that date, only that support will no longer be available from dBase directly, therefore businesses need to strongly consider what this means for them in terms of risk and compliance for future operations.

Business risk is the biggest driver why our clients opt to seek investment in Application Modernisation dBase Support have optimised a lean, quick and cost efficient dBase migration service that de-scopes risk in business transformation.

We have Important Programs Written in dBase. Do we need to do something now?

This ultimately has to be a business decision and not just a technical decision. It is most likely legacy dBase programs will continue to work well for several years but this is not guaranteed by anyone including dBase. We would encourage businesses to perform a risk assessment around business impact if operational problems became apparent with your legacy dBase programs.

All software (like computers, cars, buildings, telephones, etc.) has an end life and therefore, it is important businesses understand the life cycle process and plan for it accordingly. Ageing applications need to be maintained but in terms of legacy dBase, keep in mind that at some point, programs written in legacy dBase will have to be rewritten or replaced. We offer assistance in providing comfort and assistance in helping our clients during this transition by taking steps to

Support and maintaining your existing legacy application;
Help you determine the best and most efficient way of replacing the application, and at what cost; and
Take agile steps to perform the transition into live of a modern technology whilst maintaining business continuity
dBase Support work closely with our clients to ensure the end solution is the right one for the company to sustain maximum longevity on business operations.

Ok, But what are the risks of running Legacy dBase?

The biggest risk is the movement of technology and the unknown effects of this movement and/or change. Where some businesses have the luxury to continue operating on unsupported operating systems and hardware, the increasing pressures for the larger business to adhere to ISO compliance and security guidelines will eventually see the decommissioning of resources that can support legacy dBase.

Please be aware that dBase no longer support the following versions of dBase, so if you have one of those you may not have a support agreement in place if something goes wrong:
dBase III, and dBASE III+
dBASE IV
dBASE 5.0 for DOS, and dBASE 5.c for Windows
Visual dBASE 5.x and Visual dBASE 7.01

If your business systems is based on one of the above dBase versions, then the underlying technology is no longer supported and won’t be fixed if there are any issues, either with the database or the operating system. This leaves the database server vulnerable to attackers, potentially putting the data of your business and customers at risk.

As often happens when technology progresses, the specialists re-train and forget about the older, unsupported versions. Those applications then become difficult to support, and can cost businesses a lot of money when something goes wrong if they need that support.

The ideal strategy, therefore, is to find someone who can:
Support your existing legacy application;
Help you determine if the application needs replacing, and at what cost; and
Build that new system for you, in a current technology which is well supported.

That’s where we come in!

We have specialists in older versions of dBase who can support your legacy applications, and they can work with our business analysts to help determine the functionality needed from the system, as well as highlight any issues during a migration; putting plans in place to avoid those. We’ve got teams of developers who are highly proficient in current technologies who can make your existing applications better than ever, and build them to be supported for years to come.

Even if you are in the process of implementing a new system, there’s always a chance something could go wrong with your current one, so ensure you have the level of support you need in place before something goes wrong. You wouldn’t put insurance in place to cover an accident you’ve already had, so don’t wait until something goes wrong with your important business systems before you put in place provisions for support.