Update capability and adaptability in Vertec: a technical area of tension

Vertec software is characterized by a pronounced update capability based on consistent backward compatibility. In cases where this is not possible, this is explicitly stated in the release notes of the new version. This approach protects investments in individual adaptations, but requires conscious handling.

Vertec takes a non-invasive approach to updates: the entire core software is updated, while all individual adjustments such as list settings, additional custom field items, folder structures, scripts, extensions, etc. are fully preserved. The structure of how these adjustments were made also remains intact. The entire installation is updatable.

Custom configurations are not overwritten during updates. For example, a customized list view retains exactly the columns and settings it had before the update, even if the default list view has added additional columns in the new version.

This architecture offers a clear advantage: customizations, which often required considerable analysis and configuration effort, are retained in the long term. These investments were and are meaningful – they reflect the specific work processes of your company.

This makes Vertec stable over the long term and provides operational continuity. Updates can be implemented without regression of the user experience. Productive systems remain the same in their functioning. Users find their familiar work environment after updates, which increases acceptance and minimizes training.

The protection of these customizations is more important than the automatic inheritance of innovations. For example, if Vertec introduces a new column in the default project list, it will only appear in unmodified lists. Customized project lists continue to show only the columns configured at the time of the customization.

Additional features and customizing

And what about the additional features? Additional features include standardized customizing that Vertec has developed with industry knowledge and extensive testing. These are made available on the Knowledge Base. Once loaded, this customizing fits into your existing customizations and can be customized. Without making any changes of your own, you can always load new versions and benefit from improvements. However, once you make adjustments (e.g. to list settings), you should stop loading a newer version.

Additional features are very useful: You save customizing effort and get best practice solutions. After individual adjustments, however, additional features need to be maintained just as much as any other customizing.

Every customization made in the past was correct and sensible at the time. Vertec was deliberately designed to make these customizations possible and protected. The customization was not a mistake back then – on the contrary, it was necessary.

But the reality is changing: business processes continue to evolve, Vertec continues to evolve. An adjustment that was necessary years ago may now be more elegantly represented by standard functionality.

For the maintenance of your own Vertec instance, it is recommended to regularly check the following questions:

• Is the underlying business process still up to date?
• Does Vertec now offer standard functionality that makes customization obsolete?
• Are there any free additional features in the Vertec Knowledge Base that cover the need?
• Does the current benefit justify the maintenance effort?

For new customizations, the closer an installation remains to the standard, the more it benefits from product innovation and the lower the long-term maintenance effort. Each new customization should follow a clear process objective and be made with the awareness that it entails long-term maintenance effort.

Conclusion

Vertec’s updatability protects customization investments – and that’s a good thing. Existing customizations were right and important for their needs. Each customization comes at a price in terms of potentially missed automatic enhancements and manual maintenance. Periodic reviews of existing customizations help identify outdated customizations and replace them with modern standard functionality.

The ability to fully customize should be seen as an option, not a call to action. The optimal Vertec installation is not the most individualized, but the one that creates the greatest added value in the processes with minimal but targeted adjustments.

Finding the right balance means adapting where it creates real added value – standardizing where it is possible. And regularly checking whether this balance is still right.