Replacing your CRM should not be a scary thing.
Most migrations go badly. Ours don't. Here's why.
The cost of staying put
You already know your platform is past its best. The vendor has moved on. Updates are slower. The integration options are limited. Your team has built workarounds on top of workarounds, and the people who understand those workarounds are the ones you cannot afford to lose.
But every time someone suggests replacing it, the room goes quiet. Because everyone has heard the horror stories. The two-year migration that turned into four. The parallel running that never ended. The data that did not quite make it across. The advisers who lost six months of productivity learning a new system while still servicing clients on the old one.
So you stay. You absorb the rising maintenance costs. You accept the limitations. You watch competitors move faster while you manage technical debt.
Here is what that really costs. Firms on legacy platforms typically spend 60-70% more on administration per case than firms on modern, integrated systems. Not because the people are less capable, but because the tools force manual work that should be automated. That is not a technology problem you can defer. It is a competitive disadvantage that compounds every quarter.
IN BRIEF
Staying put is not free. It is a competitive disadvantage that compounds every quarter, and the people who maintain the workarounds are the ones you cannot afford to lose.
THE EVIDENCE
Switching badly is expensive too
£517m
Lost by UK advice firms each year to platform-switching inefficiency (the lang cat)
Lowest
"Integration with other technologies" is the attribute advisers rate platforms worst on (NextWealth)
60–70%
More spent on admin per case on legacy platforms than on modern, integrated systems
Configure, do not customise. Migrate, do not gamble.
Most platform migrations fail for the same reason: the new platform is customised to replicate the old one, inheriting all its problems in a different codebase.
Focus takes a different approach. Our platform is configurable, not customisable. You define your workflows, your data model extensions, your user roles and your business rules, but you do it within a structured framework that we maintain, update and support. This means you get a platform that fits your business without creating a bespoke system that only you can maintain.
Migration follows a phased approach:
Phase 1, Parallel running. Focus runs alongside your existing platform. Data flows between both systems. Your team learns the new tools without losing access to the old ones.
Phase 2, Graduated cutover. Workstreams move to Focus one at a time, starting with the area that delivers the most immediate value. Each phase is validated before the next begins.
Phase 3, Legacy decommission. Once all workstreams are live and validated, the old platform is retired. Data is migrated using our high-performance bulk import tools and verified against source.
We have done this for firms with 3,500 business users. We have done it while maintaining 15 years of zero unplanned downtime. The migration is the hardest part, and we have invested heavily in making it the thing we do best.
MIGRATION BY THE NUMBERS
Migration by the numbers
14 yrs
Live with NFU Mutual, proof we deliver and stay close
3,500
Business users migrated to Focus to date
15 yrs
Zero unplanned downtime across every cutover
75%
Cost reduction in advice preparation post-migration
30%
Overall productivity gain measured post-go-live
£15m
Invested in the platform you're migrating to
What you are migrating to
Focus is not just a replacement — it is an upgrade in every dimension that matters.
Focus Software Suite — The complete platform: CRM, advice engine, digital engagement, document management and integrations. One vendor, one data model, one support relationship.
Working with us — Our implementation methodology, phased migration approach and ongoing support model. We do not just sell you software and walk away.
Enterprise — ISO 27001 certified, Azure-hosted, API-first architecture with the resilience and scale credentials that enterprise firms require.
We can also connect you with clients who have been through this exact journey. Nothing we say about migration is as convincing as hearing it from someone who has done it.
The best time to migrate was two years ago. The second best time is now.
Talk to us about replacing your legacy platform without the disruption you are afraid of.