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Taking over and maintaining applications that must keep running

The developer has left, the application is running, and nobody knows exactly how. We take over the application, database, server and email and document what is there. After that we keep looking after the system, without rewriting it.

Get your situation assessed How we work
  • ColdFusion and Lucee experience since 2015
  • Our team speaks German, Polish and English fluently
  • Reply within one working day
An orange circle in the centre, joined by lines to eight parts of a web application in a ring: browser window, API, database, email, user, server, scheduled tasks and backups

When the developer has left and nobody knows the system

Typical starting points:

  • The developer or service provider has resigned or can no longer be reached.
  • The knowledge sits in the heads of individuals.
  • An audit or a client enquiry finds components that are no longer supported.
  • Nobody installs updates, because nobody knows what they will affect.
  • The website has been hacked and the previous maintainer is gone (Website hacked? First aid).

If your developer has resigned and the notice period is still running, the knowledge can still be handed over. In the remaining weeks we work alongside them: we write down what only they know, take over the access credentials and check whether the system can be restored without them.

Five boxes in a small network: two drawn with solid lines, three dashed as if unknown; an orange dot shines on one box

What we take responsibility for

We take over the system as a whole: application, database, server and email. We proceed as follows:

  • Inventory of servers, versions, scheduled tasks, data sources and mail routes
  • A copy of the existing system and a test that it can be restored
  • Risk register, ordered by priority
  • Plan for the first 30 and 90 days
  • Ongoing maintenance with updates, patches, monitoring and smaller enhancements

Code, credentials and documentation stay with you. A rewrite is not a prerequisite.

An application window, a database, a server and an envelope inside one orange frame, joined to each other by orange lines

What the takeover result contains

  • a takeover report with inventory and risk register
  • the result of the backup test
  • a runbook covering the most important procedures
  • the plan for 30 and 90 days
  • a monthly report during ongoing maintenance
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

How a takeover works

  1. Secure access and backups

    We receive access to the system, secure the credentials, take a copy and test whether it can be restored.

  2. Take stock

    We record servers, versions, dependencies, scheduled tasks, data sources and mail routes.

  3. Assess the risks

    We rank security, end of support and loss of knowledge by priority and tell you what needs to be done immediately.

  4. Plan and handover

    You receive the takeover report, the runbook and a plan for 30 and 90 days. Ongoing maintenance begins after that.

Experience with systems that have no documentation

Our engineers have worked with ColdFusion and Lucee continuously since 2015, and with PHP and as full-stack and DevOps engineers since 2012. They know systems whose author and documentation are missing. The kinds of systems involved are described on the Experience page.

And what if someone on our side is unavailable? We produce detailed documentation on request. The repository is normally on your side. We arrange cover on request.

On the left a network of four dashed boxes, on the right the same network drawn neatly on a sheet; between them an arrow with an orange head

Technologies of the systems we take over

Two ways in, depending on urgency

48-hour emergency assessment

For companies whose developer or service provider has suddenly left and whose system has to keep running regardless.

  • Inventory: versions, dependencies, access, backups, scheduled tasks, data sources and outgoing email
  • List of the risks that need attention immediately
  • Stabilisation plan for the first 5 days and for the first 30 days
  • Short meeting to go through the results

The result is with you 48 hours after we have access to the system. Changes to the production system and any further work happen only with your approval.

What the result contains

A written report on the state of the system, the immediate risks and the stabilisation plan. The report is yours.

from €1,900 excl. VAT

Typically 2 working days

Request the 48-hour assessment

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

Two typical starting points in detail

  • Developer left?

    Your developer has resigned or already left, and the system has to keep running. We review the system and give you a written report 48 hours after access: its state, the immediate risks and a plan for the first 30 days.

  • Take over a legacy system without documentation

    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.

  • Your team needs support?

    Your team is at capacity, a specific skill is missing, or you need a second opinion before an important decision? We take over a defined part: a module, the backend for your frontend, an interface, a migration or a code review. We work in your repository and ticket system, and the code and the knowledge stay with you.

From our projects

  • Three lanes from a field of dots end at an orange wall labelled WAF; one lane from a laptop passes through the gap to a shop front

    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.

  • A large empty frame labelled RAM 40 GB with a small frame labelled JVM 1 GB inside, full of blocks, orange blocks spilling over its top

    ColdFusion under load: diagnosing and fixing the JVM heap space error

    An Adobe ColdFusion application ran without complaint at low traffic and returned errors and slowed down at peak hours. We reproduced the problem on a real database, measured the exact point at which the JVM heap runs out, and fixed the memory configuration, with the same load test before and after as the proof.

Questions about takeover

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.

Do you work with Jira, Git and SVN?

Yes, with Git and with SVN. We manage tasks in Jira or in the tool you already use. The code lives in your own repository and therefore stays in your hands.

Do you cover weekend duty from time to time?

Yes. Support and emergencies are covered around the clock (24/7), weekends included. For other enquiries we are available Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 17:00 Central European Time, and we reply within one working day.

What is your hourly rate?

It depends on scope, engagement model and urgency. Describe your situation briefly and, after a conversation, we will send you an offer. You do not need a budget for that. We quote fixed prices for the entry products.

Do you work on your own hardware, or do we need to provide a laptop?

We work on our own hardware. We set up access to your systems through a VPN, SSH or a remote desktop. We need a device from you only if you prefer that.

Has your developer left, and does the system have to keep running?

Call us or send a message. You have a written report 48 hours after we gain access: system state, immediate risks and a plan for the first days.

Request the 48-hour assessment How we take over systems