Modernize and extend your applications with Visual Basic .NET
Visual Basic .NET remains a vital part of the .NET ecosystem, powering countless business applications worldwide. We help teams modernize, extend, and transform their VB.NET applications for the modern era.
Key highlights
What makes VB.NET a continuing force in enterprise software.
Massive existing codebase
VB.NET powers millions of lines of production enterprise code. These applications are battle-tested, business-critical, and worth preserving and modernizing.
Full .NET compatibility
VB.NET runs on the same .NET runtime as C#. Libraries, NuGet packages, and frameworks work seamlessly across both languages — no compromises required.
Readable & approachable
VB.NET's English-like syntax makes it exceptionally readable for business stakeholders and developers alike. Domain experts can often read and validate logic directly.
Why VB.NET delivers great user experiences
Modernizing legacy code means happier users and faster iterations.
Protect your business investment.
Your VB.NET application represents years — sometimes decades — of business logic, domain knowledge, and user feedback. Rewriting from scratch risks losing hard-won understanding and introduces new bugs. Modernization preserves this value while incrementally improving the user experience.
Same .NET runtime, modern capabilities.
VB.NET runs on .NET 9, which means it has access to the same performance improvements, security updates, and platform features as C#. Your users benefit from faster response times, better reliability, and modern authentication — all without rewriting the application.
Incremental modernization, not risky rewrites.
We help you modernize VB.NET applications step by step — migrating from Web Forms to Blazor, from Windows Forms to MAUI, from ADO.NET to Entity Framework Core. Each increment delivers value to users without the risk and disruption of a big-bang rewrite.
Interoperability with modern code.
VB.NET and C# compile to the same Intermediate Language (IL). You can have a project that uses both languages — new features in C#, existing logic in VB.NET. This allows your team to adopt modern patterns without abandoning the codebase they know.
Why we support Visual Basic .NET
Honoring the past while building for the future.
At Microbians, we believe great technology decisions respect the past while building for the future. VB.NET codebases represent a massive investment that deserves to be treated with care, not dismissed as "legacy" to be thrown away.
VB.NET is still actively supported. Microsoft continues to include VB.NET in the .NET runtime. While its evolution has slowed compared to C#, it remains a fully supported, first-class .NET language. Applications written in VB.NET today will continue to work on future .NET versions.
We help our clients make pragmatic decisions about VB.NET. For some, the right path is incremental modernization — adding new features in C# while maintaining existing VB.NET code. For others, a phased migration to C# makes sense. And for some, staying with VB.NET for the long term while adopting modern .NET patterns is the best business decision.
Our approach is always driven by business value, not technology ideology. If your VB.NET application serves your users well, we'll help you extend its life and capabilities. If migration makes sense, we'll plan a path that minimizes risk and maximizes delivered value at every step.
Where VB.NET fits in the stack
The business logic layer in existing Visual Basic .NET applications.
Existing applications and services
Visual Basic .NET is most commonly found in production enterprise applications — Windows Forms desktop apps, ASP.NET Web Forms sites, and library projects containing business logic. These applications continue to serve their users reliably and cost-effectively.
Transitional architecture
We often design architectures where Visual Basic .NET code co-exists with C# code in the same solution. Shared interfaces and dependency injection allow new features to be built in C# while existing Visual Basic .NET code continues to function. Over time, the Visual Basic .NET surface area shrinks naturally.
Data access layer
Many Visual Basic .NET applications use ADO.NET or older ORMs for database access. We help modernize this layer to Entity Framework Core while keeping the business logic in Visual Basic .NET. This immediately improves performance, security, and maintainability.
Gradual migration to modern .NET
The end state for most Visual Basic .NET applications is a gradual migration to C# on modern .NET. But this is a multi-year journey, not a weekend project. We plan it in phases, each delivering value: first infrastructure modernization, then data access, then business logic, then UI.
When to choose VB.NET
A decision framework for project leaders.
Ideal for
- Maintaining and extending existing VB.NET applications
- Teams with deep VB.NET expertise and domain knowledge
- Business-critical applications where rewrite risk is unacceptable
- Incremental modernization with co-existing C# and VB.NET
- Readable code where business stakeholders need to understand logic
Less suited for
- New application development (consider C# instead)
- Teams with no existing VB.NET investment
- Projects requiring the latest C# language features
- Greenfield projects where C# offers better ecosystem support
How to choose the right tech for the job
A pragmatic framework for making technology decisions.
The decision to stay with VB.NET, migrate to C#, or do something entirely different depends on business context, not technical purity. Here's our framework.
Ready to modernize your VB.NET application?
Let's discuss a pragmatic plan to extend the life, performance, and capabilities of your existing .NET application.
Get in touch