Cloud & Infrastructure
Legacy Application Hosting
Many organizations depend on software that cannot move to SaaS right now. Mayer Networks can host appropriate legacy applications in its private cloud so you can retire aging physical servers while you plan application modernization properly.
Who this fits
- Organizations running ERP or accounting software tied to a Windows server
- Healthcare and legal practices with established practice-management systems
- Government offices running specialized state or county applications
- Manufacturers with production and scheduling software
- Organizations with custom software written years ago and still essential
The problems it removes
- The application requires a server the organization no longer wants to own
- The vendor has no cloud version, or the cloud version costs more than the business can absorb this year
- Replacing the application is a multi-year project
- Physical hardware is failing now, and the software decision is not ready
What the platform covers
- Hosting for supported legacy Windows applications
- Remote Desktop access for users
- Database hosting where applicable
- Enterprise storage, backup and recovery
- Secure access controls and monitoring
- Coordination with the software vendor
How a migration runs
Step 1
Evaluate
We assess whether the application can be hosted safely: supported platform, licensing, vendor position, security exposure and performance.
Step 2
Plan
A hosting design with access method, backup, recovery and a realistic migration window.
Step 3
Migrate
The application and its data are moved and tested with the people who use it daily.
Step 4
Modernize
With the hardware problem solved, replacement or upgrade of the application can be planned on the organization's timeline.
Keeping an old application alive without pretending it is new
Many organizations run one application that dictates everything else: a county records system, a manufacturing scheduler, a practice management package whose vendor supports one server version and no other. Hosting it removes the aging hardware risk without forcing a replacement project the organization is not ready to fund.
The work is containment rather than modernization. The application runs on the platform it requires, isolated from general network traffic, with access controlled and logged, backups tested against the application rather than the file system, and a documented recovery path. That buys time, and time is usually what the replacement decision actually needs.
Delivered through Infrastructure as a Service
Legacy application hosting runs on the same managed private infrastructure as our other hosted workloads. If the application also needs hosted desktops, a SQL database beside it, multi-location access or a disaster-recovery position, those are configurations of the same service.
Infrastructure as a ServiceWhy Mayer Networks
- A practical bridge to the cloud: eliminate aging hardware now, plan application change deliberately
- Engineers who evaluate applications honestly rather than accepting everything
- The application, hosting and support come from one accountable organization
- Responsive remote and onsite support from engineers based in Southern Illinois, not a queue in another time zone.
Security considerations
- Hosting an application is not a licence to run unsupported software forever, we set expectations for modernization
- Applications that cannot be secured adequately are segmented and access-restricted
- Where an application presents unreasonable risk, we say so and propose alternatives
Can legacy software be moved to the cloud?
Often yes. Applications that run on supported Windows Server versions can usually be hosted and delivered through Remote Desktop. Applications requiring unsupported operating systems or specialized hardware need individual evaluation.
Will hosting our old application make it secure?
Hosting improves the infrastructure around the application, power, redundancy, backup, monitoring and access control. It does not fix vulnerabilities inside outdated software, which is why hosting is a bridge rather than a permanent answer.
Will the software vendor support a hosted deployment?
Many do. We confirm the vendor's position before migrating.
What about applications needing special hardware?
Devices such as dongles, scanners or serial equipment require evaluation; some can be accommodated and some cannot.
How long can we host a legacy application?
As long as it can be operated at an acceptable level of risk. We review that assessment with clients over time.
Industries that rely on this
Related services
- Cloud & InfrastructureInfrastructure as a Service (IaaS)Many organizations have already moved email, collaboration and files into modern cloud services, and still depend on applications that require Windows Server, SQL Server, Remote Desktop or traditional infrastructure. Mayer Networks provides managed private infrastructure in Carbondale so those systems keep running without the organization purchasing and maintaining another generation of physical server hardware.
- Cloud & InfrastructureCloud & InfrastructureMayer Networks uses two kinds of cloud together. Microsoft 365 carries email, files, collaboration and identity. Mayer Networks Cloud, our own private infrastructure in Carbondale, Illinois, carries the workloads that still require traditional servers: line-of-business applications, SQL databases, hosted desktops, legacy software and disaster recovery. Infrastructure as a Service is the service; the private cloud is the platform it runs on.
- Cloud & InfrastructureDisaster Recovery & FailoverBackup answers whether the data can be recovered. Disaster recovery answers how the organization keeps operating when production is unavailable. Mayer Networks' Carbondale infrastructure can serve as a disaster-recovery and failover destination for customer workloads that require replicated recovery capability.
- Managed ITIT Consulting & StrategyMayer Networks helps leadership decide what to replace, what to keep, what is actually at risk, what belongs in cloud and what should be budgeted next year. We assess the environment, document what it runs on, and build a realistic multi-year plan for infrastructure, security and applications, with the reasoning written down so it survives a budget meeting.
Let's talk about your technology
Tell us what you are running and what is not working. We will tell you plainly what we would do about it.