+48 501 250 220

Modernising legacy systems without rewriting everything

ColdFusion and Lucee updates, PHP 8, Windows to Linux, database migrations and containers: we modernise existing applications in stages, with tests and a fallback plan. Proven logic is kept and continues to be used as a service.

Discuss your migration How we work
  • Experience with Windows/IIS to Linux and Adobe ColdFusion to Lucee migrations
  • ColdFusion experience since 2015
  • Reply within one working day
Two system diagrams side by side, the left one dense with hatched blocks, the right one simpler with round nodes, an orange arrow connects the two

When migration or modernisation is due

The technology itself is rarely the reason. Usually it is one of these triggers (As of 2026-10):

  • The platform no longer receives security updates, for example Adobe ColdFusion 2021.
  • The hosting provider charges extra for old PHP versions or discontinues them.
  • A penetration test or a client's enquiry names vulnerabilities, and a rewrite would take years.
  • A Windows server is running out of support.

We will also tell you when a migration is not worth it.

A time axis with tick marks; an orange mark on the axis stands for the end of support; a dashed arc leads from a small old server across it to a new server

Monolith as a service: keep using proven logic

If your legacy system runs and contains business logic that nobody wants to rewrite, we turn it into a web service. We make the proven logic available as an API and close known security gaps in a one-off step. The new part is built alongside it in the new stack.

  • Overview: which functions have value, and which are interwoven with the user interface?
  • A one-off hardening of the known vulnerabilities, with a comparison of the results before and after the change
  • API with authentication, rate limiting and logging, as REST/JSON or SOAP/XML
  • New functions in the new stack, which uses the API

Not every monolith can be used this way. If the logic is interwoven with the interface, we sort it out first. A legacy review shows what this saves compared with a rewrite.

More on monolith as a web service

A large hatched block with an opening outlined in orange, from which thin lines lead to five small nodes

Containerisation of existing applications

We move your application from classic hosting into containers, whether Lucee, Adobe ColdFusion or PHP. Usually the application itself stays unchanged; it is the environment that changes. It can then be rebuilt, updated and moved to another server.

  • Inventory of the environment: versions, extensions, web server settings, scheduled tasks, files, sessions, mail and databases
  • Definition of the environment in your repository
  • Running it alongside production and testing it, including document output
  • Switching over in a maintenance window, with a fallback plan

A container does not replace an update: a PHP version that is no longer supported stays unsupported inside a container.

More on moving into a container

On the left a hatched block, on the right the same block inside a container outline, a thin arrow connects the two, the container outline is orange

Updates, platform changes and databases

  • ColdFusion and Lucee: updates to supported versions, switching from Adobe ColdFusion to Lucee, testing PDF output (ColdFusion & Lucee)
  • PHP: upgrade to PHP 8 in individual steps, also with Smarty and jQuery (PHP)
  • Windows and IIS to Linux, with Docker
  • Databases: switching between MySQL and MariaDB and from other engines, for example from Firebird to MariaDB
  • Step-by-step modernisation where the complexity justifies it. We define the target stack with you.
Three rows, old on the left and new on the right: a low staircase of two steps becomes a high one of five steps; the same application window moves from an old server drawn with dashed lines onto a new rack server, with an orange arrow; a narrow dashed database becomes a wide solid one

What the result contains

  • an options matrix that also includes the "stay" option
  • a plan in stages
  • tests before every change
  • a fallback plan
  • a runbook

For "monolith as a service" you also receive a function map, a description of the API, a hardening report and comparison tests.

Three filled sheets side by side, each with a heading: a table with several rows, a checklist with ticks, one of them orange, and a schedule with bars

Dates that trigger migrations

As of: 2026-10
Date Event Source
2025-12-31 PHP 8.1: end of security updates. php.net (opens in a new window)
2026-10-13 Windows Server 2012 R2: last paid security updates (ESU). learn.microsoft.com (opens in a new window)
2026-11-10 Adobe ColdFusion 2021: end of extended support. helpx.adobe.com (opens in a new window)
2026-12-31 PHP 8.2: end of security updates. php.net (opens in a new window)
2027-01-12 Windows Server 2016: end of support. learn.microsoft.com (opens in a new window)

Experience with platform changes

Our engineers have moved applications from Windows and IIS to Linux and from Adobe ColdFusion to Lucee. They know the pitfalls that only show up in operation, for example differing PDF output with fonts and page sizes. We plan such tests in from the start.

On the left a stack of blocks with dashed outlines, on the right the same stack drawn solid on a new base plate; an orange curved arrow leads from left to right

Technologies we use in migrations

The first step, at a fixed price

ColdFusion check

For companies with an application on Adobe ColdFusion or Lucee that want to know whether their installation is still supported and run securely.

  • Version and patch level (Adobe ColdFusion 9 to 2025, Lucee 5 to 7)
  • Reachability of the Administrator and RDS
  • JVM, Tomcat and TLS
  • Backups, scheduled tasks, data sources and outgoing email via cfmail
  • Options for the platform: stay on current patches, upgrade the version or migrate to Lucee

The check does not cover application logic or code. That is what the legacy review is for.

What the result contains

A written list of findings in order of priority, with the options and a recommendation. The list is yours.

from €2,400 excl. VAT

Typically 3 working days

Have your ColdFusion installation checked

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.

from €3,800 excl. VAT

Typically 5 working days

Request a legacy review

Typical starting points in detail

  • ColdFusion: end of support and options

    According to Adobe, ColdFusion 2021 has received no security patches since 10 November 2025. We compare four routes: stay and harden, update, move to Lucee or replace the system step by step, with dates and risks (As of 2026-10).

  • PHP 8 upgrade

    Security updates for PHP 8.2 end on 31 December 2026, and for PHP 8.1 and older they have already ended (As of 2026-10). We move long-running PHP applications, including those with Smarty templates and jQuery front ends, to PHP 8.4 or 8.5 and test every stage.

  • From hosting to containers

    We move your Lucee, ColdFusion or PHP application from classic hosting into containers without rewriting it. That lets you rebuild, update and relocate the environment. Security updates for PHP 8.2 end on 31 December 2026 (As of 2026-10).

  • Use the monolith as a web service

    Your legacy system works and holds rules nobody wants to rewrite. We expose its logic as a web service and close known vulnerabilities in a single pass. Comparison tests check whether behaviour stays the same, and the new system is built beside it in the new stack.

From our projects

  • A browser, a box labelled Apache and three lanes to PHP, PHP and CFML; the CFML lane and box are orange

    ColdFusion 2025 in production behind Apache: five traps that are not obvious

    We prepared a production installation of Adobe ColdFusion 2025 on Debian 12, behind an Apache 2.4 that already serves several other sites. The installation itself takes 34 seconds. The attention went into the connector and the configuration details that are easy to miss: an error 503 caused by IPv6, mappings that reach into every virtual host, and a profile that quietly adds a debugger.

  • Twenty black bars as a staircase up to 30 s under session_start() and the same twenty bars in orange side by side up to 1.5 s under + session_write_close()

    PHP 8.2 and the 30-second limit: pages waiting for the session lock

    Web portals · 4 hours

    After the move from PHP 7.4 to PHP 8.2, the same page loaded normally one moment and failed after 30 seconds the next. We rebuilt both versions side by side and found the cause: about 20 parallel AJAX calls of one user waited for the lock on the session file, one after another. Fixed with one line per script, without rewriting the application.

Questions about migration and modernisation

Do we have to rewrite our system to use a new stack?

No. If the old system is running, we expose its logic as an API and close known security gaps as a one-off step. Its behaviour is meant to stay unchanged, and comparison tests check that. We then build the new part alongside it in the new stack, and it uses that API.

A rewrite is rarely worthwhile. It becomes an option when the framework is no longer maintained, there are no tests and the business rules can be written down. The legacy review clarifies whether that applies to you.

What do we gain by moving to a container?

An environment that can be rebuilt. The same version and configuration apply on the developer's machine, on staging and in production, recorded in the repository instead of in one person's head. We test new versions of PHP, Lucee or ColdFusion alongside production and can roll them back. Moving to another server or another provider also becomes easier.

A container fixes no bug in the code and does not bring an unsupported version up to date. It only makes those changes easier.

Do you only know Adobe ColdFusion, or Lucee as well?

Both. Our engineers have worked continuously with ColdFusion and Lucee in production systems since 2015. That covers Adobe ColdFusion from version 9 to 2025 and Lucee 5, 6 and 7. We also work with ColdSpring, custom frameworks and migrations from Adobe ColdFusion to Lucee.

Will our application run on Lucee unchanged?

That cannot be answered in general. Lucee implements CFML, but not every function behaves as it does in Adobe ColdFusion. Typical stumbling blocks are Adobe-specific tags and functions, and PDF output. Settings from the ColdFusion Administrator, such as data sources, scheduled tasks and mail sending, add to that.

Our engineers have migrated applications from Adobe ColdFusion to Lucee and build checks and tests into the plan from the start. The ColdFusion check assesses the installation; the code is checked in the legacy review or in the first phase of the migration. More on the page ColdFusion & Lucee.

How much work is the update to ColdFusion 2023 or 2025?

Most of it depends on the code: whether, and how far, it runs on the new version. Between ColdFusion versions some functions and tags change their behaviour or disappear, and then the code has to be reworked. The hardest case is an application built on a framework that no longer receives updates and does not support the new version: adapting or replacing the framework then becomes part of the work. On top of that come custom Java libraries and the settings at the Java and Tomcat level. The same applies to an update of Lucee.

Starting from ColdFusion 2021, the possible targets are 2023 (core support until 16 May 2028) and 2025 (until 26 February 2030, according to Adobe's matrix). On top of that come the licence, testing and moving the settings across. We give you the number of working days for your case after the ColdFusion check.

Do you have experience with Linux and Windows Server?

Linux is our main platform: Debian and Ubuntu, web servers, database clusters and virtualisation with KVM and Proxmox. We have run Windows Server with IIS in production since 2015. We recommend moving to Linux unless you prefer to stay with Windows.

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.

In 20 minutes we work out which first step fits your system

You tell us the goal and the current state, and we say openly whether and how we can help. Reply within one working day, no obligation.

Book an intro call How we work
Phone (German, Polish, English) +48 501 250 220
Email Email

Reachable: Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 17:00 Central European Time; support and emergencies around the clock (24/7)