{"id":44915,"date":"2023-03-08T23:39:21","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T23:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/resources\/support-and-maintenance-best-practice\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T15:56:39","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T15:56:39","slug":"totara-support-maintenance-best-practice","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/us\/resources\/totara-support-maintenance-best-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"Feature sheet &#8211; Support and Maintenance Best Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class='inline-text-container autoMobileAlignment autoDesktopAlignment'>\n  <div class='richText'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-42090\" src=\"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/learn-engage-perform-logo@4x-300x21.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"21\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/learn-engage-perform-logo@4x-300x21.png 300w, https:\/\/www.totara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/learn-engage-perform-logo@4x-1024x73.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.totara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/learn-engage-perform-logo@4x-768x55.png 768w, https:\/\/www.totara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/learn-engage-perform-logo@4x-1536x110.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.totara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/learn-engage-perform-logo@4x-2048x146.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n<\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<div class='inline-text-container autoMobileAlignment autoDesktopAlignment'>\n  <div class='richText'><h3><\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><b><span style=\"color: #36bcaf;\">Support and maintenance<\/span> best practice<\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1 large\">Software systems continually evolve. Change comes from the introduction of new features, bug fixes, addressing security issues, and different configurations to meet changing business requirements. To get the best results from your software investment requires good quality support and maintenance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In this resource we will answer the following common questions:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b><i><\/i><\/b>What do we mean by support and maintenance?<\/li>\n<li>What is software patching?<\/li>\n<li>What are the distinctions between Totara product support and the direct support services you receive from the Totara Partner you have selected?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-44554 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/support-maintenance@4x-300x114.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"968\" height=\"368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/support-maintenance@4x-300x114.png 300w, https:\/\/www.totara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/support-maintenance@4x-1024x389.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.totara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/support-maintenance@4x-768x292.png 768w, https:\/\/www.totara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/support-maintenance@4x-1536x584.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.totara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/support-maintenance@4x-2048x779.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 968px) 100vw, 968px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><b> The importance of updating your Totara subscription\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><b>Maintenance releases<\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Building networked software is one of the most complex tasks humans perform, so it\u2019s unsurprising that bugs slip through. It is simply not possible<br \/>to build an application that is 100% free of bugs, now and into the future. Software developers deliver software products with defined functionality. However, our continual desire for more functionality and features means that the average number of lines of code in modern systems is increasing \u2013 and the more complex and multi-functional an application is, the more certain it is that it can be used in unintended ways.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">In exchange for a low cost annual subscription, Totara provides monthly maintenance releases. A \u201cpatch\u201d is a set of changes designed to update,<br \/>fix, or improve the software. Maintenance releases include bug fixes and minor feature improvements designed to enhance the application\u2019s usability and performance.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><b>Feature patches<\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1 \"><span class=\"s1\">Feature patching software is a little like car maintenance. While your car might still run without maintenance, the longer you go on without them, the more likely you will encounter problems, some with potentially very serious consequences.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<div class='inline-text-container autoMobileAlignment autoDesktopAlignment'>\n  <div class='richText'><h3 class=\"p1\"><b>Security releases<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">As Internet connectivity has become ubiquitous, our approaches to security have had to adapt to address data leakages or breaches. Your Talent Experience Platform (TXP) is likely to be part of a broader information ecosystem &#8211; containing digital assets: documents, courses, discussions and more, but also a lot of personal information connected to the internet and within other integrated software. A modern Information Security strategy should include policies for rapid response updating of all the software installed on any system.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">A security \u201cexploit\u201d is typically a sequence of commands that takes advantage of a bug or vulnerability to cause unintended or unanticipated behaviour in the software application. It can mean anything from obtaining control of a system, extracting data, enabling an escalation in permissions, a data loss or a denial-of-service (DoS) attack that renders a website inoperable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Security patching is like other forms of security. If you realise that the lock on your front door is broken, you would want to fix it urgently before someone<br \/>uninvited misuses the opportunity. The same goes for patching \u2013 you must patch the exploit before anyone with ill-intent opens the door.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><b><\/b><b>New releases<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">As part of your annual subscription, <\/span><span class=\"s2\">Totara continually innovates and develops <\/span><span class=\"s1\">the core features and functionality of its products which are made available through regular product releases.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Customers also have direct access to learning resources, documentation and networking opportunities with other Totara users in the Totara Community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-43111\" src=\"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Totara-images-gallery-content-managementt-1-300x90.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1123\" height=\"337\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Totara-images-gallery-content-managementt-1-300x90.png 300w, https:\/\/www.totara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Totara-images-gallery-content-managementt-1-1024x306.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.totara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Totara-images-gallery-content-managementt-1-768x229.png 768w, https:\/\/www.totara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Totara-images-gallery-content-managementt-1-1536x459.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1123px) 100vw, 1123px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><b>Why is it important to have a support and maintenance agreement with your Totara partner?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Your Totara Partner is responsible for designing, configuring, implementing and supporting your Totara solution. It is your Partner that will apply the patches, implement version upgrades, and ensure that your platform is secure. A Totara Partner will usually manage the physical environment where the IT infrastructure is located.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Patching, just like all things in security, concerns managing risk. All software is going to be vulnerable at certain times. However, your best chance of avoiding a major security crisis and preventing your systems from being severely compromised is to install new updates as soon as possible. Minimising the time between new Totara software releases and applying these to your TXP is crucial to reducing exposure to potential threats. You increase business risk unnecessarily by leaving your systems unpatched.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2 large\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Without the efficient and effective delivery of support services from your Totara Partner, you are not receiving the full benefit of your Totara subscription.<span style=\"color: #36bcaf;\"> Routine patching is a critical part of every IT security plan.<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<div class='inline-text-container autoMobileAlignment autoDesktopAlignment'>\n  <div class='richText'><h3 class=\"p1\"><b>Recommendations<\/b><\/h3>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #36bcaf;\">1.<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Check your Totara release version \u2013 you can find out how to do that <a href=\"https:\/\/totara.help\/docs\/checking-your-totara-version\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #36bcaf;\">2.<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Join the <a href=\"http:\/\/totara.community\">Totara Community<\/a> and subscribe to receive notifications of new releases and patches \u2013 it\u2019s free and contains comprehensive learning resources as well as the opportunity to connect with other Totara subscribers.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #36bcaf;\">3.<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Contact your Totara Partner to discuss your software maintenance and security requirements.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #36bcaf;\">4.<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Review your information security policies carefully and ensure they provide the right balance of protection and risk management for your business.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n  <\/div>","protected":false},"template":"","tax\/tags":[806],"tax\/solutions":[778,798,786],"tax\/topics":[808],"tax\/industries":[],"tax\/resource-types":[1175],"class_list":["post-44915","resource","type-resource","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/44915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resource"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/tags?post=44915"},{"taxonomy":"solution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/solutions?post=44915"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/topics?post=44915"},{"taxonomy":"industry-tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/industries?post=44915"},{"taxonomy":"resource-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/resource-types?post=44915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}