All insights
[ Engineering ]22 November 2024·8 min read
Modernising legacy systems without a big-bang rewrite
How we incrementally retire VB.NET, Classic ASP and MS Access platforms — while keeping the business running.
Plenty of UK SMBs still run mission-critical software on technology written in the early 2000s. It works — until the developer retires, the server can’t be patched, or a browser update breaks the UI.
Why big-bang rewrites fail
Replacing a legacy system in one go feels decisive, but the new build inevitably misses edge cases the old one quietly handled. The business loses confidence, and the project stalls.
A safer pattern: strangle and replace
- Wrap the legacy app in a thin API layer so new tools can read its data safely.
- Build new features in modern stack, behind the same URL, so users don’t notice the seam.
- Migrate users module-by-module — reporting first, transactional flows last.
- Decommission the legacy code only when nothing depends on it.
It takes longer than a rewrite on paper. In practice, it’s the only approach we’ve seen consistently finish.
Written by Axia Design Studio. Have a project where this might apply? Get in touch.
[ More insights ]
[ Strategy ]
When an SMB actually needs a mobile app (and when it doesn’t)
Mobile apps cost more, take longer, and add ongoing overhead. Here’s a simple test we use with clients before recommending one.
Read[ SEO ]Core Web Vitals without the magic plugin
Why most “speed up your site” plugins are theatre, and what we actually do to move LCP, INP and CLS for clients.
Read[ Engineering ]The cost of a database mistake (and how to avoid making one)
Schemas are decisions you have to live with for years. A few hours of modelling up front saves months of rework later.
Read[ Let's build something ]
Bring us a brief, a sketch, or a vague idea on a napkin.
A free 30-minute call with a senior designer or engineer — no sales script, just useful answers.