Legacy Software Modernisation in Sydney & Melbourne

Usually in stages. Martin Fowler, who named the strangler fig pattern after rainforests he saw in Queensland, argues that big rewrites are slow, users cannot wait for new features, and much of the old behaviour is poorly understood. Replacing the system piece by piece lets value arrive gradually. Rewrites can still be right for small systems, so we assess each case.

According to Microsoft's lifecycle pages: SQL Server 2016 and SharePoint Server 2016 and 2019 reached end of support on 14 July 2026; Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 Extended Security Updates Year 3 end on 13 October 2026; .NET 8 reaches end of servicing on 10 November 2026; and Windows Server 2016, .NET Framework 4.6.2, BizTalk Server 2016 and Dynamics NAV 2017 follow in January 2027. Check Microsoft's lifecycle pages for your exact versions.

Microsoft states that after the end of support there are no new security updates, non-security updates or assisted support. That raises security and reliability risk over time. The Privacy Act requires reasonable steps to protect personal information, and unsupported software can make that harder to demonstrate. Some vendors sell paid extended updates, which can buy time. Confirm your obligations with an adviser.

Yes, that is the point of staging the work. We build new pieces alongside the old system, run both in parallel and compare results before switching over. We do not promise zero downtime, because some cutovers need a short, planned window. We agree to that window with you in advance and rehearse it.

Yes. We recover business rules from the code, the database, the reports and the people who use the system, then write tests that capture today's behaviour before we change anything. Undocumented rules are the most common cause of surprises in modernisation, so this step comes before building.

Often, yes. We start by establishing what you can still reach: the running system, the database, backups, servers and any documentation. From there we can usually map behaviour and plan a replacement. If the situation is closer to an abandoned or failed project, our app and software rescue service is the better starting point.

They can help with reading unfamiliar code, drafting tests and translating routine code. They do not decide what the system should do. A model can misread an old rule, so every change is checked against tests built from real behaviour. We use AI where it saves time and verify the output the same way as any other code.

It depends on the size of the system, how much is documented, how many systems it connects to and how much of it can be kept. We start with an assessment that produces a keep, wrap, replace map and a staged plan, then price the first stage.