person reviewing legacy software

Legacy Software Rescue

Transform failing software into high-performance solutions.

Modernisation to transform legacy systems into high-performance solutions.

Why do software projects fail?

If custom software development projects are not planned, managed and maintained correctly they can spiral out of control, leading to increased costs, delays to releases, and missed features and defects in the final product.

Some of the most common drivers for calling on a project rescue service include:

  • A lack of infrastructure or process, leading to disparate and even conflicting technologies, platforms and environments being employed.
  • An ever-expanding requirements list due to the original scope of the project being underestimated – or as a result of new features being requested without proper interrogation.
  • Poor performance caused by inferior workarounds, insufficient testing capacity, and high levels of technical debt.
  • Outdated systems that may rely on software that’s no longer supported, doesn’t have the latest fixes and updates applied, or can no longer be maintained as the internal knowledge has been lost.
  • Usability and accessibility issues that arise from software not being fit-for-purpose, and can significantly impact team efficiency and effectiveness.

Legacy software systems have been cited as today’s biggest barrier to creating an effective digital transformation strategy. However, replacing and upgrading these outdated systems can be a challenge, due to their widespread use and the myriad dependencies and integrations likely to have built up over time.

At Box UK we’re vastly experienced in rescuing struggling legacy software systems and projects, having overhauled mission-critical, high-transaction platforms relied upon by hundreds of thousands of users across the globe.

From providing detailed assessment of technical debt and other vital quality attributes, to undertaking programmes of enterprise legacy application modernisation and delivering you new components, features and functionality in a way that maximises value and minimises disruption, we’ll provide you with a solid, sustainable foundation from which to build for the future.

“The Solutions Team were totally blown away with what we have achieved so far – it more than meets our expectations and takes us to a new level.”

Dave Cole, Web Platform Manager, DesignSpark, RS Components

How can we help?

Box UK is ideally placed to help bring your project back on track, drawing on extensive experience delivering software project rescue packages for organisations across a wide range of industries from our headquarters in the capital of Wales, offices in central London, and on-site as part of embedded teams.

Our consultants will begin by assessing the current status of your project alongside the outcomes you want to see, before putting together a bespoke programme of work that may include:

Supporting with specific problem areas, such as code quality, integrations, testing and documentation for improvement.

Taking on the development of projects that have already reached a critical point of failure, putting in place actions to mitigate existing issues and stabilising the codebase to the point where development can continue

Working to upskill your teams and put effective processes and practices in place, to keep at-risk projects on the path to success

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Understanding the problem

The success of the software that supports your business is highly dependent on the quality of the code that underpins it. Our legacy software rescue projects therefore typically begin with an in-depth code review, carried out by a senior Box UK software consultant. Assessing your code against industry standards and best practice, this review provides us with a clear picture of the ‘as-is’ situation – including existing levels of technical debt alongside legacy dependencies and integrations – to help drive the strategic direction of your programme of rescue work.

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A flexible approach to modernisation

In order to make informed recommendations around your legacy software – based on your unique situation and requirements – our consultants will consider all the options when deciding on a plan of action to tackle identified system issues. These may include:

Recommending suitable Software as a Service (SaaS) or Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) solutions that can be customised as necessary to cater to any specific environment contexts or business logic

A project rescue service that re-scopes your solution to ensure requirements are properly aligned with business and user needs, before building new software systems from the ground-up that deliver against these

Making specific adjustments to your existing systems – such as adding new components or bespoke integrations – to provide the enhanced functionality, capacity and performance you need

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Minimising downtime

Should a full-scale replacement for your legacy systems be required, we’ll apply tried-and-tested development approaches to rapidly deliver value, without jeopardising any success you’ve built up to-date.

This may take the form of a phased approach to development, beginning with a period of stabilisation on your existing platform to allow new development work to be integrated smoothly, before it replaces what’s there entirely – an approach taken when upgrading RS Components’ global online community platform, DesignSpark.

We can also support you in the seamless migration of users to your new system, through alpha and beta releases that enable you to iterate based on real-world user feedback, and in creating and implementing automation processes that guarantee the security, stability and maintainability of all output.

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Technical debt assessment

Dramatically affecting your ability to develop new features over time, technical debt is very often a concern when it comes to legacy software. Our consultants will both help unpick such issues in your existing systems, and provide advice on how best to plan for this in your future development roadmap – drawing on industry best practice and lessons learned from helping similar organisations take control of their technical debt.

Applying a holistic approach, we’ll arm you with both the information you need to avoid the build-up of technical debt, and an understanding of how your development decisions may affect other Quality Attribute Requirements (QARs) such as security, availability and time-to-market. As a result, you’ll be able to make much more informed choices about your legacy systems that align with your business priorities, safeguarding long-term success.

Why Box UK?

With a proven track record of getting troublesome projects back on track, our multidisciplinary project team applies creative problem-solving to deliver you a high-quality legacy software recovery solution. And as a partner to leading technology providers including Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, WordPress and Sitecore, with expertise across languages including PHP, C#, JavaScript and Python, you can be assured of technical excellence throughout the full scope of your development project.

Talk to one of our digital experts

Pete Withers-Jones

Head of Development

Do you have an idea or a project you need support with?

Pete Withers-Jones leads Box UK’s Development Practice, and has over 20 years of experience in software development, working across various industries and technologies.

Book a meeting with Pete

Or call us on 020 7439 1900

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