For IT contractors
Subcontract or Refer a Legacy IIS Migration
For the job that turns out to be classic ASP on an old Windows Server — hand off the migration, not the client.
The short answer
When a job turns out to involve a legacy Windows Server website — classic ASP, an old IIS configuration, an out-of-support SQL Server database — independent IT contractors can bring in IIS Rescue as a subcontractor or refer the migration to it, without giving up the client. As a subcontractor, IIS Rescue delivers the migration inside the contractor's engagement, under the contractor's name when asked, while the contractor stays the client's point of contact. As a referral, the contractor hands over that one project and remains the client's IT provider for everything else. Either way it is a single fixed-price project quoted in writing before work starts, IIS Rescue never solicits the client for other work, anything beyond the agreed scope goes back to the contractor, and the project ends with documentation the contractor can support the site from.
Two ways to hand it off
Which one fits is usually decided by who the client expects to deal with, not by anything technical.
Subcontract: you stay in the middle
You hold the client agreement and remain the only point of contact. IIS Rescue delivers the migration inside your engagement — under your name if you prefer — and you bill the client for the whole job. Best when the migration is one part of larger work you are already running.
Refer: you hand over the one project
You pass that single migration to IIS Rescue and step back from it, while staying the client's IT provider for everything else. Best when the migration is most of what the client needs and managing it would cost you more than it earns.
When a specialist is worth it — and when it isn't
Not every legacy site needs handing off. A small site with simple, documented code and no deadline is a perfectly reasonable job to take on yourself. The ones worth handing off tend to look like this:
- //Classic ASP with COM components. Registered DLLs, 32-bit application pools and hard-coded paths are what make these migrations stall, and there is no tool that converts the code for you. What a classic ASP migration actually involves covers why.
- //No source code, no original developer. The site has to be recovered from the server, from backups or from the live site before anything can move — and the recovery needs pricing honestly up front.
- //An out-of-support database moving at the same time. The application and a SQL Server instance of the same vintage usually have to move together, and the data has to be validated, not just copied.
- //A support deadline with no slack. When an audit, an insurer or an end-of-support date sets the schedule, there is no room to discover problems at cutover. The Windows Server 2016 and SQL Server 2016 pages cover the dates.
What stays with you
These are operating commitments, not marketing lines. They apply whether the migration is subcontracted or referred.
The client stays yours
IIS Rescue never solicits your client for other work — during the project or after it.
Your name, if you want it
As a subcontractor, IIS Rescue can work behind your name with you as the only point of contact.
Out-of-scope comes back to you
Anything beyond the agreed migration is routed to you — including work IIS Rescue could otherwise do.
One number, then done
A fixed price in writing before work starts, a documented handover at the end, and no retainer in between.
Check the site before you decide
Referral mode runs the two-minute assessment on a client's site and returns a first read — rehost, rebuild or replace, with the confidence level, the risks and what moves the price — written as a client-facing summary you can paste into an email. “Not sure” is a valid answer to every question, and it returns no price figure: the fixed number comes after a scoping call.
Run the assessment in referral modePart of an MSP rather than working solo?
Managed service providers use the same arrangement at firm scale — white-label delivery behind the MSP's brand, capacity when the service desk is full, and a documentation handover written for a whole technical team. The companion page for MSPs covers it from that side.
Frequently asked questions
Who can an IT contractor subcontract a legacy Windows Server website migration to?
IIS Rescue takes on exactly that work as a subcontractor: legacy IIS, classic ASP, ASP.NET and SQL Server website migrations to modern cloud hosting, delivered as a single fixed-price project. The contractor stays the client's point of contact and keeps the client; IIS Rescue scopes the site, quotes one number in writing before any work starts, and carries out the migration with a zero-downtime cutover.
If the contractor would rather not stay involved in that project at all, the same work can be referred instead, and the contractor remains the client's IT provider for everything else.
Should I subcontract a legacy IIS migration or refer the client to IIS Rescue?
It usually comes down to who the client expects to deal with. Subcontract when the migration is one part of a larger job you are already running: you hold the client agreement, IIS Rescue delivers the migration inside it, and you stay the single point of contact. Refer when the migration is most of what the client needs and managing it would cost you more than it earns: you hand over that one project and step back from it. Both are fixed-price, both end with documentation you can support the site from, and in both the client stays yours.
Will IIS Rescue take my client?
No. The client stays yours, whether the migration is subcontracted or referred. IIS Rescue does not solicit your client for other work during the project or after it, and anything the client asks for beyond the agreed migration comes back to you — including work IIS Rescue could otherwise do.
Can IIS Rescue work under my name as a subcontractor?
Yes, when asked. As a subcontractor IIS Rescue can deliver the migration behind your name, with you as the client's only point of contact and the handover documentation prepared for you to present. If the client would rather hear from the migration specialist directly, you can introduce IIS Rescue by name instead. The work and the fixed price are the same either way.
How do I price a subcontracted IIS migration to my client?
You get one fixed price from IIS Rescue, in writing, before any work starts, so what you quote the client is your own decision made on a settled cost rather than an estimate. There is no published rate card: every project is quoted after a free scoping look at the actual site, and there are no change orders for anything within the agreed scope. Cloud hosting is billed by the hosting provider directly, with no markup from IIS Rescue.
When should a contractor handle a legacy IIS migration without a specialist?
When the site is small, the code is documented or simple, and there is time to learn on it, doing it yourself is a perfectly reasonable choice. A specialist earns the handoff when the site is classic ASP with COM components, when the source code or the original developer is gone, when an out-of-support SQL Server database has to move at the same time, or when a support deadline leaves no room to discover problems at cutover. The two-minute assessment in referral mode is a quick way to see which of those applies before deciding.
What is left for me to support after IIS Rescue finishes the migration?
The migrated site, with full documentation to support it from. Every project ends with a handover of hosting details, where credentials live, architecture notes and how-to steps, written for whoever looks after the site next — in this arrangement, you. IIS Rescue is project-based by design, with no retainer and no ongoing dependency, so once the site is live and signed off you remain the client's IT provider, as before.
Got a job with a legacy site in it?
Thirty minutes, free, no obligation — you'll leave knowing the scope, the fixed price, and whether to subcontract, refer, or do it yourself.