Modernizing Legacy Software

The problem with ageing software

All software eventually becomes obsolete and it’s only natural to forestall its replacement as long as possible. Unfortunately, the longer you wait, the more technical debt accumulates and the harder it will be to make changes of any kind without breaking something and/or incurring critical cybersecurity and safety problems. Feature releases and bug fixes take more time to implement, creating delays, stress, and reduced customer satisfaction with a continually increasing time-to-market.

Ageing software may have languages, frameworks, and windowing systems that are no longer supported or that leave you unable to find knowledgeable talent. What’s more, legacy user interfaces (UIs) will look very dated compared to today’s fluid animations, context-sensitive controls, and responsive interactions, requiring more than just a simple port to bring them up to date. KDAB can help.

Code bases that meet the dynamic needs of the future

Adapt your code base to evolving user needs without the fear of introducing bugs, breaking compatibility or being trapped into using obsolete tools and environments. With over two decades of hands-on experience in modernizing legacy software in hundreds of projects, KDAB's expertise is unparalleled. This reservoir of knowledge, combined with current best practices, modern development paradigms and proprietary automation tools, facilitates an efficient migration of your legacy software to new frameworks, languages and Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs). KDAB is also on top of current functional safety standards for safety critical environments, and can make sure you comply

GUI Toolkit Migration

The task of migrating a legacy GUI toolkit to a modern framework is rife with complexity and potential hurdles. KDAB's significant experience in porting software from toolkits like Motif, MFC, Photon, X11 and previous versions of Qt allows us to swiftly develop solid ports that are compatible with mobile, desktop, and embedded devices. This expertise is drawn from numerous successful migration projects across many different industries.

Application Modernization

Many older applications are limited to supporting a single, often outdated platform. Modernizing these applications ensures their compatibility across multiple platforms and devices. KDAB's approach focuses on reusing as much of your existing code as possible while ensuring your application's interaction with its environment is portable, cross-platform and secure.

UI Modernization

Outdated GUI frameworks not only cause code issues but can also make user interfaces appear stale and dated. As part of the GUI framework transition, KDAB helps to redesign your UI with a highly professional look, using modern user interface elements and a cleaner, more intuitive style. Where the software needs to be white-labeled so the customer can resell it as their own brand, or personalized by the end user, we leave you with a flexible, reskinnable UI.

Upgrading Programming Languages

Modernizing a software application sometimes requires a language upgrade to achieve the desired goals. Whether you are planning to go from Python or C to C++, upgrade your C++ code to a newer standard or rewrite parts or complete C++ code bases in Rust. KDAB has extensive experience with modernizing and rewriting all kinds of applications.

Good Reasons to choose KDAB for your Modernization Project