Legacy software modernisation
Replacing software that still works but is holding the business back, in stages, without a shutdown.
Legacy systems are rarely broken. They usually work, which is exactly why they survive. The problem is everything around them: the person who understands it is close to retiring, it will not run on anything current, and every small change costs three times what it should.
The risk in this work is never the rebuild. It is stopping the business during one. Everything below is arranged around that.
What the work involves
An honest assessment first
Sometimes the right answer is to leave it alone and build around it. We would rather tell you that than sell a rebuild you did not need.
Migration in stages
Old and new run alongside each other while data and users move across gradually. Switching everything over in a single day is how these projects make the news.
The undocumented rules recovered
Old systems encode decisions nobody wrote down. Finding them is most of the work, and skipping it is why replacements get rejected by the people who have to use them.
A way back at every stage
Every step can be reversed. If something goes wrong on a Tuesday you are still trading on Wednesday.
Common questions
Can you work with a system nobody documented?
Yes, and it is the normal case. We work from the data it holds, from how it behaves, and from the people who use it every day, who usually know more than any document would have recorded.
Do we have to replace all of it?
Usually not. A common approach leaves the core alone and rebuilds only the parts causing pain, at a fraction of the cost of a full replacement.
What about our historical data?
It comes across. Where the old structure was inconsistent we agree the rules for cleaning it before anything moves, and you sign those off.
How long can the old system keep running?
Through the whole migration, in most cases. Running both in parallel is more work for us and far less risk for you, which is the right trade.
Related services
Bespoke software development
Custom systems for the work no off-the-shelf product does properly, built around your process rather than around a template.
Read moreSoftware integration
Connecting the software you already own, so the person who copies data between two screens can stop.
Read moreBespoke web applications
Browser-based systems your team or your clients log into daily, built for the work rather than for a demo.
Read moreTell us what is not working
Describe the process that is costing you time. If software is the wrong answer we will say so, and if a product already covers it we will name the product.
From £10,000Most projects land between £15,000 and £55,000.