5 Things You Need to Know to Get to OpenEdge 12

With the retirement of OpenEdge 11.7 on everyone’s minds, now is a great time to review five critical reasons to move to OpenEdge 12. Organizations still running on older OpenEdge versions realize they face growing security risks, mounting maintenance challenges and potential compliance gaps. This blog post highlights the five key takeaways from our recent webinar on moving to OpenEdge 12, featuring in-depth insights from Progress experts Chris Longo and Chris Skeldon.

Whether you’re planning a straightforward upgrade or a more complex platform migration, this guide offers advice on what you need to know to prepare your business applications for tomorrow’s challenges.

Meet the Speakers

Chris Longo

As the Service Delivery Manager for OpenEdge applications in North America, Chris Longo has decades of experience working with the OpenEdge platform. His extensive background in consulting, architecture and training makes him a trusted source for practical advice on application modernization, Progress Application Server (PAS) for OpenEdge enablement, security, CI/CD migrations and user experience improvements.

Chris Skeldon

Starting his career in technical support before moving to Professional Services, Chris Skeldon specializes in helping customers navigate their upgrade to OpenEdge 12. With deep knowledge in PAS for OpenEdge coding, authentication and deployment, Chris also brings valuable experience in the areas of legacy application migration and build automation.

Key Considerations for Upgrading to OpenEdge 12

During the webinar, our experts broke down the journey to OpenEdge 12 into five major topics:

• Common Migration Flows
• Platform Considerations
• Cloud Migration
• Progress Application Server (PAS) for OpenEdge
• External Security Administration Manager (ESAM)

Each section of the discussion emphasizes not only best practices but also real-world challenges and practical solutions.

1. Common Migration Flows

One of the first topics tackled was the step-by-step process for upgrading an OpenEdge system that resides on the same server. Chris Skeldon explained that the typical migration flow involves installing OpenEdge 12 alongside an existing version, copying the database and converting it to the new version. Following the conversion, the application code is recompiled against the updated database, accompanied by extensive testing.

Chris Skeldon succinctly captured the importance of this process when he stated, “When you’re happy with everything, then you’re going to remigrate your database and go live.”
This practical advice underscores the value of thorough functional and non-functional testing, particularly when dealing with Progress Application Server (PAS) for OpenEdge, which can reveal subtle issues such as memory leaks during prolonged usage.

For scenarios where a platform migration is necessary (for example, moving from AIX to Linux or when an older version is retired), the process typically begins with dumping the data from the old platform, transferring the files, creating a new database on the target system and then loading the data, referred to as Dump and Load . Chris Skeldon further explained that even this seemingly straightforward procedure might involve additional considerations such as adjusting scripts, modifying connection methods and planning for downtime during the final data remigration.

2. Platform Considerations

Another significant point raised during the webinar was the need to carefully plan for platform dependencies when upgrading to OpenEdge 12. Chris Longo described how OpenEdge 11.7 is now retired and highlighted the current long-term releases—OpenEdge 12.2 and 12.8— which will be supported for several more years . The retirement of older platforms such as Solaris (and the eventual phase-out of 32-bit dependencies on certain components) makes it essential for organizations to not only upgrade their software but also re-evaluate the underlying hardware and operating systems.

Chris Longo advised, “If you haven’t already started to make plans, you should probably think about making plans to do a platform migration in conjunction with your upgrade.” This advice is particularly relevant for enterprises planning to move their applications to new environments like Linux, which may require adjustments in CI/CD scripts, database configurations and authentication methods. The speakers stressed that even minor differences between server environments can have a significant impact on application behavior and performance.

3. Cloud Migration

Cloud migration is an increasingly common strategic objective, and it was discussed in detail during the webinar. With more companies moving their infrastructure to cloud platforms like AWS and Azure, understanding the nuances of migrating OpenEdge applications becomes critical.

Chris Longo elaborated on the importance of reviewing your network configurations, provisioning appropriate hardware resources and ensuring that all aspects of connectivity—both internal and external—are addressed. For instance, if your application relies on third-party authentication services or on-premises integration, you need to verify that these services remain reliable in the cloud environment.

Chris Longo observed, “If you’re thinking about going to the cloud—Azure, AWS—you need to consider how your authentication authority will be supported and how you migrate that kind of functionality into the cloud.” This focus on careful planning extends to aspects such as balancing load through proxies, adjusting security settings and reconfiguring application connectivity to suit the new environment.

4. PAS for OpenEdge

One of the central themes in the webinar was the shift from the Classic App Server to the modern, Tomcat-based PAS for OpenEdge. Both speakers discussed the significant differences between PAS for OpenEdge and its predecessor, noting the advanced configuration options and the challenges that come with operating in a multi-threaded environment.

The speakers noted that moving to PAS might expose certain issues, especially with long-running jobs or batch processing, since it is fundamentally designed as a web server. As a result, administrators and developers need to be ready to fine-tune configurations for the best performance.

From managing session timeouts to adjusting tuning parameters for batch jobs, the guidance was clear: careful and thorough testing is essential to confirm that applications not only run on PAS for OpenEdge but also take full advantage of its improved performance and scalability.

“Test it,” Chris Skeldon advised, a short but powerful reminder that rigorous validation is the key to a successful migration.

5. External Security Administration Manager (ESAM)

The introduction of ESAM in OpenEdge 12.6 marked a significant step forward in securing the platform. ESAM is designed to enhance the security posture of OpenEdge installations by empowering system administrators to keep track of the activities allowed to run on the systems they govern. The platform binaries and executables are meant to be tamper-proof and securely managed across multiple installations.

Chris Longo described ESAM’s role by stating, “ESAM secures an OpenEdge platform and prevents hackers from redirecting activities outside the installed OpenEdge platform directory.” Additionally, ESAM offers audit logs and plays a crucial part in backup strategies. It helps critical directories remain protected, which is essential for compliance and risk management.

The speakers made it clear that ESAM is mandatory and integral to any OpenEdge installation on supported 64-bit systems. They further emphasized that organizations must adjust their deployment strategies; for example, you can no longer simply copy installation directories. Instead, new provisioning tools and automation strategies should be used to manage OpenEdge installations effectively.

Professional Services and Support

Beyond the technical migration steps, the webinar also covered the extensive range of consulting services offered to help customers succeed with OpenEdge 12. Both Chris Longo and Chris Skeldon discussed how their teams support customers and partners throughout the upgrade journey—from providing modernization assessments to offering specialized training in PAS for OpenEdge , deployment automation and advanced troubleshooting.

Chris Skeldon mentioned that the team is well equipped to help with high-volume migrations and even preloading data to enable a seamless go-live experience. He noted, “For very large upgrades, we can use OpenEdge Pro2 to preload as much data as possible to give you a smooth go-live.” This comprehensive support helps organizations access the technical expertise and mentorship required to manage the complexities of migrating older applications.

Furthermore, the speakers highlighted the benefits of modern CI/CD practices enabled by the new DevOps framework provided in OpenEdge 12. By integrating new tools like Gradle, organizations can streamline the entire software delivery process and reduce the time needed for large-scale releases to focus on continuous improvement.

Next Steps for Moving to OpenEdge 12

The webinar demonstrated that moving to OpenEdge 12 is about setting the stage for long-term modernization—not just updating software, but laying the groundwork for a more secure, agile and future-ready application environment.

As Chris Longo summarized, “Modernization is on the mind of everyone using OpenEdge…. If it’s not, it should be.” That message serves as a call to action for organizations to invest in their technology infrastructure today to equip themselves to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

By embracing updated migration flows, planning for platform shifts, evaluating cloud strategies, transitioning to PAS for OpenEdge and securing installations with ESAM, companies can realize significant improvements in performance, security and maintainability. If your organization is considering an upgrade, watch the webinar for the insights to make informed decisions and successfully navigate the transition.

For more detailed assistance or to schedule an upgrade consultation, connect with our experts . Your path to modernization starts now.