Evincia

Reference library

Curated, field-observed guides for understanding and de-risking legacy .NET and SQL Server modernization.

These are the references Evincia maintains for teams and leaders working through legacy .NET and SQL Server modernization. They're written to be useful on their own -- not gated, not a download form -- and grounded in primary sources (Microsoft Learn for lifecycle and platform facts) and field observation for the framing. Together they form the public map of Evincia's modernization risk approach: deterministic diagnostics, senior architect review, standardized Legacy Modernization Risk Report (LMRR) outputs, and decision support before modernization begins.

If you're not sure where to start: the triage checklist is the broad inventory, and the methodology explains how the four Modernization Readiness dimensions are scored. Everything else goes deeper on one axis.

And if the question is whether to trust the diagnostic at all: start with How to Trust a Modernization Assessment, then see Evidence of method for the SocialGoal sample Modernization Risk Report, five detailed example findings, a finding traced from raw evidence to recommendation, and the limits. For the method applied to code you can read, see the public codebase teardowns.

Sample deliverables

Full report artifacts, separated from educational guides and technical teardowns.

SocialGoal Legacy Modernization Risk Report produced from analysis of a publicly available codebase, with readiness scoring, a risk register, evidence references, and modernization sequencing.
Sample report overview the front door to the sample report: what the deliverable contains, why the SocialGoal example is inspectable, and how the HTML and PDF versions fit together.

Public codebase teardowns

The method, applied in the open. We run Modernization Shield on well-known open-source .NET codebases and publish the readiness profile -- findings, score, and what would break first -- with the commit you can check it against.

Public codebase teardowns why we run the real diagnostic on public .NET projects, the calibration behind it, and where our own engine needed correcting.
eShop LegacyWebForms readiness profile Microsoft's deliberately-legacy Web Forms sample on .NET Framework 4.7.2: where the platform risk concentrates, and what breaks first.
Kooboo CMS readiness profile a 31-project, multi-tenant .NET Framework CMS on net40: total platform lock-in, an internal WCF file server and COM interop, and no tests -- the deepest calibration subject so far.
SocialGoal readiness profile a 7-project Marlabs ASP.NET MVC 5 + EF6 DDD teaching sample on .NET Framework 4.5: net45 lock-in and a System.Web rewrite, but a real test project and clean layering -- the mildest Red of the cohort.

Lifecycle & support

When the platform underneath runs out of road. Once Microsoft stops issuing security patches, you're running the kind of unsupported software an auditor or cyber insurer asks about -- and the bill, in paid extended support or a forced upgrade, only grows the longer you wait.

Microsoft platform end-of-support dates the end-of-support calendar for the components mid-market .NET shops actually run: SQL Server, Windows Server, .NET, .NET Framework, and Visual Studio, each with field commentary.
SQL Server 2016 end of support what changes when SQL Server 2016 reaches end of support, why the ESU bridge is paid and time-boxed, and the realistic options for the systems that depend on it.
.NET release cycle and the LTS upgrade trap the modern .NET November cadence, LTS versus STS support windows (Long-Term versus Standard-Term Support releases -- how long Microsoft patches each one), and the trap teams fall into after surviving the Framework migration.

Modernization field guides

The engineer-facing depth: what's actually in the estate and what it costs to move.

Legacy .NET and SQL Server triage checklist what to inventory before scoping a modernization, grouped by the four Modernization Readiness dimensions. Unknowns are findings.
SQL Server modernization risk when the database is the application: engine risk versus architecture risk, the T-SQL patterns (the code that lives inside SQL Server itself) that change scope, and the Azure SQL target decision.
What breaks by .NET application type whether a modernization is a port, an upgrade, or a rewrite, by application type: Web Forms, WCF, WinForms, and the rest (the older Microsoft technologies these systems were built on).
.NET Framework migration risk by version what specifically breaks when migrating from each .NET Framework version, 3.5 through 4.8.1, to modern .NET.

Decision & readiness guides

The leadership-facing reads: how to judge what's in front of you.

Modernization estimate decoder how to read a modernization estimate before it becomes a budget: what a good estimate names, what gets missed, and the questions to ask.
AI readiness for legacy systems what AI readiness actually means for legacy systems, and why it's usually a modernization question before it's an AI question.
Cyber-insurance renewal when the renewal questionnaire asks about unsupported .NET, SQL Server, or Windows Server -- how to answer with documented evidence instead of a checkbox.
Why the score is defensible for whoever has to present the readiness score to a board, an investment committee, or an auditor: the pipeline behind the number, what makes it hold up, and what it does not claim.
How to trust a modernization assessment a buyer-facing checklist for judging whether any modernization assessment is reproducible, evidence-traceable, honest about coverage, and validated on real code.

Reference

The foundations the rest of the library refers back to.

How Evincia Works the end-to-end flow, from a client's code to a board-ready decision: deterministic evidence, optional AI-assisted synthesis under client rules, senior architect review, the LMRR, and the decisions it supports.
Security & Data Handling the diagnostic boundary: a deterministic CLI in the client environment, no required external network calls for initial evidence, and optional AI-assisted synthesis governed by client rules.
Methodology the twelve risk categories, the four Modernization Readiness dimensions, and the 0-to-100 scoring, with an interactive score explorer.
Definitions a plain-language glossary of the terms used across legacy modernization, AI readiness, and technical due diligence.

From reading to a read on your own estate

Modernization Shield identifies hidden dependencies, modernization blockers, and AI-readiness risks before budgets and timelines are committed.

The SocialGoal sample Modernization Risk Report shows what the finished assessment looks like, applied to a publicly available .NET codebase.

Check Fit for Modernization Shield View the Sample Modernization Risk Report

About this page

Last updated: .

This library is maintained by Evincia LLC. Lifecycle and platform facts are sourced from Microsoft Learn and linked on each page; the framing reflects what we see in the field. If a guide is missing or a link is broken, email info@evincia.co.