From Legacy to Leadership: Transforming a 90s ERP System into a Modern Web-Based

This statement describes a real-world digital transformation project. A mid-sized manufacturing company was using an outdated ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning system that was originally built in the 1990s using VB6 (Visual Basic 6) and Microsoft Access. While this system may have served the company well in the past, over time it became a liability—it was slow, inaccessible remotely, and unable to scale with the company’s growing needs. Recognizing these limitations, the company partnered with The Farber Consulting Group Inc., a firm specializing in software modernization. The consulting group re-engineered the entire ERP system transitioning it from an old desktop application into a secure, modern web-based platform. This upgrade resulted in better performance, anytime-anywhere access, and ensured the system could continue supporting the business into the future—laying the foundation for better growth, efficiency, and adaptability in a digital world.

Client Background:

• Industry: The client is a B2B manufacturer, meaning they produce goods or components that are sold to other businesses rather than directly to consumers. This kind of company often relies heavily on precise inventory, order management, and production tracking—functions typically handled by an ERP system.
• Size: The company has 50+ employees, indicating it’s a mid-sized organization. While not a large enterprise, it’s big enough that operational efficiency and system reliability are crucial for daily operations and growth.
• Software Landscape Before Engagement: The company had been using a custom-built ERP system since 1998. It was a desktop-based application developed in VB6 (Visual Basic 6) with a Microsoft Access database. While this system was central to their operations (i.e., mission-critical), it had become outdated:
  
  Limited support (VB6 and Access are no longer actively maintained)
  
  No remote access (desktop-only)
  
  Scalability and performance issues as the business grew

Overall, this background sets the stage for why the client needed a transformation—because their business-critical software could no longer keep up with modern demands.
This case also highlights the growing need for companies to convert Access to SQL as part of scaling their backend capabilities. 

The Challenge:

• No web access or mobile compatibility:
  
  The legacy system was desktop-only, meaning employees had to be physically present at a workstation to use it. This limited flexibility, especially for remote work, on-site operations, or mobile workforce needs—an increasing necessity in today’s business environment.
• Difficult to update or maintain:
  
  Built on VB6 and Access, the system used obsolete technologies that were no longer supported or easily maintainable. Even small changes required specialized knowledge, making it costly and time-consuming to update features or fix bugs.
• Frequent crashes and slow reporting:
  
  As the company grew, the system couldn’t keep up with larger volumes of data and more complex operations. This led to instability (frequent crashes) and slow data processing, especially for generating reports—wasting time and potentially impacting decision-making.
• Security and data integrity concerns:
  
   Legacy systems often lack modern security features, such as encryption, role-based access control, or audit logs. This increased the risk of data breaches, unauthorized access, or corrupted data, which could have serious operational and compliance consequences.
• No integration with new systems (CRM, billing, etc.):
  
   Modern businesses rely on connected ecosystems—CRM (Customer Relationship Management), billing software, e-commerce platforms, etc. The legacy ERP lacked the ability to integrate with these newer systems, creating data silos and manual workarounds that slowed down operations and increased the chance of errors.

Together, these challenges made it clear that the legacy ERP was holding the business back—posing risks to efficiency, scalability, and even security. A transformation wasn’t just about modernization; it was critical for the company’s long-term success.

The Solution:

Assessment Phase

The project began with a deep analysis of the legacy ERP system, which involved reverse-engineering the existing VB6 code and Access database structure. Since there was likely little to no documentation, the team had to carefully study how the old system worked—its data models, business logic, and workflows—to ensure nothing critical was lost during the upgrade.

Modernization Strategy

After assessing the old system, the team designed a modernization plan. Rather than patching up the legacy system, they proposed a complete rebuild using modern technologies:

• ASP.NET Core for the back-end—providing performance, security, and long-term support.
• Microsoft SQL Server for a more robust, scalable database solution.
• Responsive front-end frameworks (like React or Angular) to create a user-friendly interface that works across desktops, tablets, and mobile devices.
  
  This was more than an upgrade—it was a strategic move to convert MS Access to Cloud, aligning their infrastructure with modern deployment and access needs. 

Development Process

• Role-based access control for better security and user management
• Advanced reporting tools for faster, more insightful analytics
• Remote login capabilities so users could securely access the system from anywhere

Deployment

The new system was cloud-hosted on Microsoft Azure, allowing for high availability, security, and scalability. It was stress-tested under load to ensure it could handle real-world usage. Most impressively, the deployment was done with zero downtime, meaning there was no interruption to daily business operations during the switch from the old to the new system.

Together, this well-planned and expertly executed solution not only modernized the ERP system but also delivered tangible business value—increased productivity, improved security, and a platform built for future growth.

Technologies Used:

• ASP.NET Core / MVC:
  
   A high-performance, open-source web framework developed by Microsoft. It was used for building the backend of the application, following the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture to separate logic, UI, and data.
• MS SQL Server:
  
   A robust, enterprise-grade relational database used to store and manage all business data. It replaced the outdated Access database, offering greater scalability, performance, and security.

Bootstrap / React for frontend UI:

• Bootstrap is a CSS framework used for creating responsive, mobile-friendly designs quickly.
• React is a JavaScript library used to build dynamic, interactive user interfaces, enhancing the overall user experience with fast and seamless updates.
• Azure Hosting:  Microsoft’s cloud platform was used to host the application, ensuring high availability, security, scalability, and remote access—key for modern business operations.
• Git for version control:  A version control system used to manage source code during development. It allows for team collaboration, tracking changes, and safe rollback if needed.

The Results:

95% Reduction in Support Tickets

After the legacy system was replaced, the number of technical issues dropped significantly. This indicates that the new platform is far more stable and user-friendly, reducing the burden on IT support and freeing up resources for more strategic tasks.

3x Faster Data Entry

With an improved, intuitive user interface and streamlined workflows, employees could enter data much more efficiently. This led to higher productivity, fewer errors, and faster processing times—directly benefiting day-to-day operations.

100% Remote Access Enabled for Field Teams

Unlike the old desktop-only system, the new web-based ERP allowed secure, remote access from anywhere. This was especially valuable for field teams and remote workers, enabling real-time updates and better coordination outside the office.

Zero Reported Downtime in 6 Months Post-Launch

The new system proved to be highly reliable, with no unplanned outages in the first six months. This level of system uptime ensured smooth business continuity and boosted user trust in the new platform.

Enhanced Security (SSL, User Roles, Audit Trails)

The modern ERP incorporated enterprise-level security features:

• SSL encryption to protect data in transit
• Role-based access control to limit user permissions
• Audit trails to track system activity for compliance and accountability

Together, these results show that the transformation delivered significant operational, security, and performance improvements, proving that the investment in modernization paid off with clear, measurable benefits.

Want to modernize your legacy ERP system? Talk to our modernization experts today.

Some Of the Custom Software Solutions We Provide:

• Maintain Visual FoxPro Applications.
• Convert Visual FoxPro into the cloud.
• MS Access Consultants.
• Web scrapping development.
• Alpha AnyWhere Development.
• Custom ERP for manufactures.