COBOXSoftware maintenance and managed support that keeps your product healthy after launch.
Launch is the start of a product’s life, not the end. We keep it monitored, patched, backed up and improving, so your team can focus on the business instead of the servers.
Why software needs maintenance after launch
Software does not stand still even when you stop changing it. Frameworks and libraries release security fixes, browsers and phone operating systems change, certificates expire, data grows and third-party services alter their interfaces. Left alone, a working product slowly becomes insecure, slow and fragile.
Planned maintenance is far cheaper than emergency repair, and it protects the investment you made in building the product in the first place.
Monitoring, updates and backups
The core of managed support is a routine that runs whether or not anything has gone wrong:
- Uptime and performance monitoring with alerts
- Error tracking so problems are seen before users report them
- Regular security patches and dependency updates
- Automated backups with periodic restore tests
- Certificate, domain and hosting renewals tracked
- Review of logs, capacity and cloud costs
Backups are only useful if they restore, which is why we test them rather than assume. Infrastructure choices behind this are covered under cloud and infrastructure.
Incident handling and support arrangements
When something breaks, the response matters as much as the fix. We agree severity levels up front, for example a full outage versus a cosmetic bug, along with response and target resolution times for each, the channels for reporting and who is on call.
Every serious incident ends with a short written review covering the cause, the fix and what we are changing to prevent a repeat. You see what happened rather than receiving a bare “resolved”.
Ongoing product improvements
Support should not only preserve the product, but also improve it. A monthly allocation of effort can be used for small enhancements, usability fixes, new reports or integration changes, prioritised against real usage and feedback.
This is how a product evolves from its first release into something that fits the business, in line with the approach in digital product development. Where a system is too outdated to maintain economically, we will say so and discuss modernisation.
Choosing a support arrangement
Support needs differ. A simple internal tool may need business-hours cover and monthly updates; a customer-facing platform may need round-the-clock monitoring and rapid response. We scope the arrangement to the real cost of downtime for your business, and review it as the product grows. Our engagement models page explains how ongoing work can be structured.
What different support levels typically include
| Area | Essential | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| Monitoring | Uptime checks and alerts | Performance, errors and capacity trends |
| Updates | Security patches on a schedule | Patches plus planned dependency upgrades |
| Backups | Automated, periodically tested | Plus recovery-time targets and drills |
| Incident response | Business-hours response | Agreed response times by severity |
| Improvements | Bug fixes | Monthly enhancement allocation |
Frequently asked questions
What is included in software maintenance?
Typically monitoring, security updates, backups, bug fixing, user support and routine reviews of performance and hosting. Many arrangements also include a set amount of time for improvements.
Do we need maintenance if the software is working fine?
Yes, because dependencies, browsers, operating systems and security threats keep changing. Regular maintenance prevents small issues from turning into outages or vulnerabilities.
How quickly will you respond to a problem?
Response and resolution targets are agreed in advance by severity level, so a full outage is handled differently from a minor visual bug. The terms are written into the support arrangement.
Can you support software you didn’t build?
Often, yes, after a short review of the code, hosting and documentation. If the system is in poor condition we tell you what needs stabilising first and whether modernisation is the better option.
Can we change the support level later?
Yes. Needs change as usage grows, so the arrangement is reviewed periodically and can be scaled up or down.
Need someone accountable for keeping your software running?
Tell us what you run and how much downtime would cost, and we’ll propose support to match.
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