TECHNOLOGY EVOLUTION
What you already have doesn’t have to hold you back.
Software and website maintenance: keeping, modernising and growing a system that is already running, without rebuilding it from scratch or stopping it while it changes.
Signs your software needs maintenance
A system that works rarely breaks all at once. It falls behind while nobody is looking, and one day it no longer keeps up.
- Each improvement costs more than the last
- What was an afternoon two years ago is now a quote and a wait, and nobody can explain when it changed.
- The person who built it is no longer there
- It works, but nobody knows why it works. So touching it is frightening, and what is frightening gets left as it is.
- It holds out until there is an emergency
- Without maintenance there is no prevention: the system only gets attention once it has stopped working, which is when it costs the most.
What it costs to leave it
The business ends up adapting to the system instead of the other way round. Opportunities are missed because “we can’t do that with what we have”, and every breakdown arrives as an emergency, which is the most expensive way to buy engineering hours.
What you get
A system you can touch without fear, someone who knows it inside out, and an agreed way to ask for help when something fails, instead of ringing round to see who answers.
- A foundation that holds up as you grow, instead of holding you back.
- A support channel with priorities and first-response times agreed in writing.
- Documentation of what exists, so the company stops depending on someone’s memory.
What software maintenance includes
- Maintenance and support
- Fixes, updates and incident handling, with agreed priorities, an allowance of eight hours a month and a maximum first-response time for each priority.
- Modernisation of the software you already have
- Updating what is out of date and untangling what is knotted, in stages and without stopping operations.
- Performance and infrastructure cost
- Making it faster and making it cheaper to host are usually the same job, done once.
- Security and compliance
- We review dependencies, access and the handling of personal data, and fix whatever turns up.
- New features and improvement projects
- When what is requested is substantial in its own right, it is treated as a project: analysis, phased plan, approval and quote. It doesn’t get slipped in under maintenance.
- Technical resource inside your team
- A specialist for a few months, when you have the judgement but not the people.
How we work
Taking on a system we didn’t build adds one step to a new project, and it comes first.
- Get to know itWe review the code, the infrastructure and what is known about the system before committing to anything.
- PrioritiseWe produce a list ordered by risk and impact, not by how easy each item is.
- StabiliseFirst we deal with the urgent: what is failing, what is out of date and what could fall over.
- ImproveWe release changes in stages and test them, so as not to introduce a new fault while fixing the old one.
- SustainWe provide support with agreed priorities and review periodically what is worth doing next.
How it is built inside
Modernising is not rewriting. A system in production is changed in stages, with the option of going back at each one, because the aim is not for the code to look good: it is for the business not to notice that anything has been changed.
- Changes are made in stages, and each change has a way of being undone.
- Whatever is fixed is covered by tests, so that it doesn’t come back six months later.
- The knowledge is written down. The stated aim is that you can stop depending on us, not the opposite.
Before you write to us.
How much does website or software maintenance cost?
The fee is agreed in writing before we start. It depends on the system being maintained, its condition and how many hours of work it needs, which is why we don’t publish a single figure. The conditions are public, though: a single plan with an allowance of eight hours a month, support hours from 07:00 to 19:00, Canary Islands time, on working days and a maximum first-response time for each priority. Anything beyond the allowance is quoted separately. To compare plans, the guide software and website maintenance: what to include explains what the cost depends on.
My website is slow or out of date. Can it be fixed without rebuilding it?
Often yes, but it depends on the cause. First we measure where the time is lost (hosting, images, code, extensions) and what is out of date; then we fix it in parts, with a way to undo each change. If it turns out that fixing it will cost more than rebuilding a part, we say so, with the reasons, even if it isn’t the answer that suits us best.
Can you maintain a website or software you didn’t build yourselves?
Yes, that is the normal case for this service. Before committing to anything, we review the real state: code, infrastructure, dependencies and access. From that comes a list of risks and an ordered proposal. And if, on looking at it, sustaining it turns out to cost more than rebuilding a part, we say so with the reasons in front of you, even though it is the answer that suits us least.
How does maintenance work?
There is a single plan, not a ladder of tiers named after metals. It includes an allowance of eight hours a month for maintenance, support and incidents, with agreed priorities and a maximum first-response time for each. Unused hours don’t carry over: they expire at the end of each month. Whatever exceeds the allowance, and anything that is a substantial evolution in its own right, is quoted separately.
What happens if something goes down outside working hours?
Standard support runs from 07:00 to 19:00, Canary Islands time, on working days. Outside those hours we may be able to help, subject to availability, but we don’t commit to permanent cover: we don’t offer 24/7, because promising what can’t be sustained is worse than promising nothing. What is agreed in writing is what counts as critical and how quickly the first response is given.
How long do you take to resolve an incident?
What we commit to is the first-response time, not the resolution time, and the difference matters. Receiving the alert, classifying it and telling you what is happening and what the next step is can be guaranteed. How long the fix takes depends on the cause, and putting a number on it before knowing the cause would be making it up. Critical incidents are handled before the rest.
We have just taken delivery of the work. Do we already need maintenance?
Not yet. Each delivery carries a stabilisation period of fifteen calendar days by default, during which we correct faults attributable to the delivered work. It doesn’t cover new requirements, changes of mind or failures caused by third parties: that is evolution and is treated as such. When that period ends, the natural step is a maintenance agreement, or ad hoc support if the system changes little.
Maintenance terms: hours, schedule and response
A single plan, with no ladder of tiers. These are the commitments that go into the agreement, and they are here so that you can compare them before talking to anyone.
- Hours allowance
- Eight hours a month for maintenance, support and incidents. Unused hours don’t carry over: they expire at the end of each month.
- Standard support hours
- From 07:00 to 19:00, Canary Islands time, on working days. Outside those hours we may be able to help, subject to availability, with no commitment to permanent cover.
- Stabilisation after delivery
- Fifteen calendar days by default, extendable depending on the project. It covers faults attributable to the delivered work; it does not cover new requirements, changes of mind or failures caused by third parties.
First-response times
| Priority | What it is | First response |
|---|---|---|
| P1 · Critical | Main service down, data loss or corruption, serious security failure or an essential function blocked | 4 working hours at most |
| P2 · High | Significant impact, but there is partial service or a workaround | 8 working hours at most |
| P3 · Medium | Limited impact; operations can continue | 1 working day at most |
| P4 · Low | Minor adjustment, query or non-urgent improvement | 2 working days at most |
These are first-response times: receipt of the alert, classification and an initial status with the next step. They are never a guaranteed resolution time, which depends on the cause and can’t be committed to before it is known.
We start with a preliminary analysis: scope, deliverable and fee agreed in writing before we begin. We usually reply in under 24 working hours.
If, before touching anything, you need to decide where to start: consulting and discovery.
If you have inherited a system built by another company: taking over software built by another company.
If you want to know what maintenance should include: software and website maintenance: what to include.