I’ve written a post on this idea from the perspective of your users, should you upgrade your app to the latest level of an operating system. I’ve even talked about how you learn by keeping up with the latest releases of API’s and interfaces. But what about the down side?
Traditionally large IT companies have forced operating systems companies to be backward compatible, so as not to lose the large revenue that they get from companies. Over the last few years, businesses have be even more cautious about upgrading hardware and software. This means that they are slowly losing influence on developer who want to create the next cool thing. Is this a start of the innovators dilemma for software developers? Do you still need to cater to the large support revenue you get from traditional enterprises? Or do you bite the bullet and develop new and radical solutions that move your user base to a new code base?