You may have heard of the recent end of life for two KMC Controls programs – WinControl and BACstage, and you may be wondering why KMC Controls made the decision to obsolete these programs.

It’s been more than a quarter-century since KMC debuted WinControl and BACstage. We are not obsoleting these programs because we don’t want to sell them anymore. WinControl and BACstage were not made for today’s current operating systems. In fact, Windows 8.1 was the last supported operating system for either program and since Microsoft no longer supports it, we cannot guarantee either of these programs will continue to work properly on newer systems.

KMC Controls is longer be selling, updating or supporting BACstage and WinControl. If you are currently using either program, we recommend that the computer running WinControl or BACstage does not connect to the internet for security reasons.

So, what does this mean for you? What should you do now? What are your upgrade options, and which one best fits your system’s needs?

We have two recommendations – KMC TotalControl and KMC Connect. Let’s discuss some differences between these programs and WinControl and BacStage.

WinControl and BacStage are single-seat applications, where graphics and setup are held locally on the single installation of the software. Each software package was unique for a KMC hardware family product line. WinControl was made for communication with KMDigital hardware, while BacStage was designed for communication to BACnet hardware. Both WinControl and BACnet held configuration ability but had different configuration interfaces.

KMC TotalControl and KMC Connect support communication to both KMD and BACnet hardware types, and use a common configuration interface, Design Studio, to program both hardware platforms.

KMC TotalControl is a services-based, client-server, multi-seat application. The information is stored in a SQL database instance and can be accessed via multiple software seats, all referencing the same data. This software provides locally hosted, browser-based facility management. It collects, stores, and routes data between a building automation network and an operator interface or workstation. Viewing and controlling multiple systems on a single platform allows facility managers to make smarter choices while proactively managing efficiency, comfort and safety.

After setup with KMC TotalControl Design Studio, alarms, scheduling, trend logging, robust reports, and more can be managed simply and effectively from an Internet browser through the KMC TotalControl web portal.

KMC Connect is a configuration software and engineering tool for KMC field devices for building automation systems and HVAC equipment. KMC Connect is an executable program that is often used for a technician tool. You can build jobs offline and then deploy them on-site with a single click.

KMC Connect comes with a library of hundreds of HVAC applications with preconfigured set-ups for KMC controllers. Also, you can use wizards to quickly and easily configure alarms, schedules and trends on native BACnet devices and use the audit feature for continuous commissioning.

So, which upgrade direction do we think you should go? If a site is using graphics, the best option to maintain support is KMC TotalControl. If a site is using KMDigital and is currently using WinControl, we suggest transitioning to KMC TotalControl. If a site is using BACstage, our recommendation is KMC Connect.

We hope this helps you make a decision in upgrading. And remember, you can always contact us with any questions.