Any time you have to upgrade an enterprise-wide software, you’ll need to take various things into consideration. This is especially true for your integral email archiving solution. In this blog post, we’ll talk about the five things you should know before upgrading Enterprise Vault.

1. Is Your Current Environment Compatible with the New Version?

Each time there’s a new version of software, you need to make sure it’s compatible with your current operating system. The chart below will cover the compatibility for Enterprise Vault 9, 10, and 11 so you can be sure your operating system is supported by the version of Enterprise Vault you’re upgrading to.

The first table shows the supported combinations of server operating system and the Enterprise Vault Server.

Note: Check the key below for various caveats.

The following table shows the supported client operating systems for the standalone Enterprise Vault Administration Console, which runs on a separate computer from the Enterprise Vault server. The standalone Enterprise Vault Administration Console version must be the same as the Enterprise Vault server.

To see the caveats, check out this compatibility guide.

2. Do You Need to Hire an Outside Engineer?

You probably have someone on your team with the knowledge and capabilities to upgrade Enterprise Vault — but they probably don’t have the time. Projects usually take five fully dedicated days, including compiling documentation post-upgrade as well as end user training.

There’s also a chance that something could go wrong with the technology during the upgrade. Relying on someone at your organization, who has other responsibilities, puts you at risk for the upgrade taking longer than it should.

3. Is Microsoft Outlook Compatible with the New Version?

Every end user will have an Enterprise Vault add-in installed in Microsoft Outlook. It’s extremely important to make sure your current version of Outlook is compatible with the version of Enterprise Vault you’re upgrading to.

This add-in allows users to access their email archives and gives them these capabilities…

• Manually archive items
• Delete items (with the right permissions)
• Restore items
• Search the archive
• Access Enterprise Vault search

The following chart will show you if your current version of Outlook is compatible with the version of Enterprise Vault you’re upgrading to.

To see the caveats, check out this compatibility guide.

4. Know Your Application’s Downtime

Before you begin your upgrade, you need to be aware of any downtime required by your application. While upgrading Enterprise Vault, there will be times that the upgrade will need to stop. If you’re already aware of the downtime, you can plan accordingly.

5. Check on Your Support Contract

You’re upgrading Enterprise Vault, so your support contract with Veritas should be up to date. But you should always be prepared and make necessary checks. You need to get in touch with Veritas to make sure everything will be supported during the upgrade. If your project engineer runs into issues with the technology during the upgrade, they’ll probably need to call support. This step will simply ensure that everything is squared away before your project begins.