Modernize one system at a time—not all at once.
Legacy modernization for a company or one division of a larger one: we survey what you run on, mirror it, run old and new side by side, then switch—rehearsed first, with rollback ready.
Unify first—then AI that can see the whole business. Your old systems hold years of how the company actually works. We keep that, and retire the patchwork around it.
- Surveyed before anything changes
- Old and new run side by side
- Rehearsed cutover, with rollback
// two tracks, one switch
The old system keeps running until the new one has earned the switch
Every system goes through the same four steps. We survey it before anything changes, mirror its data into the new platform, and run the two side by side until they agree. Only then do we switch—on a date you choose, after a rehearsal on a copy.
After the switch, the old system stays read-only. If something turns up that the rehearsal missed, going back is a decision, not a rebuild. Then the next system goes through the same lane, and the seams between them close one at a time.
Survey
Old system · System of record
Runs the business. We read it; nothing changes.
New platform · Planned
Designed from what the survey finds.
Mirror
Old system · System of record
Still where the work happens.
Data copied acrossNew platform · Mirror copy
Holds a copy of the old data, refreshed on a schedule.
Side by side
Old system · System of record
Still the one you trust.
Results comparedNew platform · Running in parallel
Same work in both, until the results agree.
Switch
Old system · Standby, read-only
Kept read-only, so the switch can be undone.
Rollback readyNew platform · System of recordRehearsed first
Takes over on a date you choose.
// two ways to replace a system
Everything at once, or one system at a time
Everything at once
- One go-live date carries every risk at the same moment
- Staff learn every new screen in the same week
- When a number changes, nobody can say which system moved it
- If the new system falls short, the old one is already gone
One system at a time
- Each switch is small enough to rehearse on a copy first
- Old and new run side by side until their results agree
- The old system stands by read-only, so a switch can be rolled back
- Each phase has a measure it must move before the next one starts
Not ready for a call? Start with a free check of where your data gets re-keyed: Count your seams
// how it works
Four steps, in the same order, for every system
You always know which step a system is on, and what has to be true before it moves to the next.
- 1
Survey
We inventory every system and every seam: where the data lives, who re-keys it, and which rules exist only in someone's head. Nothing changes yet.
- 2
Mirror
We build the first piece of the new platform and copy the old system's data into it on a schedule. The old system is still where the work happens.
- 3
Side by side
Your team does the same work in both. We compare totals, counts and documents until they agree, and explain every difference that remains.
- 4
Switch
We rehearse the cutover on a copy, then switch on a date you choose. The old system stays read-only, ready for rollback.
From the first call to the last switch
Each rung of the engagement has one job, and each phase has to earn the next.
What we cover
- Which systems you run on, and where they meet
- The seam that costs you the most today
- Whether to start with one system, or leave it alone
What we cover
- The seams traced end to end, system to system
- A one-page constraint map for your leadership
- A first order for retiring systems
What it includes
- A survey of every system and seam
- A map of where the data lives
- A phased cutover plan with rehearsal and rollback
- The first automation to build
- The measure each phase must move
How each phase runs
- Survey, mirror, side by side, switch—for each system
- A rehearsal on a copy before every switch
- The old system kept read-only until you retire it
- Each phase measured before the next begins
The paid pilot
- One seam, taken from start to finish
- A fixed fee, agreed in the Blueprint
- Exit criteria written down before work starts
- Run in your own environment where your requirements call for it
- A decision at the end: continue to the next phase, or stop
// one division first
Start with one division—then decide on the rest.
Inside a larger organization, one department can go first. The same four steps, scoped to that department and its systems, so the work proves itself before anyone plans a wider rollout.
We take on a few engagements at a time, so each gets senior attention.
Constraint Call
The department headThe one seam costing your department the most, and whether it can be fixed without touching the rest of the organization.
Capacity Session
Department head and ITIT joins here. We walk the department's systems on your screens and settle early what access, hosting and security review the work will need.
Blueprint
Department head and ITScoped to the one department: its systems, its seams, the paid pilot that starts delivery, and the measure each phase has to move.
Phased delivery
The departmentPhases one and two run inside the department. Phase three plans the wider rollout—if the first two earned it.
// where it usually starts
Start with the system only a few people can run
Two common starting points, each with its own page:
Replace an Access database
A Microsoft Access file one person maintains, rebuilt as a web platform the whole team shares.
See how it worksExcel to a web app
The Microsoft Excel workbooks you run on, turned into one app with real records and permissions.
See how it worksReplace InfoPath forms
Microsoft InfoPath forms and the approvals behind them, rebuilt as one system with their history intact.
See how it worksQuestions about legacy modernization
What does legacy modernization mean for an organization like ours?
It means replacing the old systems your business depends on—an aging database, a web of spreadsheets, a server in the closet—one at a time rather than all at once. For a single company or one division of a larger one, that usually ends in one platform, built up system by system, with each switch rehearsed first.
Are we the right size for this?
Headcount matters less than the patchwork. We work with whole companies and with single divisions or departments inside much larger ones. What we need is one owner of the outcome—an operations lead, a department head, an IT director—who can make the call and open the systems. The Constraint Call is where we both check.
Why not replace everything at once?
Because one go-live date puts every risk on the same day, and when numbers change nobody can say which system moved them. Replacing one system at a time keeps each switch small enough to rehearse, keeps the old system available for rollback, and lets each phase prove itself before the next one begins.
Do we have to stop using the old system while you build?
No. The old system stays the system of record through the survey, the mirror and the side-by-side period, and your team keeps working in it. It only steps back at the switch, and even then it stays read-only, so the switch can be rolled back if something the rehearsal missed turns up.
What does rollback actually mean here?
It means the old system is still there, with its data, when the new one takes over. Before each switch we write down what would trigger a rollback and who decides. If it is triggered, work moves back to the old system while we fix the problem, then we rehearse and switch again.
What if what we run on is old custom software?
The same four steps apply. Software written in Microsoft Visual Basic 6, Microsoft Visual FoxPro or Embarcadero Delphi still has data we can survey and mirror, and screens your team can walk us through. We read what it does, rebuild it piece by piece, and keep the original running until the new one agrees with it.
Where does AI come in?
After the systems are unified. AI is only as useful as the data it can reach, and a patchwork of tools hides most of it. Once the business runs on one platform, automation can take the busywork with people approving each step, and AI can work across the whole business instead of one spreadsheet at a time.
Who does the work?
The owner of UniCorp leads every engagement, from the first call to the last switch, and is accountable for what ships. An AI-assisted engineering team builds it, and every change is tested before it reaches your systems. You meet the people doing the work before you commit.
For IT and security
What your IT team will ask—answered up front.
Each of these is designed to your requirements and agreed in the Blueprint—not a certification we claim to hold.
designed to your requirements
- Where it runs
- Hosted by us or in your own cloud account, decided by your requirements during the Blueprint.
- Sign-in
- Through your identity provider, set up to your requirements, so access starts and ends with your own accounts.
- Roles and audit trail
- Each person sees only what their role allows, and changes to sensitive records are recorded—who, what and when.
- Your data out
- Export in standard formats, such as CSV, whenever you ask—during the engagement and after it.
- Change control
- Every switch is rehearsed on a copy first, with rollback ready. AI-assisted work goes through the same pull request and automated tests as any other change.
- Documentation and handover
- Written as we build, not after, with a handover your team can run with.
- Security review
- We'll answer your security questionnaire.
- License
- You receive a perpetual license to the software we build for you.
Find your constraint. Get capacity back.
A free 30-minute call. We'll name the one constraint holding you back and the fastest path past it—whether or not you work with us.
30 minutes—bring the list of systems you run on, leave with the one to retire first.