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A step by step guide to modernize your legacy applications Part 1: Revolutionize your legacy application in just 7 steps
A step by step guide to modernize your legacy applications Part 1: Revolutionize your legacy application in just 7 steps

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Why is application modernization the need of the hour?

Transforming your existing products and processes is no longer an option: it is an absolute necessity to attract and retain customers, nurture business growth and sustain a powerful competitive advantage!

A popular study found that 70% of all organizations will have accelerated the use of digital technologies by 2022, transforming existing business processes to optimize for customer experience, employee productivity and business resiliency. 

In the IT landscape the entire goal of the endeavor to modernize legacy systems and processes is to drive higher efficiency and infuse greater intelligence across the entire business.

Failure to modernize legacy applications can severely impair your business and prevent it from reaching its full potential. One study has shown that maintaining legacy systems in a bank can consume 78% of the IT budget and hinder progress. 

In fact, CIOs say that 40-60% of their time is spent managing legacy systems, which clearly indicates that these systems are roadblocks to more strategic initiatives.

In this guide, we’ll explore the key technologies involved in application modernization and uncover important factors that you need to consider before developing an application modernization plan. 

Finally, we will also give you a 7 step application modernization strategy that will enable you to revolutionize your legacy applications and processes. Let’s dive right in!

Tools for transformation: The technologies that unfold the magic of modernization

Application modernization is made possible thanks to several futuristic technologies. We’ve listed a couple of them below for your reference.

1. Cloud

Replatforming or rehosting applications on the cloud is almost always a part of application modernization. With a variety of options available  to choose from – public, private, hybrid and multi-cloud – organizations can help make the benefits of cloud accessible, including scalability, agility and lower cost.

2. Containers and Kubernetes

Containers are a method for packaging, deploying, and operating executable units of software in the cloud, which greatly enhance scalability and portability. Kubernetes are a container-orchestration system to automate these processes.

3. Microservices

Most legacy applications are monolithic – a self-contained single-tier application. One of the main drivers of modernization is to achieve agility to meet changing customer and employee expectations. 

To accomplish this task, most organizations opt for a microservices approach which emphasizes services linked by API. This allows organizations to choose and change out best-of-breed solutions that effectively meet changing expectations and facilitate scaling as per business requirements. 

4. Orchestration and Automation

Automation sets up individual tasks to run on their own while orchestration automates multiple tasks as a process or workflow. Operationally, automation and orchestration introduce higher efficiencies to deployment, scaling, networking and security.

Consider these factors before deploying an enterprise wide application modernization initiative

When an organization decides to implement a legacy application modernization project, the first step is to move back and understand the problem at hand and how modernization can help tackle the problem. Answering the following questions can help you gain the needed clarity:

  • What is working well in our legacy software?
  • Which legacy application modernization approach do we want to take?
  • What are our goals in the enterprise application modernization process?
  • How will we accomplish these goals through modernization?
  • What are our next steps for legacy modernization?

The above questions can help an organization avoid common pitfalls in legacy application modernization, which most commonly include a failure to understand the why behind legacy application modernization.

A modernization blueprint to revamp your legacy applications: The first step of your modernization journey 

Once you’ve established the purpose, the final step is to go ahead and implement an application modernization strategy that enables you to fulfill your business goals. 

Follow this blueprint to evaluate your legacy systems and choose a modernization approach that uniquely suits your needs.

Step one: Identify the benefits and build a business case

Any initiative this far-reaching deserves a business case. In legacy application modernization, it is vital to evaluate current applications and dependent systems, and prioritize them according to benefits, costs and risks. 

In most companies, the business case revolves around some combination of the following drivers:

Business case driver 1 – Unlocking the value of data in legacy applications

Especially in established companies, certain business applications tend to impede progress toward digital transformation.

They run on legacy hardware like mainframe computers, or they depend on legacy programming languages like COBOL and FORTRAN that are not lightweight or modular. 

They don’t take advantage of modern databases and they’re not designed for open APIs and access to other applications. Not to mention, they pre-date cloud computing by at least a generation.

In assessing the benefits for your company against the costs and risks, focus on how the steep investment in legacy application modernization will drive the business forward. 

Salient metrics include increased customer satisfaction, lower maintenance costs, more agility and greater scalability.

Business case driver #2 – Strengthening security

Security is the other side of the coin.Legacy or out-of-date applications are extremely vulnerable to cyberthreats. 

Security becomes a prominent factor in the business case because vulnerability and exposure are the non-financial cost of sticking with legacy applications and platforms.

Business case driver #3 – Regulatory compliance

The next area of concern, which requires your attention is all the sensitive data you’re holding in legacy applications and systems. You’re on the hook for compliance with data privacy regulations like GDPR, CCPA and HIPAA, even if your legacy systems pre-date them.

Do you know how much sensitive data you’re storing and where you’re storing it? Keep in mind that you could be out of compliance. If you suffered a data breach or were audited, you would have financial exposure from fines and penalties.

Business case driver #4 – Protecting your reputation

Beyond your financial exposure from non-compliance is the potential for damage to your reputation and brand.

Think about the companies that have been in the headlines for GDPR non-compliance. How would you feel about doing business with them and entrusting your data to their care? You probably wouldn’t want to risk the exposure of your or your company’s data to an organization that is asleep at the switch when it comes to compliance.

You can earn the trust of your own customers and prospects by prioritizing compliance in the business case you build around legacy application modernization.

In a nutshell

While many organizations are well on their way to digital transformation, legacy application modernization continues to be a roadblock. 

Up to three quarters of legacy system modernization projects fail to be completed, through a lack of clarity or rushed discovery phase.

Digital transformation Services and legacy application modernization can be a complex process, which is why you need a trusted partner with solid experience to help make your transformation a success.

Hakuna Matata can be that partner for your organization. In the next blog of this two-part series, we’ll cover the remaining steps that you must follow to deploy a powerful modernization plan that drives growth for your company


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A techno-management professional by qualification, Genga found his calling in sales and marketing early into his career. His role involves leading a team to professionals to build & deliver innovative digital solutions through technologies like AI and IOT.

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