Application maintenance services with no surprises.
Your business software went live, and then the work began: a bug on the month-end export, a security update nobody dares install, a request from sales waiting since spring. We take that work over. Fixes, updates and new features follow a plan you read and steer, and everything we change is tested, logged and documented.
Without a maintenance plan
- Fixes that wait for the one developer who knows the code
- Updates postponed until something breaks
- Nobody sure which version runs in production
- Requests piling up with no answer
With application maintenance
- Incidents sorted by severity and fixed in that order
- Security updates installed on a planned schedule
- Every change tested, logged and documented
- A backlog you can read and steer
What are application maintenance services?
Application maintenance services keep business software working and useful after it goes live. They cover four kinds of work: fixing bugs, applying security and dependency updates, adapting the software to new systems or rules, and adding features. In France this is called third-party application maintenance, or TMA, when an outside team takes it on under contract.
Software maintenance is the part of a software’s life nobody budgets for, and usually the longest. The code has to follow its operating system, its libraries, its browsers and the tools it talks to, all of which keep changing. Leave it alone for two years and the smallest change becomes a project.
Good maintenance also shows. You should be able to see what was fixed this month, what is planned next and what is running in production at any moment, without calling anyone. And you should be able to take the software back, or hand it to someone else, without asking our permission.
Corrective, preventive, adaptive, evolutive: what software maintenance covers.
Maintenance contracts are easier to compare once the work is named. Here is what each kind covers, and how it is usually planned.
| Criterion | What it covers | An example | How it is planned |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corrective | Fixing what does not work as it should | The month-end export stops at the first accented name | By severity, with a response time set in the contract |
| Preventive | Updates before they turn into incidents | A library with a published security flaw is upgraded | On a regular schedule, tested before release |
| Adaptive | Following changes around the software | A new tax rule, a new version of the ERP it talks to | Planned as soon as the change is announced |
| Evolutive | New features and improvements | Sales wants a new report and a bulk import | In the backlog, prioritized with you |
| Monitoring and support | Watching the software run, answering users | An alert when a nightly job fails, a user who cannot log in | Continuous, with hours agreed in the contract |
| Documentation and reversibility | Keeping the software transferable | An up-to-date runbook and architecture notes | Updated with each change |
How we take over your application, and keep it moving.
Take-over
Audit and get the keys
We review the code, the servers and the open issues, and set up access, monitoring and backups. You get a written state of the software and the first risks to handle.
First weeks
Stabilize
The urgent fixes and the overdue updates come first, so the software stops surprising you. Each one is tested before it goes to production.
Each cycle
Run and improve
Incidents by severity, updates on schedule, features in the order you choose. A short review at each cycle shows what shipped and what comes next.
Any time
Take it back if you want
Code, access and documentation are yours. You can bring the software in-house or hand it to another team, and we help with the handover.
What changes when someone really looks after your software.
The first is a real project; the client name stays private and the facts are the ones published at delivery. The other two are the situations we are most often called for.
Real project: a B2B lead generation company whose product team had stopped delivering
BeforeDevelopers worked on topics nobody prioritized, management got reports that informed no decision, and internal users saw their requests pile up.
AfterA backlog prioritized on business value, short weekly check-ins, blockers raised within 24 hours and public demos. An internal product owner was recruited and trained, then took over, with no dependency left on us.
The software whose developer has left
BeforeThe freelancer or the agency that built it is gone, and nobody knows how to deploy a fix.
AfterThe code is audited, the deployment rebuilt and documented, and fixes ship again on a known schedule.
The application stuck on old versions
BeforeA framework and a database several versions behind, and security updates nobody dares install.
AfterUpdates planned and tested one by one, until the software runs on supported versions again.
Maintenance you can check, and leave.
Security and dataNothing hidden in the contract.
What is covered, the response time for each severity and the hours of support are written down before we start.
Every change leaves a trace.
Each fix and update has a ticket, a test and a note in the change log you can read.
Tested before production.
Changes go through a test environment and automated tests, and each one can be rolled back.
The code and the access stay yours.
Repository, servers and accounts are in your name, so you never depend on us to reach your own software.
Hosting where you decide.
We maintain the software where it runs today, or move it to a European cloud or your own servers.
Application maintenance: the questions buyers ask us
What is third-party application maintenance (TMA)?
It is the French name for application maintenance handed to an outside team under contract. The provider fixes bugs, applies updates, adapts the software to changes around it and adds features, within a scope and response times set in advance. It is common for business software built in-house or by another supplier.
Can you maintain software another company built?
Yes, that is most of what we take over. We start with an audit of the code, the deployment and the documentation, which tells both of us what we are taking on. The first weeks then go to the urgent fixes and to making the software deployable by anyone.
How fast do you respond to an incident?
The response time is set in the contract, by severity: a blocking incident in production is not handled like a typo on a screen. We agree those levels with you before we start, based on how critical the software is to your business and on the support hours you need.
What is the difference between corrective and evolutive maintenance?
Corrective maintenance fixes what does not work as intended. Evolutive maintenance adds what the software does not do yet: a report, an import, a new screen. The first is usually covered by the contract; the second is planned in the backlog and prioritized with you.
Can we take the software back in-house later?
Yes, at any time. The code, the access and the documentation are yours from the first day. When you want to bring the software in-house or move to another team, we hand over the context, the tools and the open issues.
Do you also host the application?
We can, in a European cloud, a private cloud or on your own servers, or keep it where it runs today. Hosting, monitoring and backups are then part of the same contract, so one team answers for the whole chain.
What the cost of application maintenance depends on.
A maintenance contract is sized on the software and on the service around it: support hours, response times by severity, the volume of new features. A small internal tool and a customer-facing application used at all hours sit far apart. The scope and price are fixed in writing before we start.
Read the custom software cost guide, with market ranges- 01The size, age and state of the code.
- 02The technologies involved, and how far behind their versions are.
- 03The support hours and response times you need.
- 04The volume of new features you expect each year.
- 05Whether hosting, monitoring and backups are included.
In the same family
Next to your maintenance contract
- Application modernization When maintenance is no longer enough.
- Code audit Know what you are taking on before the contract.
- Custom software development For the software you have not built yet.
- Business applications The internal tools we build and then maintain.
- AI integration To add AI to software already in production.
- Custom software cost guide Market price ranges, with their sources.
- Technical debt, explained Why software gets slower to change, and how to stop it.
Software you can stop worrying about.
Tell us which application needs looking after and who maintains it today. We reply within one business day to set up your free 30-minute assessment, with a first view of what a take-over would involve.