Jon Langdon DocuWare VP Client Services

DocuWare leverages several specific technologies developed specifically for our Azure cloud system.  While the main functionality of DocuWare is the same between our cloud and on-premise versions, much of the service infrastructure is different to accommodate the cloud environment.  The on-premise version of DocuWare and the Cloud version are functionally similar, but the code base is not identical.  An example of this is that DocuWare uses MSMQ for communication between services in on-premise versions, however our cloud version leverages the Azure Service Bus (a service not available on AWS).

AWS instances are not identical in functionality to traditional windows servers in traditional network environments.  One example is that AWS does not support network multicasting outside of transit gateways, a technology we rely on for multi-server deployments of DocuWare.

The notion that we are deliberately trying to not allow AWS is simply not true or accurate.  Rather we are not specifically investing in developing versions for AWS, testing on it, or promising forward compatibility as we continue to develop new functionality.

There is a good reason that we have specific supported platforms – these platforms are kept in mind while we develop new versions, while we evaluate technologies that we include in our product suite, and platforms we test in our QA process. 

Sometimes it is possible to install DocuWare on a non-support environment.  Perhaps there are workarounds available to overcome some technical limitations in these environments, but doing this is risky and unadvisable because there is no guarantee that they will continue to work in the future or for future versions. 

Installing DocuWare on a non-supported platform exactly means that we cannot support this installation, nor ensure it’s future compatibility.  It is never advisable to install in a non-supported environment.  Doing this for customers should only be done with their express knowledge of this risk.