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Blaise Support Policy

Like any software package, we offer support to help with questions relating to Blaise at any stage of the production process. This includes questions about installation, licencing, development of the questionnaire, server issues, bugs, data collection, data storage and data processing.

Licensing for Blaise 4.8 and earlier versions of Blaise 4 will be continued as long as needed by clients wishing to continue operating these versions within the terms of the support policy. Support for earlier versions of Blaise will continue as described below. Statistics Netherlands will make every effort to continue to support client needs during the transition from Blaise 4 to Blaise 5 to the extent feasible given changes in operating systems and available resources.

 

Three Levels of support

Support for Blaise is classified into three levels:

  • Level I. This is the highest level of support and is provided for Blaise 5. Under Level I support, new builds are frequently released to repair reported problems or to add new functionality or improvements. Hotfixes can be provided for selected critical problems.

  • Level II. Level II support applies to Blaise 4.8 versions. Under Level II support, new builds are released to repair reported problems. Hotfixes might be provided for selected critical problems. Basic maintenance is performed for continued operational support. No new development is planned. Level II support for Blaise 4.8 will likely be discontinued in 2027. Support for Blaise IS has been discontinued in 2023.

  • Level III. Under Level III, no new builds are released. Only under rare circumstances and only when this is technically feasible would hotfixes be provided for selected critical problems.

 

Resolving Problems

While every attempt will be made to provide fixes for serious problems, there may be cases where it is impractical or impossible to generate a fix. These may be due to compatibility issues, changes to support policies for the underlying third-party platform, or the potential for introducing unwanted side effects. We recommend that new projects use Blaise 5 for optimal performance and interoperability with modern platforms.

Due to the complex nature of software development and operating environments, the time that it will take to resolve a problem cannot be guaranteed. Any problems will be resolved as expeditiously as possible. When needed, additional information will be requested, such as application source code and data sets. All data provided will be handled in a secure environment and will only be used for analyzing and debugging a reported problem. 

 

Where to get Support

The first point of support is the FAQ on this site.
If you can’t find the answer to your question there, try the Online Help and guides (for Blaise 4.8 or Blaise 5).
You can, of course, also send an email to our support team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. They’ll help where they can and if bugs are reported, they’ll try to fix them as soon as possible.

If you are located in North or South America, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you need support.

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