Legacy system modernisation, by technology
Solve With Software takes over and modernises business systems built on the technologies listed here, from Visual Basic 6 and Microsoft Access to .NET Core, React Native and SQL Server Reporting Services. Each page says what that technology needs in 2026, which migration paths work, and what the assessment establishes before anything is priced. The method is the same on every one: stabilise first, then modernise in stages with the old system as the fallback.
Free · 1 hour · no obligation
Which page to start on
The one for the technology the business works in day to day. A system is often several of these at once: a VB6 front end on a SQL Server database, Crystal Reports on top, an export to Sage. Start with the front end, because that is where the business rules live and where the modernisation choice is made. The database, reporting and integration pages cover the parts that usually move last, and each links to the others where the work overlaps.
Mobile apps have their own set of pages at the end. The questions there come in a different order: signing keys, store accounts and the build tooling the stores accept come before any modernisation.
What every technology here has in common
Three routes, whatever the stack. Keep it and make it safe to change: source under version control, a build that works on a current machine, a test environment, the database on a supported version. Modernise in stages: new screens or services alongside the old ones, sharing the data, one process at a time. Replace alongside: a new system grows next to the old one on the same data and takes over process by process.
The data moves once, or not at all. Nothing touches live until it has been built and tested on a copy, then run in staging alongside the live system with the data reconciled. The old system stays available as a fallback until the new one has proven itself.
Every stage is priced before you commit to it. The assessment is from £395 + VAT and produces a report with a fixed price for each route. What drives the price has its own page.
The technology isn't listed
The list is the technologies with a page written, not the limit of what we take over. Kentico and Umbraco sit closest to the DNN page, FileMaker to Microsoft Access, Drupal 7 and Magento 1 to old PHP. Bring it to the free consultation; the assessment works the same way on any of them.
Built on an AI or no-code platform rather than a language? Lovable, Replit, Bolt, Bubble, Power Apps and the rest have their own set of pages, because what you can take out of each differs.
Desktop and database applications
Where the business rules live in forms and the data started life in a file.
Microsoft Access modernisation and replacement
An Access database that became the whole operation, slow and corrupting under load. Three paths out, data to SQL Server first.
VB6 modernisation and migration
VB6 still runs UK businesses. We take a Visual Basic 6 system over, keep it running, and migrate it to .NET or the web in stages.
Delphi application modernisation
Delphi is alive, so the choice is real: upgrade to current Delphi, or leave for .NET or the web in stages, BDE and Unicode included.
FoxPro migration
FoxPro lost support in 2015 and is 32-bit only. The DBF data moves cleanly. We rebuild alongside it, one process at a time.
Windows desktop application to web
Desktop to web without a rewrite weekend: what carries over from WinForms, VB6 or Access, and how the desktop keeps running.
The spreadsheet that runs everything
The spreadsheet that runs everything: shared, macro-laden, one person understands it. Made into a system, its rules kept.
Microsoft web and .NET
From Classic ASP and Web Forms to .NET Framework and early .NET Core, and the platforms built on them.
.NET Framework modernisation
.NET Framework 4.x: WinForms, WPF, Web Forms, WCF. What upgrades in place to modern .NET, what needs replacing, done in stages.
.NET Core and early .NET upgrades
.NET Core 2.1 to .NET 7 are out of support, .NET 8 follows in November 2026. We get it building, then step it to .NET 10 in place.
ASP.NET Web Forms modernisation
Web Forms never reached modern .NET. We migrate to ASP.NET Core one page at a time behind a proxy, the old site serving the rest.
Classic ASP modernisation
Classic ASP runs on IIS, but VBScript is being retired from Windows. We take it over and move it to ASP.NET Core a page at a time.
DNN (DotNetNuke) modernisation
DotNetNuke on DNN 5 to 9 and .NET Framework, which DNN never left. Upgrade in place, or move the modules to technology you own.
SharePoint applications after end of support
SharePoint 2016 and 2019 are out of support, InfoPath retired. Documents to Microsoft 365 once, then the applications rebuilt.
Web applications on other stacks
The language is still maintained; the version or the framework underneath is not.
Old PHP application modernisation
PHP 5 or 7, a dead framework, forgotten hosting. We take the system over, move it to supported PHP you own, and modernise in stages.
Old Java application modernisation
Struts, JSP, Hibernate 3, Java 6 to 8: the language is alive, the stack isn't. Current Java in stages, or out of Java piece by piece.
ColdFusion modernisation
ColdFusion 2021 support ends 10 November 2026. Upgrade to 2025, move to Lucee, or leave CFML one page at a time.
React, Angular and Node apps the agency left behind
A React, Angular or Node app whose agency moved on. Not old, just stuck. We take it over, get it building, and move it forward.
Reporting
Reports usually move last, and every output has to match before the old engine goes.
Crystal Reports replacement
Crystal Reports 2020 maintenance ends 31 December 2026. We extract what each report does and rebuild the reports, output for output.
SSRS migration and replacement
SSRS 2022 is the last version, supported to 2033. Power BI Report Server takes over on premises. Every report moved, RDLC included.
JasperReports modernisation and replacement
The JasperReports library lives on, the free server went in 2024, version 7 needs Java 17. Upgrade in place, or rebuild each report.
Databases and integrations
The parts other systems depend on, so they move with a rehearsal in staging first.
SQL Server modernisation and cloud migration
SQL Server 2016 is out of support, 2017 goes in October 2027. Upgrade or Azure, and how to move a database without breaking its apps.
Sage integrations
The Sage 50 or 200 link is often the part nobody understands. Mapped, rebuilt on the route Sage supports, and reconciled first.
Mobile apps
Accounts and signing keys first, then a build the stores accept, then the modernisation.
Native iOS and Android app takeover
A native app the developer left: Objective-C, early Swift, Java or Kotlin, on tooling the stores reject. Updated, then modernised.
React Native app takeover
A React Native app the agency left: it won't build and the accounts are in their name. We take it over and get updates shipping.
Ionic app modernisation
Ionic 1 to 3 apps sit on AngularJS and Cordova, both past their end. The web code carries over, the shell moves to Capacitor.
PhoneGap and Cordova app migration
PhoneGap is gone, Cordova is fading, but the web app inside is usually fine. Moved to Capacitor, or rebuilt, and back in the stores.
Support deadlines across these technologies
The dates that decide when a system stops receiving security updates. Checked 4 September 2026; each technology page carries the detail.
| Technology | Support position |
|---|---|
| Visual FoxPro | Support ended January 2015; 32-bit only |
| Visual Basic 6 | IDE unsupported since 2008; the runtime is supported for the life of Windows 11 |
| ASP.NET Web Forms | Never ported to modern .NET; no upgrade path |
| .NET Core 2.1 to .NET 7 | Out of support |
| SQL Server 2016 | Extended support ended 14 July 2026 |
| SharePoint Server 2016 and 2019 | Support ended 14 July 2026 |
| .NET 8 and .NET 9 | Support ends 10 November 2026 |
| ColdFusion 2021 | Extended support ends 10 November 2026 |
| PHP 8.2 | Security support ends 31 December 2026 |
| Crystal Reports 2020 | Maintenance ends 31 December 2026 |
| Windows Server 2016 | Support ends 12 January 2027 |
| SQL Server 2017 | Extended support ends 12 October 2027 |
| Ionic Appflow | Closes 31 December 2027 |
| .NET 10 | Long-term support to November 2028 |
| SSRS 2022 | The last version; supported to 11 January 2033 |
A system past its date keeps running. What it loses is security updates, and each year fewer people can work on it.
Questions
What people ask before they book.
Our system uses several of these. Which page applies?
The one for the part the business works in, usually the front end. The database, reporting and integration pages cover the rest, and the assessment looks at the whole system whichever page you came in on.
What if our technology isn't on the list?
The list is what has a page, not the limit of what we take over. Book the free consultation and say what the system is built in; the assessment works the same way on any of them.
What do you modernise to?
Open technology in your own accounts: .NET and the web for business systems, Flutter for mobile apps that need rebuilding, SQL Server or a managed cloud database for the data. The full source code and ownership transfer to you on final payment.
Is it cheaper to replace than to modernise?
Sometimes, and the assessment says which for your system rather than guessing. It prices each route as a fixed number: keep and stabilise, modernise in stages, replace alongside. The cost page explains what moves the price.
Start with a free consultation
An hour on your system, online or by phone. From there we size the assessment, from £395 + VAT, and give you an exact price before you commit.
Want the numbers first? See how pricing works.
Written by Marc Allington, founder. .