According to the 2023 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, .NET ranks as the framework used by 27.3% of professional developers globally, with ASP.NET Core showing 18.5% adoption among web frameworks. At FreedomDev, we've built our practice on .NET since 2003—long before .NET Core unified the ecosystem—and we've migrated dozens of clients from legacy .NET Framework applications to modern .NET 8 architectures that run on Linux, Windows, and containers interchangeably.
The .NET platform offers something rare in software development: genuine backwards compatibility paired with aggressive innovation. We maintain applications originally written in .NET Framework 2.0 that still run in production today, while simultaneously building greenfield projects on .NET 8 with native AOT compilation and minimal container images under 30MB. This continuity means our clients' investments compound rather than expire—a 2015 ASP.NET MVC application can incrementally adopt Razor Pages, then Blazor components, without wholesale rewrites.
Our .NET expertise spans the complete Microsoft ecosystem: desktop applications with WPF and WinForms, web applications with ASP.NET Core MVC and Razor Pages, APIs with minimal APIs and gRPC, background services with Worker Services and Hangfire, and real-time systems with SignalR. We've deployed .NET workloads to on-premises Windows Server, Azure App Service, AWS ECS, and Kubernetes clusters running on-premises and in cloud environments. This breadth comes from 20+ years solving actual business problems, not following framework trends.
What distinguishes our .NET practice is deep integration capability. We've built [QuickBooks bi-directional sync systems](/case-studies/lakeshore-quickbooks) that process 10,000+ transactions daily, ERP connectors that map between SAP, NetSuite, and custom databases, and payment processing integrations that handle PCI-compliant credit card workflows. These integrations leverage .NET's extensive library ecosystem—NuGet hosts over 350,000 packages—while maintaining the type safety and compile-time guarantees that prevent runtime integration failures.
Performance matters in enterprise software, and .NET delivers measurable improvements with each release. Our [Real-Time Fleet Management Platform](/case-studies/great-lakes-fleet) processes GPS coordinates from 200+ vehicles every 30 seconds, performs spatial queries against PostGIS, and broadcasts updates via SignalR to 50+ concurrent dashboard users—all while maintaining sub-100ms API response times on mid-tier Azure VMs. These performance characteristics come from .NET's mature JIT compiler, efficient garbage collector, and Span<T> for zero-allocation data processing.
The .NET type system prevents entire categories of bugs that plague dynamically-typed languages. With nullable reference types enabled (the default in .NET 6+), the compiler catches null reference exceptions at build time. Records provide immutable data structures with value semantics. Pattern matching enables exhaustive switch expressions that the compiler verifies. Generic constraints ensure type safety across boundaries. These features aren't theoretical—they eliminate the 'undefined is not a function' and 'cannot read property of null' errors that consume debugging time in production.
Cross-platform capability transformed .NET from a Windows-only framework to a universal runtime. We deploy the same C# codebase to Windows Server for legacy integration requirements, Linux containers for cost-effective Azure hosting, and macOS for developer workstations. Our build pipelines compile to linux-x64, win-x64, and linux-arm64 from a single solution. This flexibility means technology decisions follow business requirements rather than platform constraints—we choose deployment targets based on operational needs, not framework limitations.
The Entity Framework Core ORM bridges the impedance mismatch between object-oriented code and relational databases without sacrificing SQL control. We use EF Core's LINQ provider for standard CRUD operations, drop to raw SQL for complex reporting queries, and leverage migrations for version-controlled schema changes. Our [database services](/services/database-services) typically start with EF Core for rapid development, then optimize hot paths with Dapper for micro-ORM performance or ADO.NET for bulk operations—all within the same codebase.
Microsoft's LTS (Long Term Support) release cadence provides production stability. Even-numbered releases like .NET 8 receive three years of support, while odd-numbered releases get 18 months. This predictability allows us to standardize on LTS versions for client projects while experimenting with STS (Standard Term Support) releases in internal tools. We've never had a client application break due to a .NET runtime update—the framework team's commitment to compatibility is unmatched in the industry.
.NET's tooling ecosystem reduces friction across the development lifecycle. Visual Studio provides industrial-strength debugging with edit-and-continue, memory profilers, and performance analyzers. Visual Studio Code offers lightweight editing with OmniSharp intellisense. Rider brings JetBrains' refactoring power. The dotnet CLI enables scripting and CI/CD integration. These tools share the same MSBuild project format and Roslyn compiler, ensuring consistent behavior regardless of developer environment—a critical advantage when onboarding new team members to client codebases.
We build web applications using ASP.NET Core MVC, Razor Pages, and Blazor across server-side, WebAssembly, and hybrid rendering modes. Our standard architecture includes middleware pipelines for authentication, authorization, and exception handling; dependency injection for testable service layers; and response caching strategies that reduce database load by 60-80%. We implement health checks for Azure App Service monitoring, distributed tracing with Application Insights, and rate limiting for public APIs. Our deployments run on Kestrel behind reverse proxies (nginx, IIS, Azure Front Door) with automated SSL certificate renewal and zero-downtime deployments via blue-green slot swaps.
We architect HTTP APIs using minimal APIs for lightweight endpoints and controller-based APIs for complex request handling, with OpenAPI documentation generated via Swashbuckle. Our API projects include versioning strategies (URL path, header-based, or content negotiation), FluentValidation for request validation, AutoMapper for DTO transformations, and MediatR for CQRS command/query separation. For high-throughput scenarios requiring sub-millisecond latency, we implement gRPC services with Protocol Buffers—our fleet management platform reduced inter-service communication overhead by 75% moving from JSON/HTTP to gRPC with HTTP/2 multiplexing.
We implement background processing using Worker Services hosted in Windows Services, Linux systemd units, or Kubernetes deployments for continuous operation. For scheduled tasks and queue-based processing, we integrate Hangfire for dashboard monitoring and retry policies, Quartz.NET for complex cron scheduling, or Azure Functions for event-driven workloads. Our background services handle ETL pipelines processing millions of records nightly, email queue processing with SendGrid integration, and webhook delivery systems with exponential backoff—all with structured logging to Seq or Azure Monitor for operational visibility.
We maintain and modernize WinForms and WPF desktop applications that integrate with specialized hardware, local databases, and on-premises servers where web applications don't fit operational workflows. Our desktop projects use ClickOnce or MSIX packaging for simplified deployment, local SQLite or SQL Server Express for offline capability, and SignalR or WebSockets for real-time server communication. We've migrated legacy VB.NET desktop apps to C# WPF with modern MVVM patterns, reducing code complexity by 40% while preserving familiar workflows for operators who've used the same interface for 15+ years.
We design database access layers using EF Core with repository and unit-of-work patterns for testability, leveraging compiled queries for frequently-executed reads and bulk operations via EFCore.BulkExtensions for high-volume inserts. Our migration strategy uses code-first development with version-controlled migrations, integrating schema changes into CI/CD pipelines with pre-deployment validation. We optimize with query splitting for collection navigation properties, no-tracking queries for read-only scenarios, and global query filters for soft-delete and multi-tenant isolation. Performance profiling with MiniProfiler identifies N+1 queries before they reach production.
We implement real-time features using SignalR with WebSocket transport (falling back to Server-Sent Events or long polling), scaling to thousands of concurrent connections via Azure SignalR Service or Redis backplane for multi-server deployments. Our real-time implementations include live dashboard updates broadcasting every 5 seconds to operations teams, chat systems with message history and typing indicators, and progress notifications for long-running server operations. We optimize payload size with message serialization, implement reconnection logic with exponential backoff, and use strongly-typed hub clients for compile-time method verification.
We write unit tests with xUnit and NSubstitute for mocking, achieving 80%+ code coverage on business logic layers. Integration tests use WebApplicationFactory to test entire HTTP request pipelines against in-memory databases or Testcontainers for Docker-based database fixtures. Our test projects include SpecFlow for behavior-driven development when business stakeholders review test scenarios, Bogus for realistic test data generation, and FluentAssertions for readable assertion syntax. We enforce quality gates in Azure DevOps pipelines—builds fail if test coverage drops below thresholds or SonarQube detects code smells exceeding configured limits.
We deploy .NET applications to Azure App Service with managed scaling, Azure Functions for event processing, and Azure Kubernetes Service for containerized microservices. Our cloud architectures integrate Azure SQL Database with geo-replication, Azure Cosmos DB for globally-distributed data, Azure Service Bus for reliable messaging, and Azure Blob Storage for document management. We implement Azure Key Vault for secrets management, Azure AD B2C for customer identity, and Application Insights for distributed tracing across services. Infrastructure provisioning uses Bicep templates with parameter files per environment, enabling consistent deployments from development through production.
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We build [systems integration](/services/systems-integration) middleware connecting SAP, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, and custom ERP systems using .NET's robust XML, JSON, and SOAP processing libraries. Our integration platforms handle data transformation between disparate schemas, implement retry logic for transient failures, and maintain audit trails for compliance requirements. A manufacturing client's integration processes 50,000+ sales orders, purchase orders, and inventory transactions daily between their ERP and e-commerce platform, with automated reconciliation reports flagging discrepancies within 15 minutes. We leverage Polly for resilience policies and MassTransit for message-based integration patterns.
We develop accounting integrations and payment processing systems that maintain PCI compliance while handling sensitive financial data. Our [QuickBooks bi-directional sync](/case-studies/lakeshore-quickbooks) maintains real-time synchronization of customers, invoices, and payments between web applications and QuickBooks Desktop/Online using the Intuit SDK. Payment gateway integrations with Stripe, Authorize.net, and PayPal use idempotency keys for safe retry logic, webhook verification for security, and database transactions ensuring payment records never become inconsistent with order status. We implement fraud detection rules, automated refund processing, and settlement reconciliation that matches gateway deposits to application transactions.
Our [Real-Time Fleet Management Platform](/case-studies/great-lakes-fleet) demonstrates .NET's capability for high-frequency data ingestion and spatial processing. The system ingests GPS coordinates via REST APIs and MQTT protocols, performs geofencing calculations to detect zone entry/exit events, calculates ETAs using historical traffic patterns, and optimizes route assignments across 200+ vehicles. SignalR broadcasts live vehicle positions to dispatcher dashboards with 5-second latency. The SQL Server spatial database stores 100+ million location records with partitioning by month, enabling historical route analysis and driver behavior reporting. Background workers generate automated alerts for idling violations, speeding incidents, and maintenance schedules.
We build healthcare applications that integrate with electronic health records (EHR) systems using HL7 FHIR APIs, maintaining HIPAA compliance with encrypted data at rest and in transit. Our .NET healthcare projects implement role-based access control (RBAC) down to the patient record level, comprehensive audit logging tracking every data access and modification, and secure messaging between providers using TLS 1.3. A patient portal we developed integrates with Epic and Cerner systems, allowing patients to view lab results, schedule appointments, and request prescription refills while maintaining complete separation between patient data in multi-tenant Azure SQL databases with Always Encrypted for sensitive fields.
We develop manufacturing systems that bridge enterprise software and shop floor equipment using OPC UA, Modbus, and proprietary PLC protocols. Our MES implementations capture machine data every second, calculate OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) metrics in real-time, and display production dashboards on shop floor monitors. A automotive parts manufacturer's system tracks 40+ CNC machines across three facilities, automatically creating work orders when production runs complete, updating inventory levels in their ERP system, and generating quality control checklists based on production parameters. The system reduced manual data entry by 90% and improved production visibility from daily reports to real-time monitoring.
We build document management systems handling PDF generation from templates, OCR for scanned documents, and full-text search across millions of documents. Using libraries like QuestPDF for PDF generation and Azure Cognitive Services for OCR, we automate invoice processing workflows that extract vendor information, line items, and totals from scanned invoices—reducing manual data entry from 5 minutes per invoice to 30 seconds of validation. Workflow automation using Elsa Workflows or custom state machines routes documents through approval chains, tracks SLA compliance, and integrates with Azure Blob Storage for scalable document storage with lifecycle policies automatically moving old documents to archive tiers.
We implement ETL pipelines using .NET Worker Services that extract data from operational databases, transform it according to business rules, and load it into SQL Server data warehouses or Azure Synapse Analytics. Our BI integrations generate reports via SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), Power BI embedded reports, or custom dashboards using Chart.js and D3.js. A retail client's nightly ETL processes 5+ million transactions, calculating sales metrics, inventory turns, and customer segmentation across 50+ stores. The warehouse supports real-time dashboards for store managers and historical trend analysis for executives, with incremental loads completing in under 30 minutes using change data capture.
We architect multi-tenant SaaS platforms using database-per-tenant for data isolation, shared database with tenant ID filtering, or hybrid approaches based on customer tier. Our SaaS applications implement tenant-aware routing, per-tenant configuration management, and usage metering for billing integration with Stripe or Chargebee. A field service management SaaS we built serves 80+ small businesses from a single ASP.NET Core application, with EF Core global query filters ensuring complete tenant isolation, Azure AD B2C providing white-label authentication, and per-tenant feature flags enabling different pricing tiers. The platform handles 10,000+ daily API requests with 99.9% uptime measured over 18 months.