Support & troubleshooting
IT maintenance for your applications and platforms
IT maintenance covers all the planned actions that keep an application or platform in good working order over time: monitoring, dependency and system updates, security patches, backup verification and small improvements. Agencei provides it for custom applications, APIs, CMS sites and their infrastructure.
It is aimed at businesses with an application in production that want to prevent it from deteriorating: outdated libraries, unpatched vulnerabilities, saturated servers, backups that have never been tested. This applies to SMEs with a business tool, growing SaaS companies and online retailers.
We distinguish three strands. Corrective maintenance deals with observed defects. Preventive maintenance reduces the likelihood of incidents: updates, monitoring, restore tests. Evolutive maintenance moves the application forward in small iterations. The contract specifies the share of each strand and the pace of interventions.
When do we step in?
Application delivered then left unattended
The project went live a year or two ago and nobody has touched it since. Framework, PHP or Node.js versions are no longer supported and security updates are no longer applied.
Technical debt slowing down changes
Every new request takes longer than expected because the code and dependencies have aged. A maintenance plan spreads out the upgrade work and makes changes affordable again.
Uncertain backups
Backups may exist, but nobody has ever tried to restore one. We put in place a 3-2-1 strategy and test restores regularly.
Infrastructure without monitoring
You hear about outages from your customers. We set up monitoring of availability, resources and application errors, with alerts sent to the right team.
Compliance obligations
A customer, an auditor or a regulation requires regular updates, retained logs and documented backup procedures. Maintenance provides the necessary evidence.
How we work
- 1
Initial audit of the existing setup
Inventory of components, versions and dependencies, backup verification, review of monitoring and basic security. We list the gaps and prioritise them by risk.
- 2
Maintenance plan
Definition of scope, update cadence, intervention windows, tracked indicators and the volume of evolutive maintenance included. The plan is written down and shared.
- 3
Setting up monitoring and backups
Monitoring of availability, resources and certificates, application error tracking, automated backups following the 3-2-1 rule with a documented restore test.
- 4
Update and patch cycles
Dependency, system and CMS component updates are applied first in staging, with regression tests, then in production with rollback available. Critical security patches are handled outside the regular cycle.
- 5
Evolutive maintenance
Small improvements requested by your teams, handled within the volume set in the contract: adjusting a screen, a new export, optimising a query, improving a user flow.
- 6
Report and periodic review
Summary of actions carried out, version status, incidents avoided, points of attention and proposals for the next period.
Technologies we use
- Dependabot and Renovate
- npm audit and OWASP Dependency-Check
- Grafana, Prometheus and Uptime Kuma
- Sentry
- Docker and Docker Compose
- GitLab CI and GitHub Actions
- Ansible
- AWS (EC2, RDS, S3)
- restic and pg_dump
- Let's Encrypt
- WP-CLI
- Linux (Debian, Ubuntu)
Related expertise
Why choose Agencei?
Maintenance that reaches into the code
Beyond package updates, we know how to adapt the code when a library changes its API or a major framework version breaks compatibility.
Nothing in production without staging
Every update goes through a test environment and regression tests before production. Releases are scheduled and reversible.
Backups that are actually tested
We do not consider a backup to exist until a restore has succeeded. Restore tests are part of the plan.
A readable contract
Scope, cadence and the volume of improvements are written down in black and white. You know what is included and what will be quoted separately.
In brief
- What is this service?
- Agencei IT maintenance is a planned service that keeps applications, APIs, CMS sites and their infrastructure in good condition: monitoring, updates, security patches, tested backups and small improvements.
- Who is it for?
- It is aimed at SMEs with a business tool, SaaS companies and online retailers with an application in production, with or without an in-house technical team.
- What problem does it solve?
- An application left unattended accumulates outdated dependencies, unpatched vulnerabilities and unverified backups, until an incident occurs or changes become blocked. Maintenance prevents this deterioration.
- How long does it usually take?
- The initial audit and setup usually take a few weeks. Maintenance then runs continuously, with regular update cycles, often monthly, and out-of-cycle security interventions.
- What factors influence the price?
- The price depends on the number and complexity of the applications, initial technical debt, update cadence, level of monitoring and the volume of evolutive maintenance included.
- How does the engagement run?
- Initial audit, written maintenance plan, setup of monitoring and 3-2-1 backups, update cycles tested in staging, evolutive maintenance within the agreed volume, periodic report.
- What are the risks?
- Without maintenance, security vulnerabilities stay open, versions become impossible to upgrade all at once and backups may turn out to be unusable on the day they are needed.
- What alternatives exist?
- Handling maintenance in-house, taking CMS-specific maintenance (WordPress or PrestaShop), or choosing per-intervention support if the application is not critical.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between corrective, preventive and evolutive maintenance?
Corrective maintenance fixes observed defects. Preventive maintenance aims to avoid incidents: updates, monitoring, tested backups. Evolutive maintenance brings small functional improvements. A good contract covers all three with a defined share for each.
How often should an application be updated?
Critical security patches should be applied as soon as they are published. Other updates are grouped into regular cycles, often monthly, to limit disruption. The pace depends on your technical stack and your exposure.
What happens if an update breaks something?
That is exactly why every update is tested in staging first. If a problem still appears in production, a rollback is planned and a prior backup has been taken. The fix is then handled as corrective maintenance.
Can you maintain an application built by another provider?
Yes, this is common. The initial audit lets us assess the state of the code, dependencies and infrastructure, then propose a realistic plan. We need the source code, access credentials and, ideally, the existing documentation.
Does maintenance cover hosting?
It covers the administration of your infrastructure: servers, containers, databases, certificates, backups. Hosting fees themselves remain billed by your hosting or cloud provider, on your own account.
How is the price of a maintenance contract calculated?
It depends on the number and complexity of the applications, the initial state (technical debt to catch up on), the update cadence, the level of monitoring and the volume of evolutive maintenance included. We provide a quote after the initial audit.
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