CiviCRM 4.7 is in development, which means it will hopefully be released during 2016. With this comes the announcement that the Long Term Support (LTS) version of CiviCRM will become version 4.6 from the end of January 2016. We’ll be asking all our customers to decide what version of CiviCRM they want to use before 4.7 is released.
So what’s a Long Term Support version all about? It means still getting security patches, but no new features. The advantage of this is reduced risk of bugs being introduced with those new features. But the downside is you just don’t get the new features. For example, if CiviCRM were to introduce a new feature that makes you a coffee every time you schedule an email newsletter using CiviMail, you’d only get that feature if you chose to upgrade to the new version. If you’re on the Long Term Support version, no coffee for you. But on the upside, if the coffee feature has a bug in it, you don’t get the bug either. Should you decide that you really want a new feature, but you’re a Long Term Support user, you can just ask us to upgrade your CiviCRM when you’re ready.
What this is really about is a choice between stability, and latest features. If CiviCRM is pretty much doing everything you want it to do, and you don’t want to worry about us having to fix bugs for you, then Long Term Support is the version for you. But if you like making use of new features as soon as they’re available, and you don’t mind us using your CiviCRM Support and Updates service to fix any bugs that come with those features, then you’re better off upgrading rather than staying on the Long Term Support version.
Still wondering what to do? Call us. We’ll help you.
VP of Client Happiness at Agileware. Emma is passionate about supporting the non-profit sector and ensuring that customer requirements are delivered.
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