Options for Getting Version 9 Installed

Because of recent changes to Payment Card Industry (PCI) policy as enacted by the credit card industries, Theatre Manager was forced to make specific changes to its software in order to comply with the new regulations. This is not a change that Arts Management Systems has initiated, rather it is a change required by the credit card industries. In an effort to protect you and your patrons against credit card fraud, the new PCI PA-DSS 1.2 compliance regulations required us to certify a new version - Version 9 - of Theatre Manager.

Do I have to upgrade?

The simple answer is no. Your Theatre Manager will continue to work, regardless of the upgrade.

However - in order to become PCI compliant, you must upgrade to Theatre Manager Version 9 AND Upgrade to Paymentech Orbital or one of the other direct processors for improved credit card authorization.

For those who are already PCI compliant, you can continue to use Theatre Manager version 8 until December 2010 when you need to upgrade to Theatre Manager Version 9 AND switch to one of the direct processors to achieve PCI 1.2 compliance.

What are my Version 9 update options?

At your option, you may:

  • Choose to self-install all the components required for the Version 9 upgrade. There is NO COST for a self-install.
  • - OR -
  • Contract with Arts Management Systems to perform the work for you on a fee for service basis. This work is not covered under your annual support and maintenance agreement as it falls outside of normal support. The cost is a flat fee of $400.00 for the conversion to Version 9.

Tell me about the Self Installation Route?

There are several components to the installation process. Please refer to the 8.xx-9.00 upgrade steps for the complete installation instructions. The process takes about a day and should be performed by proficient IT personnel as it will require changes to:

  • Postgres
  • Theatre Manager's database (to a new UTF8 format)
  • Theatre Manager on each workstation
  • Apache (web sales sites only)
  • Web Sales Pages (web sales sites only)

If you choose to self-install, and then require support assistance, the regular hourly billable rate of $100 per hour will be applicable. Please note that support for a self installation is not covered under the After Hours Emergency Support contract. Please plan your time accordingly to ensure that if you do have questions, Arts Management support will be available to assist you.

Tell me about contracting AMS to do the work for me.

If you choose to have Arts Management perform this work for you, you will need to send a request to our sales office. They can be reached at sales@artsman.com or (888) 536-5244, ext. 2 from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM MST. They will process the request and then forward the request to the Support team for scheduling. Because of the high demand for conversions, your scheduled date may be as much as 4 months away. Please plan accordingly.

The actual upgrade process takes about one business day, during which time your offices will not be able to use Theatre Manager (even to "look things up"), and web sales (if applicable) will be offline during the upgrade process.