“IRis has made a world of difference in our ability to provide correct information to a caller and to be able to update our directories quickly.”

--- Pati Comes, Lead Specialist for Utah 2-1-1


“You just can't beat IRis for the speed of provider displays. No other software could match the features we already had, and the 4.0 upgrade made things a lot more intuitive.”

--- Eric Rodgers, Alcohol/Drug Council of North Carolina (ADCNC)

Bowman Systems Software Suite

1. What are the minimum system requirements for IRis 4.0?

See documentation (click here).

2. How will the upgrade procedure work?

You will choose which type of database back end to use: either SQL Express (included free with 4.0) or full SQL Server (i.e. your own licensed copy). Follow the instructions sent with the product; call for support if needed. Open IRis 4.0 and use the Data Conversion Utility to convert/copy your 3.0 records into 4.0.

3. How long will the upgrade procedure take?

This will depend on the size of your current IRis installation. Tests show that with a small data set, it can take an average of 2-10 minutes. With a very large data set, it can take two hours or more.

4. Can I upgrade from 2.3 to 4.0?

Not directly. The technology from 2.3 to 4.0 is too different. You'll need to install 3.0 first, then upgrade to 4.0. This will ensure the cleanest installation possible. If you do not want to use any of your data from 2.3, you can just install 4.0 and start fresh.

5. Will I need to re-organize my database in order to begin using IRis 4.0?

Once the 3.0 files are converted to 4.0, there will most likely be some handwork involved. The time spent on cleaning up the converted data will vary according to the amount of data involved and the way it is currently organized. The goal is to allow the IRis customers to convert and begin using the software with clean up occurring on an on-going basis.

6. Do I need to have any other software installed (besides the operating system) in order for IRis 4.0 to work?

No. If you have Microsoft SQL Server (full version), IRis 4.0 will use it. Otherwise, IRis 4.0 will install Microsoft’s SQL Express to use with the SQL back end. Note: For more than 6 concurrent users, we recommend using the SQL Server full version as opposed to SQL Express. SQL Express is a smaller version of SQL Server, which is freely distributable by commercial applications.

Some of the features in IRis 4.0 are designed to work with products included in Microsoft Office (such as Word and Excel). If you want to use these features, you'll need these product.

7. Can I use my data from a different product?

If you will not be using the other product anymore, the data will need to be converted to the IRis format. Any qualified database engineer can perform the conversion, or we can provide a quote for the one-time conversion.

If you will be receiving (resources/service provider) data from another product on a regular basis, please contact us regarding your options.

8. Is 4.0 backwards compatible for data sharing with 3.0 users?

No. The data structure is too different. All data partners must upgrade at the same time.