After a software audit at an occupational health and testing company revealed several technical issues and security vulnerabilities within the customer’s core line of business applications, Imaginet was engaged to help identify the solution and lead the effort to resolve it. Due to the issues with the applications, we determined an application upgrade was needed.  

The existing application was built as a .NET core 2.1 web app running on .NET Framework 4.8, with an Angular front-end client. While .NET Framework 4.8 is still supported, .NET Core 2.1 is not. The customer needed a solution that could be implemented in a matter of months, so rewriting the application from the ground up was not an option. Imaginet recommended that upgrading the app to the latest version of .NET (.NET 6 at the time) would resolve most of the vulnerabilities identified.  

Although .NET 6 was the LTS version, during the course of the upgrade Imaginet discovered that limitations in the Entity Framework 6 (EF6) functionality would mean significant rework was needed, which would extend the timelines. To mitigate this, we upgraded to .NET 7. However, this identified a few further challenges with EF7.  

With the release of .NET 8 and EF 8 being imminent, Imaginet recommended waiting for this release rather than further re-writing. The application was finally updated to .NET 8 successfully, with Imaginet setting the patterns and practices for the customer team to follow.  

The application upgrade was finished in advance of the deadline for completing the work, and the vulnerabilities were resolved. At the same time, the customer team also upgraded the client app to the latest Angular version. The upgrade has the further benefit of now being fully LTS supported in .NET and can be upgraded along with the .NET release cycle for the future. 

At Imaginet, it is essential we honour and meet the deadlines set by clients. Often, we complete our work well in advance of the agreed-upon deadline. This ensures our client’s daily business operations are not disrupted and their technology stack is up-to-date and running smoothly.  

Our team has been working hard these last few months, and we are excited to share our success with you. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on our most recent Microsoft 365 projects. Fill out the form at the bottom of the page if you are looking for an application upgrade.