Service · Australia-wide

Legacy System Modernisation

The MS Access database from 2009. The classic ASP customer portal nobody can update. The .NET WebForms admin tool running on a Server 2012 you can't replace because three other systems depend on it. We modernise legacy systems without the big-bang rewrite gamble.

Signs your legacy system is now a liability

  • The original developer left years ago and no one wants to touch it
  • It runs on Windows Server 2008/2012 R2 — both end-of-life and unsupported
  • Each Windows or SQL Server upgrade breaks something different
  • It can't integrate with the modern SaaS your business now uses (Xero, HubSpot, Stripe)
  • Audit, compliance or insurance requirements need encryption and access logs it can't provide
  • Staff have built shadow Excel systems alongside it because adding fields is impossible
  • Reports take an hour to generate, or have to be exported and reformatted manually

The strangler-fig migration approach

Big-bang rewrites — where you build a replacement system in parallel and flip the switch on launch day — fail catastrophically more often than not. We use the strangler-fig pattern: traffic moves gradually from the legacy system to new components, feature by feature. After feature 1 ships, feature 2 follows in 4 weeks; the legacy system slowly becomes smaller until it's fully replaced.

This means you see real value from week 6, not week 60. Risk is contained per feature. Rollback is straightforward. And critically: your team learns the new system one feature at a time, not all at once on go-live day.

Free legacy system audit

We offer a free 60-minute audit call for Australian businesses considering modernisation. We'll review your system over screen share, identify the realistic modernisation paths, and tell you honestly which is right for your situation — including the option of not modernising if your legacy is stable and doing its job.

Output: a written summary of options with cost ranges, timelines, and a recommendation. You own it whether you proceed with us or not.

Common migration paths

MS Access → Web app + cloud database

Data migrates to PostgreSQL or SQL Server. UI rebuilds as a Next.js or Blazor web app. Reports become in-app dashboards or scheduled PDFs. Typical scope: AU$25,000–$80,000.

Classic ASP / WebForms → Modern ASP.NET Core or Next.js

Often the database can stay (SQL Server), and we just replace the front-end and middle-tier. Typical scope: AU$40,000–$150,000.

FoxPro / VB6 / Delphi desktop → Cloud-hosted web

Data migrates to a modern relational database. Workflow rebuilds as a web app accessible from any device. Typical scope: AU$50,000–$200,000 depending on workflow complexity.

Explore more

Legacy modernisation FAQ

Yes — MS Access migrations are one of our most common projects. The typical pattern: data migrates to PostgreSQL or SQL Server, the UI is rebuilt as a web app (Next.js or .NET Blazor), and reports are recreated either as in-app dashboards or scheduled PDFs. We always run the new system in parallel for 2–4 weeks before cutover so you can compare outputs and roll back if anything's off. Typical AU$25k–$80k depending on table count and report complexity.
Big-bang rewrites — where you build a replacement and switch over on launch day — fail more often than they succeed. The strangler-fig pattern routes traffic gradually from the old system to new components, one feature at a time, until the old system is fully replaced. This means you get value from week 6 (the first feature ships), risk is contained per feature, and rollback is easy. It's the safer, slower, more boring approach — and it works.
Done correctly, no. The strangler-fig approach means staff use both systems during transition (one feature on the new system, the rest on the old). We handle the data sync between them. The biggest disruption is usually the discovery phase, where we need 6–10 hours of stakeholder time over 2 weeks. After that, your team's exposure to the project is weekly demos and decisions on edge cases.
Sometimes that's the right call — and we'll tell you. Legacy systems become liabilities when: (1) the original developer is gone and nobody can change anything, (2) the system runs on unsupported infrastructure (Server 2008, old SQL Server), (3) compliance requires audit trails or encryption the legacy can't provide, (4) it can't integrate with modern systems your business now needs. If none of those apply, we'll often recommend leaving it alone.
MS Access, FoxPro, Visual Basic 6, classic ASP, old ASP.NET WebForms, ColdFusion, PHP 5.x, classic Delphi, and bespoke desktop apps with documented data stores. We've also handled migrations off Filemaker Pro and out of obsolete custom-built CRMs. If you can show us the source code or even a database export, we can scope a migration.
Three-layer approach: (1) automated migration scripts that we run repeatedly into a test environment until counts and checksums match perfectly; (2) parallel-run period where both systems are live and we reconcile daily for 2–4 weeks; (3) full audit trail showing every record migrated, with the source-system ID preserved as a foreign key in the new system for verifiability. We've never lost client data on a migration.

Get a free legacy system audit

Book a free 60-minute call. We'll review your legacy system over screen share and tell you honestly what your options are — including doing nothing.

Book My Free Legacy AuditSee Pricing