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Managed Support

Internal Systems Handover

Your team is moving on. Your systems don't have to suffer.

When the original developer has left and nobody understands your bespoke platform any more, the system still needs support. We take over inherited codebases from in-house teams, capture and document what they know, and provide ongoing SLA-backed managed support so your business-critical systems keep running.

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Common triggers

When internal systems need external support

These are the situations we see most often. If any of them sound familiar, we can help.

The original developer has left

Your lead developer has resigned, retired, or moved roles. They built the system, the knowledge left with them, and now nobody understands the bespoke platform your business runs on. You need someone to take it over, ideally before they go, but we also take over systems after the fact.

Team capacity stretched

Your in-house team is focused on new priorities and can't maintain legacy systems alongside new work. Something has to give, and it shouldn't be the systems your business runs on.

Skills gap

The system was built in a technology your current team doesn't know well. Finding and hiring specialists takes time you don't have.

Cost and risk reduction

Maintaining internal systems in-house is expensive and creates single points of failure. Outsourcing to a managed support partner can reduce costs while improving resilience.
What we take on

Everything your in-house team used to handle

We don't just keep the lights on. We provide the full range of support your systems need to stay healthy and evolve with your business.

Bug fixes and incident response

When something breaks, we fix it. SLA-backed response times, proper root cause analysis, and permanent fixes rather than workarounds.

Feature development

Your business keeps evolving and your systems need to keep up. We deliver new features and enhancements through the same managed support arrangement.

Security patching and updates

Framework updates, dependency patches, and security fixes applied on a regular schedule. No more running years-old versions with known vulnerabilities.

Infrastructure management

Hosting, monitoring, backups, and disaster recovery. We take on responsibility for keeping your systems available, performant, and secure.

Performance optimisation

Slow queries, memory leaks, and scaling bottlenecks identified and resolved. We monitor performance continuously and address issues proactively.

Documentation and knowledge capture

We document the system as we learn it: architecture decisions, runbooks, deployment procedures, and operational knowledge that should never live in one person's head.

An example of an internal systems handover over ten weeks: knowledge transfer, parallel running alongside the existing team, then full handover and the first monthly report. Illustrative data for a fictional client.
Timeline

Handover and transition phases

A structured knowledge transfer that minimises disruption and captures expertise before it leaves.

Three phases of an internal system handover: knowledge transfer, parallel running with shadow support, full handover
A three-phase handover timeline. Knowledge transfer takes 1-4 weeks and covers domain capture, where architecture, decisions, and tribal knowledge are absorbed, and documentation, where the architecture is documented and known issues and workarounds are reviewed. Parallel running, the highlighted phase, takes 2-4 weeks and covers shadow support, with incidents handled alongside the existing team, and operations setup, with monitoring, alerting, and runbooks set up and SLAs agreed. Full handover is ongoing and covers managed support, with owned SLAs, monitoring, and incident response, and continuity, with ongoing development and improvements in place. The timeline ends with the system supported.

A structured handover that protects your business

We've refined this process across multiple handover engagements. It's designed to minimise disruption and capture knowledge before it walks out the door.

  1. Knowledge transfer

    1-4 weeks

    We work alongside your existing team (or outgoing developers) to understand the system. This includes:

    • Architecture walkthrough and documentation
    • Access to repositories, infrastructure, and tooling
    • Review of known issues, workarounds, and technical debt
    • Understanding business context and user workflows

    If the outgoing team has limited availability, we adapt. We're experienced at reverse-engineering systems from code alone.

  2. Parallel running

    2-4 weeks

    We run support alongside your existing team for a transition period. This lets us build confidence, prove our understanding, and catch anything that wasn't covered in knowledge transfer.

    During this phase we also:

    • Set up monitoring and alerting
    • Create runbooks for common operational tasks
    • Establish CI/CD improvements where needed
    • Agree SLAs and reporting cadence

  3. Full handover

    We take full responsibility for the system. You get:

    SLA-backed support with agreed response and resolution targets.

    Monthly reports covering support activity, system health, performance metrics, and recommendations.

    Quarterly reviews where we assess system health, calibrate support levels, and plan upcoming work.

    A named team who knows your system inside out and is available when you need them.

Your team

Your dedicated support team

A permanent, UK-based team who take ownership of your systems and become the experts your business needs.

S

Senior Software Engineers

Take ownership of the system during knowledge transfer. One named engineer knows the codebase deeply, remains the primary technical authority, and leads all significant changes. The team handles day-to-day development, bug fixes, and feature work. It also manages infrastructure, CI/CD pipelines, monitoring, and deployments, so the system can be deployed safely and recovered quickly.

D

Delivery Manager

Your main point of contact. Manages priorities, coordinates the team, produces reports, and runs quarterly reviews.

"The team are experienced, practical, people who quickly cut to the important issues."

Colin Waggett

CEO, Third Space

Seen enough? Let's talk through your requirements.

Book a free consultation
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What if the original developer has already left?

We handle this regularly. While knowledge transfer with the original team is ideal, we're experienced at reverse-engineering systems from code, infrastructure, and user behaviour. It takes longer, but we get there.

If you are in this position now, our guide to what to do when your development team has left sets out the order of work, starting with securing access to code, hosting, and credentials.

Can you take over an inherited codebase that nobody understands?

Yes. Taking over inherited bespoke systems is the core of this service. We start by securing access, then use AI-augmented analysis to read the whole codebase and produce architecture documentation, dependency maps, and a register of known risks. Our engineers review every finding before it is relied on. From there we agree SLAs and take on ongoing managed support, so the system is understood by a team rather than one person.

Can you work with older technology stacks?

Yes. We work with a wide range of technologies including .NET Framework, classic ASP, PHP, Node.js, Python, and more. During scoping we'll confirm our team has the right expertise for your stack.

How long does the full transition take?

Typically 3-8 weeks from kick-off to full handover, depending on the complexity of the system and availability of the outgoing team. We can compress this timeline if urgency demands it.

Can you also modernise the system over time?

Yes. Many of our handover engagements evolve into gradual modernisation programmes. Once we understand the system, we can plan and deliver incremental improvements, framework upgrades, cloud migration, architecture improvements, as part of the ongoing support arrangement.

What happens if we want to bring support back in-house later?

That's fine. We document everything we do and maintain clear handover documentation throughout the engagement. If you decide to bring support back in-house, we'll run a reverse knowledge transfer to ensure a smooth transition.

What if our system is supported by an outside supplier?

If you are moving away from an external development or support partner, see our development partner transition service. It covers contract exit, access and IP transfer, and parallel running with the outgoing supplier.

How is this different from your general managed support?

Our general managed support is designed for systems we've built or that are already well-documented. Internal systems handover includes a structured knowledge transfer and transition phase specifically designed for inheriting systems from other teams.

AI insights

See how AI is changing how we build software

Our quarterly AI Velocity Report tracks real delivery metrics from live projects: how much of our code is AI-authored, how delivery timelines compare to baseline, and which tools are making a measurable difference. No marketing spin, just honest data from a team that builds software every day.

Read the latest AI Velocity Report
Get started

Don't wait until your last developer has left

The best time to plan a handover is before it becomes urgent. Book a free consultation and we'll assess your situation, scope the transition, and give you a clear plan.

Book a free consultation

or call 01202 006729