How are software updates and new releases handled?

Software Updates & New Releases Frequency IntelliResponse strives to publish 4 releases a year, averaging once a quarter. Beta Testing The first part of the release process begins with a beta testing period, where we will reach out to those clients who are able to, and wish to be beta testers. Release Process After the release has been through an extensive beta testing cycle (typically 4-6 weeks), clients are then notified a minimum of 2 weeks prior to the release. New versions are released without any service interruption to the answer service or administrative functions. IntelliResponse gives clients not less than 30 days (20 business days) prior notice of any planned major releases, and 2 weeks (10 business days) for minor releases that do not affect core functionality. The notice to the designated contact at a company specifies the details of the upgrade, the test and release schedule, as well as instructions for the client to be able to inspect or test the upgrade. Clients have no less than 2 weeks to test the new release. In the event of a critical problem (for example a security vulnerability) we apply changes as soon as they have passed through our staging and pre-production testing. We always implement our solutions by applying them to our primary hosting environment while the customers are automatically moved to our disaster recovery environment. Once we have validated the update and its stability in production, then traffic is re-routed from our disaster recovery environment to our primary hosting environment. Patches If it?s determined a patch is needed after a release before the next scheduled release is planned, patches are investigated and approved for servers in a two-week period during which the application must successfully pass through the QA process. Release Policy & Special Circumstances One of the key benefits of a SaaS based service is that upgrades and new releases are performed by the vendor, alleviating the client of significant effort and cost. Our policy is that all clients receive the release by default unless a special circumstance is determined, and these are dealt with on a case by case basis. Security Updates In terms of security updates to our hosting environment, all fixes and security patches are tested before being applied to the production environment. On the second Tuesday of every month, the latest Microsoft security patches for the month are reviewed at http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/default.mspx. Other security issues are monitored via CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) notifications and US-CERT (US Computer Emergency Readiness Team) notifications and patches obtained after research of any applicable vulnerabilities. All security patches receive priority attention dependent on the level of risk presented and their assessed urgency, directing the scheduling of testing and promotion into production accordingly.

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Software Updates & New Releases

Frequency

IntelliResponse strives to publish 4 releases a year, averaging once a quarter.

Beta Testing

The first part of the release process begins with a beta testing period, where we will reach out to those clients who are able to, and wish to be beta testers.

Release Process

After the release has been through an extensive beta testing cycle (typically 4-6 weeks), clients are then notified a minimum of 2 weeks prior to the release. New versions are released without any service interruption to the answer service or administrative functions.

IntelliResponse gives clients not less than 30 days (20 business days) prior notice of any planned major releases, and 2 weeks (10 business days) for minor releases that do not affect core functionality. The notice to the designated contact at a company specifies the details of the upgrade, the test and release schedule, as well as instructions for the client to be able to inspect or test the upgrade. Clients have no less than 2 weeks to test the new release.

In the event of a critical problem (for example a security vulnerability) we apply changes as soon as they have passed through our staging and pre-production testing. We always implement our solutions by applying them to our primary hosting environment while the customers are automatically moved to our disaster recovery environment. Once we have validated the update and its stability in production, then traffic is re-routed from our disaster recovery environment to our primary hosting environment.

Patches

If it?s determined a patch is needed after a release before the next scheduled release is planned, patches are investigated and approved for servers in a two-week period during which the application must successfully pass through the QA process.

Release Policy & Special Circumstances

One of the key benefits of a SaaS based service is that upgrades and new releases are performed by the vendor, alleviating the client of significant effort and cost. Our policy is that all clients receive the release by default unless a special circumstance is determined, and these are dealt with on a case by case basis.

Security Updates

In terms of security updates to our hosting environment, all fixes and security patches are tested before being applied to the production environment. On the second Tuesday of every month, the latest Microsoft security patches for the month are reviewed at http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/default.mspx. Other security issues are monitored via CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) notifications and US-CERT (US Computer Emergency Readiness Team) notifications and patches obtained after research of any applicable vulnerabilities. All security patches receive priority attention dependent on the level of risk presented and their assessed urgency, directing the scheduling of testing and promotion into production accordingly.

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