Kelly Software and expired license keys

This article is about ISV orphans. Although it references a now-defunct company in the US, it generally applies to any ASNA customer using software created by an ISV who is now out of business.

After many years in business, Jack Kelly closed Kelly Software in January 2019. By then Kelly Software had discontinued all product maintenance with ASNA. Except in rare cases, Kelly Software customers didn’t interact with us directly—you interacted with us indirectly through Kelly Software. Kelly Software would get license keys from us and send them to you (and may even have applied them for you). Now that Kelly Software is out of business, you need to request, receive, and apply license keys yourself. Kelly Software customers usually first come to our attention because an ASNA database license has expired. ASNA product license keys can expire when a PC or server changes. Changes can happen for several reasons, but the three most likely are:

• Windows updates
• Any hardware changes
• Moving to a different virtual machine

A little history and detail

The Kelly Software package was written with our Visual RPG 4.0 product. Visual RPG 4.0 was introduced in the mid-90s and is nearly 25 years old. It predates modern versions of Windows desktop and server products by decades. This product was retired in 2012. AVR 4.0 is not formally supported on:

• Windows 10/11 desktop products
• Windows Server version higher than Windows Server 2008 R2

AVR 4.0 was replaced in 2012 with AVR 5.0, which does support Windows 8/10 and Windows Servers 2012 R2 and up. As a Kelly Software customer you are most likely using two ASNA software products:

• ASNA Visual RPG 4.0 runtime. This is the runtime component of the ASNA Visual RPG compiler Kelly Software used to create its software package.
• ASNA DataGate for Windows and Desktops. This is the database component of the Kelly Software package. Very early versions of this product were called ASNA Acceler8. This is probably the only ASNA software product you have licensed. Its license also applies to the ASNA Visual RPG 4.0 runtime.

Your best path forward when your ASNA product license expires

If you expect to replace your Kelly Software package ASAP

This applies to most Kelly Software customers we talk to. For this group, we encourage you to take the most minimal steps necessary to push your Kelly Software over the finish line. Although your Kelly Software product was created with AVR 4.0 and that version doesn’t formally support current versions of Windows desktops or servers, it may continue to work with them. We can’t guarantee this, but we know that some customers say it does work; however, we also know some customers who say it doesn’t work. If things were working before your license expired, it’s quite likely you’ll be fine. To get you back up and running, we’ll issue you a free, 30-temp key for your ASNA database product. It’s highly likely that will get you back up and running. If that temporary license works, you’ll need to purchase a new permanent key. Keys are available in groups of:

• 1 user
• 5 users
• 20 user

Keys are only available in these quantities. If you need 30 users, you’ll need to purchase one 20-user license and two 5-user licenses or two 20-user licenses whichever is the least expensive. Please contact ASNA at info@asna.com for current pricing. This price is a one-time charge. Without active product maintenance, if the keys expire again (usually because of Windows updates), you’ll need to buy new keys. If you’d rather play it safe, please talk to an ASNA salesperson (once again, you can use info@asna.com for this) about establishing active product maintenance on your ASNA products. That will usually save you money over time (even over a year).

If you hope to use your Kelly Software package for the foreseeable future

If you’re in this group, first, we strongly encourage you not to be! Find an alternative software package and put yourself in the other group! The Kelly Software package is nearly 25 years old. It had a good run but it was written at a different time for different platforms. Please consider seriously looking for a replacement. Note that we don’t have an agenda or a vested interest in you making this decision—we don’t sell software packages. However, if you’re a hard-head and say, “Nope, gonna run it till the wheels fall off,” read on. For database licensing, the licensing issues mentioned in the first group also apply to this group. If you intend to keep the Kelly Software for more than a year, you might at some point start to see software failures—because Visual RPG 4.0 doesn’t support Windows 8 or 10, and the longer you continue to use Visual RPG 4.0, the more likely you are to have critical issues. If you do start to experience issues, you can upgrade to Visual RPG 5.0 or 5.1—which does support Windows 8 and 10 and Windows Servers 20012 R2 and up. To do this, you can:

1. Do the upgrade yourself. You can license a copy of AVR 5.0 and perform the upgrade yourself. This is a nerdy task and, while relatively simple, requires a solid knowledge of ASNA Visual RPG. You’ll also need to fully test, and then redeploy, the recompiled application.
2. Have us do the upgrade. Our ASNA Services can, for a fee, perform this upgrade for you.

If you have the technical talent available, the first option may be viable. If you don’t, you’ll need to use the second option. Depending on your company size and your critical need for the application, the cost of the second option will either be worthwhile or you’ll need to reconsider replacing the Kelly Software package.