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3 approaches to consider for your application modernization strategy
3 approaches to consider for your application modernization strategy

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“Everything old is new again” may be relevant when it comes to some trends, but it’s definitely not the case with technology—and no one feels that pain more than companies running legacy systems that were state-of-the-art 10 years ago. Lotus Notes and other on-premises systems were great at one time! But now they can’t keep up with the offerings of products that were built for today’s cloud-native, mobile-first, AI-everything world.

Should everyone just rip out their current tech and replace it with the next big thing? Maybe in a perfect world with 100% protected data and applications that turn cloud native with the snap of a finger. But here in the real world of business, rip-and-replace comes with a significant cost, not to mention potential extensive business interruption. That’s why many companies are taking a different approach with a more gradual legacy modernization strategy. Similar to how a home renovation can revitalize an outdated living space, application modernization can breathe new life into aging software, aligning it more closely with current business needs and technological advancements.

 

Why application modernization is crucial for today's businesses

In recent years, significant global events have exposed the limitations of many legacy systems. Issues range from lack of support, posing security and compliance risks, to the challenge of finding skilled personnel for outdated technology. Modern businesses require agile, cloud-native, mobile-first, and AI solutions—and this is where a strategic approach to legacy modernization becomes invaluable.

Legacy systems are not just a headache and a hassle; in some cases, they actually stifle innovation and make it difficult to maintain a competitive edge. For any company that relies on its tech to forge a path to business success (and these days, what company doesn’t?), falling behind in the marketplace is not the way to go.

Balancing legacy value with modern needs

Because legacy systems often continue to serve their fundamental purpose, there is no need to discard these systems entirely. A strategic approach to legacy modernization involves understanding whether it’s possible to leverage their existing value while enhancing their functionality to meet modern demands.

So how should you begin? With a deep discussion about what your business needs compared to your legacy system’s current capabilities.

If your core system delivers value but needs new access, integrations, or touchpoints, you can extend it with new capabilities. If you have a number of systems that are not well integrated, you can refactor them, one component at a time, as rapidly or gradually as necessary. And, if your core, legacy-based system is truly at the end of its life (in other words, the house can’t be fixed), you can rebuild it in parallel using the same data so that the switchover is as seamless as possible.

Three strategic approaches to application modernization

In most cases, the modernization process may be a combination of two or even all three approaches—some extension, some refactoring, and some rebuilding.

1. Extend existing systems

Like upgrading windows in a house, extending core systems involves enhancing them with new interfaces and capabilities. This could mean integrating modern user interfaces with existing enterprise applications, facilitating better data accessibility and user experiences across web and mobile platforms, or both. Extending minimizes costs and preserves the core functionality of your legacy software.

For example, you could consider an “extend” approach for optimizing and upgrading enterprise applications such as Salesforce or SAP with new user interfaces and front ends that tap into your current systems. This move can support new, customized processes and deliver updated user experiences on web and mobile. You can even combine data from multiple systems of record or transfer data from one siloed system to another—all without affecting the base application. Plus, because you no longer have to deal with the difficulty of upgrading to a new version of a system that has been customized for years, you avoid further accumulation of technical debt.

 

2. Refactor for flexibility and innovation

Refactoring involves detaching and reorganizing the components of your existing systems. This legacy modernization strategy aligns with modern, agile methods, moving towards a cloud-centric, microservices architecture. Refactoring allows for gradual innovation, integrating legacy data into new applications without disrupting the backend system.

Like moving walls to create new rooms in a house remodel, consider refactoring when it makes sense to keep what you can of your legacy systems and modernize the rest over time. The advantage of refactoring is that it moves your systems toward an agile, cloud-centric microservices architecture by building new composable applications using bits and pieces of the old apps. Plus, you’re not disrupting the back-end system, but rather using an API approach to build new apps that bring the legacy data together in new ways to deliver new systems.

Think of it as renovating a house one room at a time or knocking down a wall to combine two rooms into one. You can proceed at your own pace until you’ve made all the upgrades you need.

3. Rebuild with modern technologies

When a system is beyond incremental improvements, it may be time to forego legacy modernization and rebuild. When the cost of maintaining legacy systems outweighs that of starting anew, rebuilding makes the most sense. (We’re looking at you, Lotus Notes!) You create new applications that connect to and access existing data, ensuring a smooth transition to more advanced, efficient systems.

This could be an enormous undertaking, requiring complex data mapping and migrations, but it doesn’t have to be. By employing the same hands-off techniques as you would to extend or refactor, you can build a fully functional application alongside your existing systems that pulls from the same data. You can even re-envision and build better, incorporating the streamlined business processes, automation, flexibility, and mobility a modern organization requires.


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