CodeFirst is a UK software company that maintains, takes over and modernises business software. We also build new systems at a fixed price.
United Kingdom
Joined August 2013
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You can modernise a core system without switching it off. Replace one capability at a time, keep old and new on the same database, and make every step reversible. The hard part is choosing which capability goes first.
How to modernise a core system in stages, and when replacement is the honest answer: codefirst.co.uk/answers/how-…
When was your nightly backup last restored, rather than just taken? Preventive maintenance is the type most often skipped, because nothing appears to be wrong.
The four types of software maintenance, with examples from ordinary business systems: codefirst.co.uk/blog/what-is…
A database upgraded to SQL Server 2019 from 2008, 2012 or 2014 may still run at its old compatibility level. Worth checking before the next upgrade, and worth testing on its own when you raise it.
SQL Server 2019 support dates, and what to check before the next upgrade: codefirst.co.uk/end-of-life/…
No tests on your old system? Run last month's real orders through it, save the invoices, and compare after every change. Any difference is either intended or a regression. Someone has to say which.
What regression testing is, and how to protect a system that has no tests: codefirst.co.uk/blog/what-is…
What to do about a system on an unsupported version: codefirst.co.uk/solutions/un…
SQL Server 2014 is in the final year of paid Extended Security Updates. They end on 12 July 2027, and there is no further year to buy. A database migration is easier to plan in October than in June.
Is the contractor who wrote your system retiring? Don't ask them for documentation. Have whoever takes over build, release and restore the system with them before their last day. The questions that come up are what no document captures.
What to secure while the contractor is still available, and how to run the handover: codefirst.co.uk/answers/our-…
Restoring the database is not the whole SQL Server upgrade. Agent jobs, SSIS packages, Reporting Services reports, linked servers and logins sit outside it and do not come across on restore. List them first.
SQL Server support dates for every version, and what to check before upgrading: codefirst.co.uk/end-of-life/…
Paying for bespoke software does not make you its owner. In the UK, copyright stays with the supplier unless a written, signed agreement assigns it to you. Worth checking before you need to change supplier.
What to look for in the contract: codefirst.co.uk/answers/who-…
An older business system rarely costs more because of its code. The cost rises around it: support fees, old licences, oversized servers, staff time on workarounds. List every cost against the part of the system it pays for. Some may pay for things nobody uses.
Where the money usually goes, and how to find the savings: codefirst.co.uk/solutions/ri…
