New software versions and revisions are released periodically, bringing support for new applications, features and functionality, and Operating Systems. This can become an issue to keep up with, depending on your upgrade strategy.
So here is the question...do you upgrade to the latest version of your application, say SEP or GSS, or do you wait it out and possibly see what it brings? Your governance will dicatate which option take, but I'll discuss upgrading and staying up-to-date.
To start, Symantec offers Beta programmes for some of their products, and it's really worth looking into. With the proliferation of options to run a lab locally on your laptop/desktop, you're able to evaluate software in Beta before it is released as a production-ready version. You can see what the changes are, see what an upgrade of your current software will run like, and generally get a feel with the software. best of all, evaluating the Beta this way won't touch your production environment.
From my perspective, I worked on a team looking after a large client in the FMCG field, who were intent in staying on the "bleeding edge". Software had to be as up-to-date as possible, and it made IT life interesting. There wasn't much time between evaluating large version changes, and rolling out application updates to multiple servers and sites. More often than not, this went without a hitch.
Why would you want to keep up-to-date? To stay ahead of competitors, and to keep your applications at the most current state. It has obvious benefits in that support is always current (assuming you have an active maintenance agreement in place with Symantec), and version updates will address any issues between service packs on that application. Ie. minor software changes would include all previous patches and any new ones.
It would also fix an issue you might be experiencing on your site for instance with an application or agent that isn't working like it should.
What should you do before installing the latest version? Well, trial the software at least. Without doing so you're jumping into a big hole if things go wrong and you don't have any proof you had run an evaluation. Read the forums and news to see what is being said about the application, and especially read the release notes. Symantec is very good with changes to the software and what they address. Early adoption might very well fix some issues, but always do your homework before embarking on a new upgrade.
Once you're happy, run through your governance process and install the application.