2025.1
We have released Version 2025.1 which introduces a number of new features to help us build the foundation for Evo-ERP going forward. We have rebuilt our update process from the ground up. It now runs significantly faster than the old process when rebuilding files. In many cases in our testing, updates that used to run overnight can now finish in an hour or less. This new update process has limitations on support for Actian Zen/Pervasive and Windows. It will only support Pervasive 11.3 or later and Windows Server 2012 R2 or later or Windows 10 or later if your central workstation is not a true server. You can continue to run Evo-ERP or DBA Classic up to version 2024.2 on older versions of Pervasive or Windows. If you are on an older version of Windows or are using Linux, we are working on documenting a custom update process that should work, but unfortunately it is impossible for our new update process to support Pervasive versions earlier than 11.3. Keep in mind that Actian only supports versions 15 and 16 and Microsoft offers mainstream support for no server older than server 2022 so we are providing significantly more backwards compatibility, but what that means is that we have tested the update process on those platforms and in our testing it worked. We can not test every possible combination of server and workstation operating systems and Pervasive versions so there is some risk if you are running a version not supported by the actual software provider. We also require updating to at least the 2020.1 version of Evo-ERP using the old update process before the new process can be used so if you are on a version older than 2020.1 it becomes a 2 step process. Additionally, the new installer also must be run from the server itself to a local drive, not from a workstation.
Another consequence of this new update process is that it is much stricter about possible problems in data files. If you have corrupt data files, the new update process will likely fail until these are corrected while the old process would skip past them. Once done, in the future the update process should be much smoother and fixing these corrupt data files may help alleviate some of the seemingly arbitrary bugs that can appear in Evo-ERP or DBA Classic. Our tech support will be ready to help resolve these problems if they appear during the new update process. Similar to the old update process, if you do encounter a problem simply restore the backup of your EVOERP or DBAMFG folder from prior to running the update so you can keep working while the issues are corrected. We have developed a Table Check Utility that can be used prior to installing the update to proactively identify and correct any issues.
As of 2025.1, Evo-ERP will also now be creating and managing named databases in Pervasive/Zen for all your companies using a naming convention such as EVOB or EVOB99 (concatenating the word EVO with your company code) along with a couple of other named databases used by various components in Evo-ERP. If you have other ODBC connections using named databases with a different naming convention pointing to the same company folders it is suggested you change them to use the naming convention we will be managing.
Beyond
The goal of Evo-ERP has always been evolution. While we continue to support customers from DBA Classic to the latest version of Evo-ERP, the underlying technology that has been in use for decades continues to show its age. Our customers are increasingly requesting new features and integrations that become more difficult to integrate easily in to the system. As a result, we have been working to evolve to adapt better to modern standards. This is coming in the form of a new product: a web-based interface to Evo-ERP called Evo Web. We are currently planning to release the first version of Evo Web with our next update after 2025.1 and will have a pre-release available for anybody wanting to try it. Installing Evo Web has no effect on your DBA Classic or Evo-ERP operation other than using a single Zen/Pervasive license. If you are at your maximum Zen/Pervasive license count you may want to wait until we have more programs developed using the new interface.
This new web-based version of Evo-ERP makes it easier to integrate with third party software and adapt to modern standards for user interfaces and user experience expectations. For example, we have implemented support for automatically retrieving Shopify orders and importing them via Evo Web as well as automatically posting tracking numbers back to Shopify (WooCommerce integration is in development). Depending on customer demand, we are also looking to add additional features such as automatically sending inventory stock information to Shopify/WooCommerce. Our goal is to expand integrations with other popular software as much as possible.
Evo Web also includes a much more flexible scheduled task system to replace the old Evo Service, a new data collection module similar to the existing Hand-Held menu that allows using a smartphone/tablet for data collection including barcode scanning via the device camera, and a menu for calling existing Evo-ERP programs from the browser as a replacement for the current Evo-ERP desktop menu.
That being said, we know many people don’t like change, so we made sure to develop Evo Web in a way that allows us to integrate it with all of our existing programs and, most importantly, retain ALL of the existing business data that our customers have been working with for, in many cases, multiple decades.
It is possible to have some users run the desktop menu program that they are accustomed to while others use the web environment or have a user switch between the two on the same workstation. It’s important that we continue to evolve, but we also want to avoid losing what we already have. That was one of the primary goals of Evo-ERP itself when we started developing it from DBA Classic years ago.
Keep in mind, DBA Classic will stop working as soon as dates in 2031 are entered due to limitations in DBA Classic itself unrelated to any Evo-ERP products. For more information about this, visit DBA Classic.