Software Modernization for ISVs and Software Companies
At a software company, modernization almost always begins with a strategic decision: the product needs to transition to SaaS, an acquisition introduces a second codebase, or customers are requesting AI functionality and EU hosting. SUE helps you first gain a thorough understanding of your existing software and then modernize it in a targeted manner. This allows you to make technical decisions that align with your future product strategy.
Challenges for Software Companies
For software companies, “ Application Modernization ” isn’t just about replacing outdated technology. It’s often driven by a specific strategic shift. We see two main reasons for this among ISVs.
- From On-Premises Product to SaaS
The transition from a traditional software product to SaaS places different demands on the architecture. Applications are often the result of years of development, and as a result, the user interface, business logic, and technical components are tightly intertwined. This makes it more difficult to quickly develop new interfaces, integrations, and functionality. To continue growing as a SaaS organization, the application must become more flexible and easier to modularize. - Post-Acquisition Integration
Acquisitions bring new products, codebases, and technical platforms into a single organization. This raises the question of how these environments should move forward together. Which platforms do you want to retain? Which functionalities can be combined? Where is consolidation possible? And which architecture provides the best foundation for further development? Without a thorough understanding of the existing applications and dependencies, it is difficult to make an informed decision.
Our solutions
- Decoupling Business Logic from the Interface
SUE first helps software companies understand how their existing application is actually structured. Through “ reverse architecting ,” we map out business rules, processes, dependencies, and the technical architecture, among other things. We then focus on decoupling the user interface from the underlying business logic. Business logic can thus be organized into reusable services that can be developed more independently of the interface and made available via modern APIs. The SUE approach described here explicitly refers to this as restructuring code and decoupling business logic into reusable services with modern integration APIs. This creates a more flexible foundation for further SaaS development, new interfaces, and integrations. - Analyzing and advising on platform selection and consolidation
Following an acquisition, SUE first helps gain insight into the various applications and technical platforms. We examine aspects such as software architecture, technical debt, business logic, API maturity, cloud infrastructure, security, and dependencies. These topics are also addressed in SUE’s technical due diligence framework. Based on that analysis, we advise on future platform selection and consolidation. Which technologies and functionalities do you want to retain? Which components can be integrated? And where is consolidation needed to create a single, clear technical foundation for further development? The goal is a well-founded platform decision and a clear roadmap for the future application architecture.
To learn how SUE is modernizing a legacy application step by step, visit the page Application Modernization.
Projects we are proud of
How CarWise Is Accelerating Its Transition to SaaS with SUE
Onyx One runs on a Kubernetes platform that SUE manages and secures
Our use cases in this sector
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One Product and One Roadmap After an Acquisition: Following an acquisition, a software company finds itself with two products for the same market, built on different technology stacks and each with its own team. We analyze both codebases using Re:App and compare them in terms of architecture, technical debt, business logic, and cloud costs. We migrate functionality that exists only in the acquired product as a service to the platform that will remain. Customers then migrate in groups.
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From a Dedicated Server per Customer to Multi-Tenant SaaS: Many software companies still host their products using a dedicated installation for each customer, meaning an update is deployed as many times as there are customers. We deploy the application in containers, set up isolated tenants for each customer on Kubernetes, and build a single release pipeline for all customers. The same setup also runs in a European cloud region for customers who require EU hosting. By allocating cloud costs per tenant, you can see exactly what each customer costs. To learn how to set this up with FinOps, visit the page on cloud cost optimization and FinOps.
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From monolith to SaaS product: You can’t rewrite a desktop application with years’ worth of business logic all at once. We map out the code using Re:App and separate the business logic from the interface, placing it in shared libraries that have no UI. On top of that, a second team builds the web version, one or two sprints behind the first. At CarWise, this approach reduces a project that would typically take years at this scale to a maximum of twelve months. A SaaS product with multiple customers and environments requires a platform on which teams can deploy on their own. SUE builds this as an Internal Developer Platform or delivers it ready-to-use with Multistax.
Clouds and codebases we analyze
Modernize the code. Optimize the cloud. Run the platform.
SUE is a Dutch cloud native solutions partner that modernizes mission-critical applications, reduces cloud costs, and manages your platform. Specialists in Linux, Kubernetes, and the cloud.
29+
Years Experience
150+
Engineers and consultants
1.150+
Certifications
ISO
9001 & 27001
500+
Projects
75+
Research papers
Partner of progressive organizations
Frequently asked questions
All frequently asked questionsSUE, a cloud native solutions partner based in Geldermalsen, has been modernizing mission-critical software since 1997, with over 150 engineers and more than 500 projects. For software companies, we start with Re:App, our proprietary tool for AI-driven reverse architecting. It reveals the business logic embedded in the code and how it’s tied to the interface and database. We then modernize each component individually. CarWise, for example, is migrating a .NET desktop application with millions of lines of C# code to SaaS. With SUE’s help, Colect reduced its AWS costs by 43% and improved performance by 20%.
Yes, as long as you don’t rebuild everything all at once. Take one component at a time from the old code and deploy it as a service with an API alongside the existing product. The old application calls that service until the old part can be phased out. Start with the components you’ll need to tweak anyway as part of your roadmap; that way, each step delivers both modernization and a new feature at the same time. CarWise operates this way with two parallel tracks: the desktop software remains in operation while the new SaaS version grows. Just make sure to determine in advance how much of your development capacity will go toward modernization; otherwise, the roadmap will always take precedence.
Make your choice based on your product roadmap, not on which team is shouting the loudest. Compare the platforms based on architecture, technical debt, business logic, API maturity, cloud costs, and security. With “ reverse architecting ,” you can see which functionality is unique to a single product’s code and therefore needs to be migrated to the platform you choose to keep. SUE uses the same six pillars for this as in the Technical Due Diligence on the Private Equity page, but after the deal rather than before it.
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