Strategic Steps for Successful Application Modernization

Introduction

With time and organization demand, if the business does not update the outdated technology, it is meant to slowly wreak havoc on your business. If you are a business/organization runner who is tremendously comfortable using the legacy system then here are some of the questions to ask yourself:

• How well does our legacy system adapt to changing business requirements and industry trends?
• Are you maximizing operational efficiency with your current legacy system, or are the bottlenecks affecting productivity?
• How satisfied are end-users with the current user interface and overall experience of our legacy applications?
• Is scalability concerns posing challenges to our long-term business objectives?
• Is the legacy system meeting current compliance standards?
• What are the ongoing maintenance costs associated with your legacy system?

If answers to these questions are forcing you to have second thoughts on continuing the use of the legacy application then it is time for the much-awaited application modernization!

But before we learn about the process, here is how application modernization impacts your organization.

Why Modernize Legacy Applications?

In today's fast-paced tech industry, clinging to outdated systems suppresses innovation, limits efficiency, and jeopardizes competitiveness. The imperative to modernize legacy applications lies in unlocking the benefits of digital transformation, improving user experiences, enhancing security, and ensuring scalability.

Here are some of the reasons to modernize legacy applications:

• Security risks
• Inconsistencies in data
• Expensive maintenance
• Lack of integration with modern systems
• Incompatibility with new technologies
• Data silos

Now that you know the bright side of ditching legacy systems, let us learn about the steps for successful application modernization.

Key Steps in Application Modernization

Here we have broken down the fundamental steps for legacy application modernization, making them accessible and straightforward for organizations undertaking this transformation.

Let's explore the vital steps that make up the roadmap for a successful application modernization process.

Evaluate and audit your current application infrastructure

From taking note of all existing legacy applications in use to understanding their functionalities, and evaluating their alignment with current business objectives, it is crucial to thoroughly assess your existing application portfolio.

Apart from that, a comprehensive audit of the infrastructure ensures that you identify any bottlenecks or outdated components that may obstruct the modernization process.

This step enables you to establish a solid foundation upon which you can successfully build your application modernization strategies.

Acknowledge the employees for the cultural shift

Application modernization isn't just a technical upgrade; it's a fundamental transformation in how the organization operates. which makes it inevitable to prepare the involved employees and stakeholders for the changes.

When the employees are prepared for change, it helps them to recognize the positive impact of modernization making them more likely to embrace new technologies and methodologies.

Explore business and technical needs

Legacy application modernization is a huge task such that it can intimidate well-established organizations when opting for it. The checklist of technical needs and capabilities includes tech stack, security measures, data migration, system integration, microservices architecture, could readiness, adaptability to emerging technologies, interoperability, and more.

Apart from that, the business needs and capabilities must also be explored, from cost optimization, compliance, scalability, data analytics, and enhanced user experience.

Define modernization objectives

Whether it's improving user interfaces, optimizing performance, improving data security, improving performance, or ensuring compatibility with the latest technologies, defining modernization objectives will enable the organization to tailor their application modernization efforts to align with its unique business goals.

By defining these modernization objectives, you not only provide a roadmap for the modernization efforts but also set measurable benchmarks to estimate success.

Select the optimal application modernization approach

Choosing the right legacy system modernization approach is paramount to success. The choice of approach would ensure that the transformation aligns seamlessly with your organization's goals and technical requirements.

Here are some of the most selected application modernization options for you to select:

• Rehost: Also known as "lift and shift," rehosting involves moving existing applications to the other infrastructure (physical, virtual, or cloud) without making significant modifications. Best approach when you need a straightforward migration with minimal disruption to the existing application architecture.
• Replatform: It involves moving applications to a new runtime environment, often with minor adjustments. Opt for re-platforming when you want to enhance application performance and scalability while maintaining the existing codebase and minimizing business disruption.
• Refactor: Refactoring involves restructuring existing code for improved efficiency, readability, and maintainability. Best when your application needs code optimization or compliance with new development standards without changing its fundamental functionality.
• Rearchitect: This approach involves making significant changes to the application's architecture to meet new requirements or take advantage of modern technologies. It is best suited when your application requires a substantial overhaul to accommodate new functionalities to scale more efficiently.
• Rebuild: This is done by rewriting the application from scratch while preserving its specifications and functionalities. And is the best option when the current application architecture is obsolete, and rewriting is more cost-effective than making extensive modifications to the existing codebase.
• Repurchase: In this approach, the organization replaces the existing application with a commercially available off-the-shelf solution. You can consider opting for it when a cost-effective and feature-rich commercial solution aligns with your business requirements, saving time and resources compared to custom development.
• Encapsulate: Transforms legacy system by updating its interfaces, creating new access layers, and replacing outdated code sections. Select this approach when aiming to revamp the user interface and functionality of legacy applications while preserving the underlying infrastructure.

Invest in the right tools, technologies & development methodologies

Tech stack, tech tools, and development methodologies would play a crucial role in the success and seamless functioning of the modernized legacy application.

Here are the key technologies that businesses or organizations can leverage:

• Microservices
• Cloud
• Containers and Kubernetes
• Orchestration and automation
• DevOps/Agile
• APIs
• Integration tools
• Databases

Determine budget and get executive sponsorship

​​When assessing the financial considerations of the modernization process, take into account factors such as software and infrastructure costs, potential training expenses, and any other associated expenditures.

Simultaneously, gaining executive sponsorship ensures that there is leadership support at the highest levels of the organization. By determining the budget and securing executive sponsorship early on, organizations set the stage for a well-supported and financially viable application modernization process.

Select the right modernization partner

Apart from being the pivotal step, this decision will significantly influence the success of the entire modernization process. Hence, it becomes inevitable to find the right legacy system modernization partner. Here are some factors to look for when choosing a modernization partner:

• Alignment with your organization's goals
• Proven track record in similar projects
• Capability to innovate and adapt to evolving technologies
• Communication and collaboration skills
• Alignment with your timelines and budget constraints
• Strategy for risk management and contingency planning

Execute and measure changes against your goals(List KPIs and key Metrics)

Upon implementing the application modernization process, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and metrics play a pivotal role in this phase, acting as quantifiable benchmarks for success.

Keep an eye on factors like system response time, user satisfaction scores, and downtimes, ensuring they align with the anticipated improvements. Further get tangible insights into user experience metrics, including page load times and error rates. Also, consider financial metrics such as cost savings and return on investment (ROI).

For security, assess security enhancements through metrics like the number of security incidents and the time taken to detect and respond to threats

Plan for Cutover

essential to ensure a smooth transition from the old to the new. This step involves coordination and scheduling of the actual migration process with a well-thought-out strategy including timelines, specifying when and how the shift to the modernized application will take place.

It involves considerations such as minimizing downtime, validating data integrity, and confirming that all components of the new system are seamlessly integrated.

Concluding Thoughts

In wrapping up the discussion on application modernization steps, it becomes evident that embracing these strategic measures is pivotal to staying ahead in the ever-changing technological landscape.

By systematically navigating through the modernization process, businesses can unlock enhanced efficiency, improved user experiences, heightened security and more such benefits. Remember, the journey of application modernization is not just about upgrading technology; it's a strategic move toward sustained innovation, agility, and competitiveness in the digital era.