Technical review
Access, code, environments and documentation.
Software and app maintenance, evolution and rescue
Digitup Studio is a technical studio in Madrid that maintains, evolves and rescues software and apps in production, including those built by another team. We fix bugs, adapt the product to new iOS and Android versions, dependencies and servers, and add features while it stays in use.
In short
- What it covers: corrective, preventive, adaptive and evolutionary maintenance, plus infrastructure and CI/CD.
- Other teams' software and rescues: yes, starting with a technical review.
- How to hire it: included in Build & Run, or agreed separately if the software is already yours.
- Proof: Mallorcab and the website of the Soñar Despierto foundation, in production and under our maintenance.
- Who answers: the two Digitup partners, in Madrid since 2019 and with more than 50 projects developed.
Types of maintenance
What does maintaining software or an app include?
Four kinds of work: fixing what fails, preventing failures, adapting the software when its environment changes and evolving it with new features.
| Type | What it is | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Corrective | Fixing bugs that already affect users. | A payment that is not recorded, a login that fails. |
| Preventive | Avoiding failures before they happen. | Reviewing alerts, applying security patches, testing backups. |
| Adaptive | Keeping the software working when the environment changes. | New iOS and Android versions, store requirements, upgrading Angular or Node.js, changes in third-party APIs. |
| Evolutionary | Improving the product based on real usage. | A new user profile, a CRM integration, AI to classify or summarise. |
Adaptive maintenance is the one most often forgotten, even though it usually has a known date: an app that works can end up unable to publish updates because the stores raise their requirements. Since 28 April 2026, Apple requires building with Xcode 26 or later and the iOS 26 SDK (Apple requirements). Since 31 August 2026, Google Play requires new apps and mobile updates to target Android 16, API 36 (Google Play requirements).
Dependencies work the same way: each major Angular version normally has 24 months of support (Angular policy) and Node.js recommends only active or maintenance LTS versions in production (Node.js schedule). Skipping versions turns a routine upgrade into a project. Data checked in October 2026.
Software from another team
Can you maintain software you did not build?
Yes. Before committing, we run a technical review of access, code, environments and documentation. Without that diagnosis, any maintenance quote is a gamble.
- Access: repository, servers or cloud, domain, App Store Connect and Google Play Console accounts, payment gateway and third-party keys, and in whose name each one is held.
- Code: whether it builds, framework and dependency versions, tests and fragile points.
- Environments: whether what is in production matches the repository, how it is deployed, backups and monitoring.
- Documentation: architecture, integrations and decisions that are not in the code.
The result is a diagnosis with risks, priorities and an honest recommendation: continue on that base, rebuild a part, or tell you it is not worth it. We fit best if the product uses technologies we work with, such as Angular, Ionic, Node.js, Python or WordPress.
Project rescue
What should you do if your development vendor disappears?
First regain control of access and code; then diagnose, stabilise and plan. Touching production without backups or access is the most expensive mistake.
- Recover access and code. An inventory of accounts (domain, hosting, repository, stores, payment gateway, APIs), new credentials, accounts in your company's name and a copy of the code and the database.
- Diagnose. Whether the repository matches production, whether it builds and deploys, and what is out of support.
- Stabilise. Verified backups, alerts, critical bugs fixed and a reproducible deployment with CI/CD.
- Plan. We decide with you what is kept, what is refactored and what is rebuilt.
If the previous vendor can still be reached, the handover can be orderly: ask for the complete repository, the documentation, the credentials and a handover session. A dispute over the contract or code ownership is a lawyer's job; we do not give legal advice.
Infrastructure
Do you also handle servers, deployments and backups?
Yes. Infrastructure, CI/CD and maintenance is one of our services, and it is how we work on Mallorcab: servers, deployments, databases, monitoring, backend architecture and scalability.
| Component | What we do |
|---|---|
| CI/CD | Automated deployments, with Docker where it fits, with no manual steps. |
| Servers | VPS or cloud, updates and scaling to withstand usage peaks. |
| Monitoring | Logs and alerts so you hear about an error before your customers do. |
| Backups | Backups of data and files, checking that they restore. |
| Security | Access control, action logging and credential protection. |
If you also need product improvements, see custom software development.
Engagement
How is maintenance contracted?
In Build & Run it is included in the monthly fee. If the software is already yours, it is agreed separately after the technical review.
| Model | Maintenance | Evolution | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed-scope project | Optional. | Not included. | Yours when the project is completed. |
| Flexible payment | Depending on the project, during the period. | Depending on scope. | Yours with the final payment (6 or 12 months). |
| Build & Run | Included: hosting, security and support. | Included, with an evolution allowance. | Digitup's during the service, with a purchase option. |
Build & Run has a minimum commitment, normally 12 or 24 months, and third-party usage (AI, WhatsApp, SMS or intensive storage) has limits agreed in advance. We do not publish hourly rates; projects start from €1,000. Details in ways of working with Digitup.
Quick diagnosis
How do you know if your software needs attention?
If you recognise two or more, a technical review is worth having before one of them ends in an outage.
- Nobody dares to deploy, or deployment is done by hand.
- The stores reject the app's updates.
- The framework or the server is out of support.
- You find out about errors from your customers.
- You do not know whether the backups can be restored.
- Every small change breaks something else.
- The accounts are in the name of the previous vendor.
How do we start maintaining your software?
Diagnosis and plan
Prioritised risks and what to stabilise first.
Stabilisation
Backups, monitoring and reproducible deployments.
Ongoing maintenance
Patches, dependencies and new iOS and Android versions.
Evolution
New features, integrations or AI, by priority.
Case studies
Do you have cases of ongoing maintenance?
Yes. We developed Mallorcab and Soñar Despierto and we keep maintaining them; at Tasaciones.com the collaboration continued after launch. There are more in our case studies.
Mallorcab. A taxi platform in Mallorca with customer and driver apps, back office, payments and AI, in production and under ongoing maintenance. The platform has more than 300 connected taxi drivers, more than 300,000 registered customers and more than 3 million services created.
Soñar Despierto. Digitup developed and maintains this foundation's website: WordPress with Elementor, custom plugins for volunteering and donations with Stripe, a chatbot and Google Sheets integration.
Tasaciones.com. We built the product from scratch: UX/UI, customer app, assignment of orders, state machine and back office. Its co-founder said in his Sortlist review (November 2022) that they were still working together.
Related
projects
We stay with them after launch.
Fit
When are we a good fit, and when not?
We will tell you how we would approach it and also, if we think it is not worth doing, we will say so.
When we fit
- You have software or an app with users and nobody who answers for it.
- Your vendor has disappeared or you want to switch in an orderly way.
- The product uses our stack or a close one.
- You want to keep evolving the product, not just put out fires.
When we do not
- You want to rent individual developers without a product brief.
- You only need to tweak a WordPress theme, a campaign or SEO.
- An off-the-shelf SaaS, already configured, would solve the problem.
- The budget is below €1,000.
- You need legal advice.
Related services
Maintenance usually goes together with these services.
Frequently asked questions
What is software maintenance?
It is the work that keeps a program or an app useful, secure and publishable after launch. It has four types: corrective (fixing bugs), preventive (patches, alerts and tested backups), adaptive (new iOS and Android versions, store requirements, dependencies and third-party APIs) and evolutionary (new features based on real usage). Digitup Studio covers all four, plus the infrastructure (servers, CI/CD, monitoring and backups) that keeps the product running.
Do you maintain software or apps built by another company?
Yes. Digitup Studio maintains software and apps built by other teams, but first it runs a technical review of access, code, environments and documentation. With that we tell you which risks we see, what we would stabilise first and whether it is worth continuing on that base or rebuilding a part. We fit best with stacks such as Angular, Ionic, Node.js, NestJS, Python, Firebase, PostgreSQL or WordPress.
What should I do if my development vendor has disappeared?
First regain control of the domain, hosting, repository, app store accounts, payment gateway and API keys: change the credentials, put the accounts in your company's name and copy the code and the database. Then, before touching production, run a technical diagnosis. A dispute over who owns the code is a matter for a lawyer; we do not give legal advice. Once you have control again, we can review the code and the environments and tell you what is worth keeping.
How much does it cost to maintain an app or software?
It depends on the size of the product, its integrations, its infrastructure and how much evolution you want. Digitup Studio does not publish hourly rates or hour banks: maintenance is agreed after reviewing the software, and projects start from €1,000. If we build the product ourselves, Build & Run includes maintenance in a predictable monthly fee with hosting, security, support and an evolution allowance.
Why update an app if it works?
Because its environment changes even when the code does not. Since 28 April 2026, Apple requires building with Xcode 26 and the iOS 26 SDK, and since 31 August 2026 Google Play requires new apps and mobile updates to target Android 16 (API 36). Without updating, a day comes when you cannot publish even an urgent fix. The same goes for dependencies such as Angular or Node.js: skipping versions turns a routine upgrade into a project.
Can you add features or AI to existing software?
Yes. That is evolutionary maintenance: a new user profile, an integration with your CRM or AI to classify, summarise or search documents, planned by priority so that what already works is not broken. Digitup Studio integrates OpenAI, Gemini, Anthropic, DeepSeek or Perplexity depending on quality, cost, speed, privacy and the type of task. If the software comes from another team, we start with the technical review.
Who owns the code if you maintain it?
If the software is already yours, having Digitup Studio maintain it does not change who owns it: the code and the accounts stay with your company. In a fixed-scope project, software and access are handed over when the project is completed; with flexible payment, ownership passes with the final payment. In Build & Run it belongs to Digitup during the service, with a purchase option defined from the start.
Where is Digitup Studio based?
Digitup Studio is based in Madrid, at calle Alcalá 211, and has existed since 2019. We work mainly remotely, with in-person meetings when the project calls for it, for companies in Madrid, the rest of Spain and abroad. It is run directly by its two partners, Stas Nikitin (CEO) and Anton Zverev (CTO), with a network of specialists depending on the project. We can work in Spanish, English and Russian.
Does your software need someone who answers for it?
Tell us what you have in production and what worries you. We will tell you what we would do first and, if it fits, we start with the technical review.