Legacy Modernisation

Signs You've Outgrown Your Current System

• Multiple Excel spreadsheets doing the job of a database
• MS Access crashing, corrupting, or refusing to sync between locations
• Staff working around the system instead of with it
• "Only Dave knows how that spreadsheet works"
• Can't access your data remotely or from mobile
• .NET Framework application stuck on an old Windows version

What Modernisation Looks Like

I don't rip everything out and start again. That's expensive, risky, and disruptive. Instead, I take a phased approach:

1. Audit — Understand what you have, what works, and what doesn't. Map your data and workflows.
2. Plan — Design the new system around how you actually work. Not how software thinks you should work.
3. Migrate — Move your data carefully. Every record validated. Zero data loss.
4. Build — New application on modern technology. Same familiar workflows, but faster, more reliable, and accessible from anywhere.
5. Transition — Run old and new in parallel until you're confident. Training and support throughout.

Common Migrations

MS Access to Azure SQL + WPF

The most common path. Your Access forms become a proper desktop application. Your Access tables become a cloud database with automatic backups, proper security, and the ability to handle real concurrency. I've done this for companies with 400+ employees.

Excel to Proper Database

Spreadsheets are brilliant for ad-hoc analysis. They're terrible as databases. When your business runs on a 200-tab Excel file, it's time for a proper system. Your data moves across, your team gets a proper interface, and you get reliable reporting.

.NET Framework to .NET 8

If you have a working .NET Framework application that needs updating, I can upgrade it to .NET 8 — modern performance, long-term support, and the ability to deploy to current infrastructure.