Application Modernization Services
Modernize your application without a rewrite
Your application still runs the business, but its stack is at end of life or holding you back. Briebug's senior US-based engineers assess it, modernize it step by step while it keeps working, and hand it back to your team.
Updated
What application modernization means
Application modernization is moving a business application off an aging or unsupported stack onto current, supported technology and practices, while it keeps working. It changes what blocks you and keeps what works.
It is not a rewrite. A rewrite throws away years of business rules and asks you to pay for two systems until the new one catches up. Modernization upgrades the application you have, in steps you can release, so the business never waits on a big-bang cutover.
When to modernize
A stack at end of life
The framework or runtime no longer gets security fixes. Each month on it adds risk, and the upgrade keeps moving down the list.
A rewrite you cannot afford
Someone proposed starting over. The application still earns its keep, and a rewrite means years of paying for two systems.
Releases nobody trusts
Deployments are manual, the tests are thin, and every change is a gamble on a system the business depends on.
Skills you cannot hire for
You struggle to hire engineers for the old framework, and the people who know it are leaving.
Modernization by stack
The approach is the same on every stack. These are the cases we are asked about most, each with its own page.
AngularJS to Angular
AngularJS is past end of life and gets no official security fixes. Move to current Angular route by route, running both frameworks side by side, so you keep shipping while you migrate.
Angular modernization
Bring an older Angular application up to a current, supported version, and put in place the testing, pipeline and architecture that keep it there.
.NET Framework to modern .NET
Move a .NET application off an end-of-life version onto a current .NET LTS release in supported steps, with sign-in, secrets and releases brought up to date on the way.
Any other stack
Java, React, Laravel, Ruby and Rails, Node and more. When the project has also stopped moving, the work starts as a rescue.
How a modernization works
Assess, modernize step by step, hand it back. The same three steps as every Briebug rescue, aimed at an aging stack instead of a stalled project.
Assess
Find out what is worth keeping before you decide what to change.
Senior engineers read the code and talk to the people who build and use the system. You get, in writing, what is out of support, what blocks change, and the order to modernize in, with a plan and a price.
- A fixed-fee technical assessment of the code, architecture, dependencies, pipeline and security
- Every framework, runtime and library that is out of support, or soon will be
- A modernization path in steps that can each be released on their own
- A milestone-based estimate for the work, and a statement of work
Modernize step by step
Change the system in pieces small enough to release.
We put tests around the code we are about to change, then upgrade it in supported steps. Old and new parts run side by side while the work moves through the system, so the business keeps the application it depends on.
- Tests first, around the code that has to change
- A release pipeline you can trust, so each step ships the same way
- Upgrades through supported versions, one step at a time
- Old and new running side by side where the stack allows it
- Security gaps from the assessment closed as the code they live in is modernized
Hand it back
A modern application your team can run and keep current.
Modernization is not finished until your own team can keep the system current. We document what we changed and why, and we pair with your engineers until they own the code and the process.
- Documentation of what we changed and why
- Pairing with your engineers until they own the code and the upgrade process
- An optional senior oversight retainer after handback
Start with a Technical Assessment
Every modernization starts here. Before you commit to an upgrade path, you find out what is out of support, what is worth keeping, what to change first, and what the whole job will cost. It is a week of senior engineering work, written up so that anyone can act on it.
- A review of the code, architecture, dependencies, process, pipeline and security
- Your top 10 pain points, each with a recommendation
- A triage report of what to modernize first, and in what order
- A milestone-based estimate for the work
- A statement of work, ready to sign with us or to take to another shop
The fee is not credited if you hire us, because the report stands on its own: you can take it to any shop, or hand it to your own team.
- Fixed fee
- $10K
- Duration
- About 1 week
Applications we modernized
Each one was upgraded in place, not thrown away. What was in the way, what the assessment found, and where each one ended up.
PSIA / SnowPro
Education, certification and membership platform for ski instructors
Angular 7 to 17and .NET Core 3.1 to .NET 8 (LTS)
- Problem
- Angular 7 and .NET Core 3.1 nearing end of life, failing test suites, and infrastructure that depended on a third party.
- What we found
- Jest and Cypress suites that broke during the upgrade, an end-of-life identity server, WordPress plugins that failed on PHP 8, and a planned Azure subscription transfer that risked major downtime.
- Result
- Angular 7 to 17, .NET Core 3.1 to .NET 8, working test suites, and repositories, pipelines and documents in an Azure DevOps environment PSIA owns.
Restore United
Business management platform for restoration companies
- Problem
- Technical debt was slowing the product: outdated Angular, manual deployments, an incomplete QuickBooks integration, and a mobile app that could no longer ship.
- What we found
- Deprecated Cordova mobile tooling, an expired Android developer account, features left incomplete by an old QuickBooks integration, and a production TLS certificate problem.
- Result
- Current Angular in an Nx monorepo, CI/CD into AWS, secrets in Secrets Manager, a working QuickBooks integration, and mobile apps that can ship again.
Strata GPO
Member portal for a group purchasing organization
2,137customer accounts created in Microsoft Entra on release night, with zero errors
- Problem
- An independent security assessment flagged critical weaknesses in a live portal that thousands of members use every day.
- What we found
- Credentials stored in the portal's own database with no second factor, internal services that did not check callers, hardcoded secrets, and manual releases.
- Result
- MFA sign-in through Microsoft Entra, every service verifying every caller, secrets in Key Vault, and automated, scanned releases. 2,137 accounts migrated with zero errors.
Why Briebug
Modernizing a system the business depends on is senior work. Unsure whether to modernize or start over? Read rescue or rebuild.
- Since 2009. Briebug has delivered enterprise software since 2009.
- Senior US-based engineers. Senior engineers do the work. No juniors learning on your system.
- ISO 27001:2022 and SOC 2 Type II. Certified, for buyers who run a vendor risk review.
- Test-driven development. We write the test that proves a change before we make the change.
- AI with guardrails. AI-assisted engineering, inside the same review and test gates, with a senior engineer accountable for every change.
Questions buyers ask about modernization
What is application modernization?
Application modernization is moving a business application off an aging or unsupported stack onto current, supported technology and practices, while it keeps working. It can mean upgrading a framework, moving to a supported runtime, replacing an end-of-life component, or fixing how the application is tested and released. It does not have to mean a rewrite.
Do we have to rewrite our application to modernize it?
Usually not. Most applications have years of business rules worth keeping, and a rewrite has to rediscover all of them. We upgrade in supported steps instead, each one released on its own. For PSIA we went from Angular 7 to 17 and .NET Core 3.1 to .NET 8 (LTS), without starting over. The assessment decides from evidence.
Can you modernize a .NET Framework application that is at end of life?
Yes. .NET Framework gets no new features, and its older versions no longer get security fixes, so the path forward is modern .NET. We get the tests working first, then move the application in supported steps to a current .NET LTS release, project by project, so each step is safe to release.
Can you migrate AngularJS to Angular without stopping delivery?
Yes. AngularJS is past end of life, but moving off it does not have to freeze your roadmap. We run AngularJS and current Angular side by side and move the application route by route, so your team keeps shipping features while the old framework is retired one screen at a time.
How much does application modernization cost?
It starts with a Technical Assessment for a fixed fee of $10K. The assessment ends with a milestone-based estimate for the modernization itself, so you see the full cost, step by step, before you commit to it. The report is yours, and you can take that estimate to any shop and compare.
How long does a modernization take?
The assessment takes about 1 week. The modernization depends on the size of the application and how far behind it is, so we do not guess before we have read the code. The assessment ends with milestones you can see, and each milestone is a step you can release on its own.
Will our application stay live while you modernize it?
That is the reason to modernize step by step. Each step is small enough to test and release on its own, and old and new parts run side by side where the stack allows it. Restore United needed the product to keep running while it was modernized, and the work was planned around that.
How is modernization different from a project rescue?
A rescue is for a project that has stopped moving: slipping dates, broken releases, a vendor who left. Modernization is for a system that works but sits on an aging stack. Many projects need some of both. The three steps are the same, and the assessment tells you which work comes first.
Tell us what is holding your application back.
A short call with a senior engineer. Tell us what is happening, and we will tell you honestly whether an assessment is the right next step.