Modernizing Legacy VB6 Systems for a Global Equipment Leader with Gen AI

About the client:

The client is a global leader in sound reinforcement and live touring production support. They have supported major entertainment events for decades, relying on custom-built systems to manage accounting, purchasing, manufacturing, and equipment logistics.

Recognizing the limitations of their outdated technology stack, they sought to modernize the remaining VB6 and Windows Forms components to .NET to ensure scalability, performance, and alignment with modern business demands.

Challenge

The client’s legacy systems, initially developed on a mainframe and later migrated to VB6 with a SQL Server backend, had accumulated significant technical debt. While 95% of the system had been rewritten, the remaining VB6 and Windows Forms components posed challenges, including:

• High maintenance costs due to fragmented architecture with 1,700 DLLs and hundreds of executables.
• Scalability and performance issues limit their ability to support a growing product catalog and global operations.
• Dependency on outdated desktop-only frameworks, which hindered remote and flexible operations.
• Complex customizations accumulated over decades, complicating the modernization process.

Solution

Legacyleap employed a comprehensive, AI-assisted modernization framework to tackle the client’s unique challenges. Generative AI played a central role in analyzing and converting the legacy VB6 and Windows Forms codebase, reducing manual effort and ensuring accuracy during migration. 

The approach included:

• Code analysis and dependency mapping: Advanced large language models were used to analyze the legacy codebase, identifying dependencies and extracting business logic for seamless integration into the .NET environment.
• Incremental modernization: A phased migration strategy minimized disruptions. Critical components were prioritized, transitioning to scalable web-based solutions while maintaining operational continuity.
• Scalability enhancements: The modernization process included optimizing the SQL Server backend for improved performance and designing a modular architecture to replace fragmented DLLs and executables. This approach ensured the system could support the client’s expanding product catalog and global operations.
• Cloud-ready infrastructure: The outdated desktop-only model was restructured into a future-ready web-based framework, enabling remote access and supporting the organization’s move toward a cloud-friendly architecture.

By leveraging Gen AI and expert-led modernization practices, Legacyleap delivered a robust, scalable solution tailored to the client’s operational and business needs.

Results: