Application Modernization – The dynamic nature of businesses across the globe demands that businesses are always willing to change their models and practices to adapt to modern trends. The changes are not limited to simply acclimating to societal practices and norms. Instead, as technology changes, it becomes imperative that business incorporates new technology into existing strategies.
The same applies to applications that businesses use to run their entire portfolio. In technology, applying new trends to existing business applications requires that the business undertakes an application modernization plan.
This article discusses the following five integral things you should understand before embarking on application modernization:
- What is Application Modernization?
- Why Should You Undertake Application Modernization?
- Approaches to Application Modernization.
- Tools and Technologies Used in Application Modernization.
- Tips for Efficient Application Modernization.
What is Application Modernization?
Simply put, application modernization incorporates various services geared towards adapting legacy systems or applications to the modern plane. Application modernization facilitates the transformation of aspects of legacy systems such as their platform architecture, internal architecture, and available features into a format that incorporates modern trends and technology.
While application modernization intends to ensure that the legacy systems can function effectively vis a vis the demands of modern society, the process does not demand a complete overhaul of legacy systems. Instead, it attempts to ensure that the legacy systems can competitively operate in modern space. As such, application modernization is not replacing old systems with new ones. It is updating the legacy systems, thus transforming them into new-age technology.
Why Should You Undertake Application Modernization?
Application modernization serves three primary functions: increasing product agility, improving product experiences, and reducing resource usage.
1. Increasing Product Agility
As noted above, modern business exists in a fast-paced environment. Since the development of the internet about 30 years ago, changes in business operations rarely ever last over five years at a time. Everything is constantly changing, and new trends are always cropping up. Application modernization allows businesses to incorporate these new trends into their business seamlessly. With application modernization, you can quickly deploy more recent versions of your applications to your clients.
2. Improve Product Experiences
Some people may be skeptical about application modernization since their customers have not complained. Why fix something that is not broken? However, application modernization guarantees improved user experience by structuring legacy applications to meet the customers’ changing needs. Additionally, application modernization facilitates a smoother developer experience through structuring IDEs that are easier to work around.
3. Reduce Resource Usage
Application modernization may be costly at times. However, updating legacy systems reduces maintenance and support costs in the long run. Additionally, modern systems are built to use fewer resources than legacy systems.
4. Approaches to Application Modernization
When undertaking application modernization, you can incorporate four strategies. Firstly, you can rehost the legacy application in modern, more efficient architecture. One way to do this is to transfer all your data, virtual machines, and physical servers to the cloud. Rehosting ensures the security and reliability of the system architecture.
Alternatively, you can opt to refactor the application. Refactoring simply means changing a portion of the application’s foundational or base code while retaining other system components. You can opt to refactor when most of the technology that the system was built on still works with the present technology.
Rearchitecting the legacy system is dividing and differentiating the legacy into services that can be deployed independently of each other, thus allowing for smoother and more efficient scalability.
Lastly, you can rebuild the entire system by factoring in new architecture and a cloud-native approach, increasing innovation while reducing operational costs.
5. Tools and Technologies Used in Application Modernization
Application Modernization can incorporate numerous tools and technologies. Of these technologies, the most common are Amaze, Kubernetes, and Microsoft Azure. However, Amaze stands out as being one of the most reliable options.
Amaze
Amaze is a highly customizable product for re-platforming and containerizing applications built on Java and .Net. It allows seamless application migration from localized and physical servers into the cloud. Amaze is very effective in application modernization as it guarantees efficient scalability and low licensing costs while maintaining efficiency in addition to features.
Tips for Efficient Application Modernization
No standard approach exists for application modernization. Every business application seeking to adapt from legacy systems must incorporate an approach to modernization that factors into their specific needs. Before beginning the modernization process, you should know your utilization metrics to make the most optimized decision. Additionally, ensure that even as you modernize your systems, your staff are well trained to handle the new changes.
Final Words
In the highly advanced world, undertaking application modernization is no longer a luxury or a choice. It is a matter of necessity. Therefore, make haste with your application modernization to avoid the hassle of modernizing when it is too late to make the decision.