Inventory
Shows what runs where, in which version, and until when it receives updates.
Taking over an undocumented legacy system without rewriting it
Your system runs, but nobody knows it in detail. We record application, database, server and email, assess the risks, recommend the next step in writing and, if you wish, take over operations.
- ColdFusion and Lucee in production since 2015
- Reply within one working day
When a takeover without documentation becomes necessary
Missing documentation usually goes unnoticed until something happens. Typical triggers:
- The provider who built the application is unreachable or has been dissolved.
- The application arrived with a purchase or a merger, and nobody in the company has ever worked with it.
- An audit, a client or the insurer comes across components that no longer receive updates.
- Access credentials, scheduled tasks and mail routes are not written down anywhere.
Our reference pages show the support dates for PHP versions, Adobe ColdFusion and Linux distributions.
What we need from you to start
We record anything that is missing in the report and clarify with you how to obtain it.
- Source code: access to the repository or a copy of the files
- Server: access to the server or to your hosting account
- Database: access to the database or a current export
- Domain and DNS: access to the registrar or the DNS management, so that we can trace hostnames and mail routes
- Email: details of the mail server or sending service the application uses to send messages
- Documentation: everything that exists, including old tickets, emails and notes
Please do not send credentials by email or through the form. We agree a secure way for that in the intro call.
How we get to know a system without documentation
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Access
We receive access to code, server and database.
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Inventory of the whole chain
We record the application, database, server and email: versions, dependencies, scheduled tasks such as nightly imports, data sources and mail routes.
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Copy and restore
We check which backups exist, take a copy of the system and restore it on a test system. That way you know whether the system could be restored in an emergency.
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Risk register
We rank the risks by priority: missing security updates, components without support, and knowledge that only individual people hold.
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Recommendation and effort
We recommend the next step in writing, with reasons, and estimate the effort in working days. If you hand operations and maintenance over to us, a plan for the first 30 and 90 days follows.
What the review result contains
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System map
Shows how application, database, server and email fit together.
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Risk register
Names what is at risk and what to do first.
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Backup assessment
Shows what is backed up and whether the system can be restored from it.
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Recommendation with option matrix
Compares staying, upgrading and migrating, with reasons and effort in working days.
Stay, upgrade or migrate: when each fits
The report ends with a recommendation for one of three routes:
- Stay and maintain, if the system runs stably on a supported version. We take care of updates, backups and monitoring.
- Upgrade the version, if structure and function are right but PHP, ColdFusion or the operating system no longer receive updates. This happens in stages, with tests and a fallback plan, as described on the pages about PHP 8 and the end of ColdFusion support.
- Migrate, if the platform has to change, for example to Lucee, into containers or from Windows to Linux. Proven logic can also live on as a web service.
We rarely recommend a rewrite. It pays off when the framework is no longer maintained, there are no tests and the business rules can be written down. If only the version is the problem, we upgrade. We also tell you when a migration is not worth it.
Ongoing operations are part of our service Takeover and maintenance. Upgrades and migrations are part of Migration and modernisation.
Our engineers' experience with long-running systems
- ColdFusion and Lucee
- continuously in production since 2015, Adobe ColdFusion 9 to 2025 and Lucee 5, 6 and 7
- PHP
- since 2012, with Smarty, Slim and WordPress
- Full stack and DevOps
- since 2012, from the application and database to the server and mail
- Types of systems
- Platforms for loan processing, mortgage financing and leasing, and systems that generate documents and contracts.
Code, access and reports stay with you
- Code, credentials and reports stay with you. Another provider can continue from the report.
- If the engagement ends, we hand over the current state in an orderly way.
And if someone on our side drops out? We write the documentation on request. The repository is normally with you. We arrange cover on request.
Our working methods are described under How we work, and the kinds of systems our engineers know under Experience.
The first step: Legacy review at a fixed price
Legacy review
For companies with a system that nobody knows well any more: before an update, before a migration or when changing service provider.
- Inventory of versions and dependencies
- Map of application, database, server and email
- Risk register covering security, support and knowledge
- Assessment of backups and restores
- Recommendation “stay, upgrade or migrate” with an options matrix that also covers “move into a container” and “expose as an API”
- Effort estimate in days
The price covers one system, meaning one application with its database and its server. We price further systems individually.
What the result contains
A written report with inventory, risk register, recommendation and effort estimate. The report is yours.
Two cases from our work
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A shop flooded by bots that looked like customers
A WooCommerce shop with 52 products loaded slowly or not at all. The cause was a paid network of bots sending tens of thousands of requests an hour, each from a different home address, and every single bot behaved perfectly. Our engineers stopped the traffic at the edge of the network, and when the bots changed tactics a month later, the second rule took the load off within two minutes.
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SQL indexes in a shop database: from full scans to microseconds
A shop database without indexes worked as long as the tables were small. At 500 000 orders and 1.75 million order items every filter and every join came down to a full scan. We measured exactly what the missing indexes cost, added the right ones, and documented the traps that make an index useless even though it exists.
Questions before taking over an unknown system
Can you take over a system that has no documentation?
Yes, that is what the legacy review is for. First we record what is there: versions, dependencies, scheduled tasks, data sources and email routing. We also check whether the backups can be restored.
That we do not yet know your system is the normal starting point, not an obstacle. Only with the findings can we say what the system needs and what ongoing support would involve. The report is yours.
What does a takeover cost if nobody knows the system?
The first step has a fixed price that you know before we start: the Legacy review for a system consisting of application, database and server. What ongoing support costs depends on the condition of the system. We name a figure only after the legacy review, once we have seen the system.
We estimate the effort of the next steps in working days before you commission anything.
Do we have to stay with you after the legacy review?
No. The legacy review is a separate engagement with a fixed scope and price. The report is yours, even if you continue on your own afterwards or commission another provider. We discuss whether ongoing support follows once the findings are in.
What if we are missing access credentials?
This can usually be solved. We start with what you still have to hand. That is the contract and customer account with the hosting provider, access to the domain and, where available, the repository and backups. Server access can often be reset through the hosting provider if you act as the contracting party. We only gain access to a system with your explicit consent.
What happens if someone at your company is unavailable?
We arrange a substitute on request. We also write the documentation on request, and the repository is normally held on your side, so the code stays in your hands. How we work together is described on the page How we work.
Which projects have you already delivered?
Our engineers have worked on these types of system:
- Loan processing platforms, including work directly for banks
- Platforms for mortgage financing
- Leasing platforms
- Systems that generate documents and contracts
- Video portals with streaming and automated video conversion
- High-traffic news and classifieds portals
- Web services of companies that work for the public sector, including cultural institutions
Selected projects are described in detail on the projects page, among them ColdFusion in production and under load, email deliverability, a shop flooded by bots and SQL indexes in a shop database.
When can you start?
You will receive a first reply within one working day. When we begin work depends on our current workload and on the scope. We give you a binding answer in the intro call. If it is urgent, the 48-hour emergency assessment starts as soon as we have access to the system.
Describe the system in a few sentences
Tell us the technology (if known), the host and the state of the documentation. We reply within one working day and suggest a suitable first step.