Importance and Benefits of Application Modernization

By Veritis

Importance and Benefits of Application Modernization

The IT landscape has transformed beyond recognition in recent years. The challenge today for most IT organizations is that they’re operating in an entirely new digital arena, but still they continue to rely on monolithic legacy systems.

Vindicating this observation is a recent survey according to which 31% of an organization’s infrastructure is comprised of legacy systems. Furthermore, only 33% of technology in large organizations is modernized.

When these systems were developed, many failed to scope out the amount of flexibility and agility that would be needed in the digital arena. Nor did they foresee that there would be a need to create composite applications.

It is not surprising that business leaders are concentrating on developing an application modernization roadmap, given the additional effects of COVID-19. But before businesses can improve their IT infrastructure, they must develop a thorough application modernization roadmap.

However, in the present digital world, these malleable abilities are precisely what modern applications need to possess.

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What is Application Modernization?

Application modernization is the principle of updating legacy applications’ and modernizing their internal architecture, platform infrastructure, and functionalities. Today, much of the conversation about cloud application modernization centers on monolithic, on-premises applications that are typically updated and maintained using waterfall development processes and how those applications can be adapted to cloud architecture and release patterns, specifically microservices DevOps.

Application modernization entails the consolidation, repurposing, or restructuring of old programming or software code to extract additional business value from the existing application and better fit it with the needs of the current business environment.

Bringing monolithic, on-premises systems into cloud-native design and release pattern are the primary goal of many applications’ IT modernization strategy. In particular, modern application development methods like DevOps and microservices, as opposed to onsite maintenance and updating, utilising waterfall software development methods.

This is a crucial stage since it takes a lot of time and resources to fulfill new business requirements while maintaining the functionality of legacy programs. Moreover, when software becomes incompatible with modern systems due to age, this problem gets worse.

Application Modernization Services

Legacy modernization services provide additional capabilities for the business to address some of the above-mentioned issues during the transition from legacy to new platforms. Interoperability, re-architecting, recoding, re-engineering, re-hosting, replacement, re-platforming, and retirement are options provided by legacy application modernization services. They also offer legacy software modernization and clarifications to the application architecture.

Application Modernization Tools

There are several instances of application modernization tools. Some are as follows:

1) Containers and Kubernetes

These give developers the ability to create scalable, reliable apps that are adaptable enough to run in various settings.

2) Cloud Native Computing

This model runs operations off-site in the cloud. Cloud-native technology outsources software code to the cloud provider, though it does not do away with the requirement for a server. After that, as each request comes in, that code is executed.

3) Monolith to Application Modernization Microservices

Many advantages drive the shift from monolithic applications to more effective microservices. Because application components are no longer packaged together, using microservices makes updates more accessible and less expensive from an architectural standpoint.

Application Modernization Challenges

Any application modernization strategy faces numerous inherent difficulties, and each of these issues has an effect on the quest for the best application modernization vendors for a specific enterprise.

These difficulties include the following:

1) In the Long Run, Projects Lead to Vendor Lock-in

Organizations may have to choose a single container or cloud vendor while modernizing apps drags on, which might lead to unexpected cost hikes in the future.

2) By Design, Monoliths are Hard to Break

Modernizing earlier versions of many software such as Oracle, SAP, PeopleSoft, or Siebel is challenging because these were made to be impenetrable monoliths. In other words, these legacy modernization apps, along with the data, networking settings, and security they use, frequently have a close relationship with the underlying infrastructure. Due to their intimate connection, it is challenging to upgrade individual program components; even little upgrades can start a lengthy, complicated process.

3) Application Siloing

Application silos frequently exist within larger businesses. For instance, various business units may set up and run the same applications on an entirely different infrastructure. This makes testing more challenging and increases the difficulty of IT’s efforts to consolidate and optimize the infrastructure budget.

4) Tool Fatigue

Because the available tools are either application-specific (like SAP Landscape Management) or infrastructure-specific, it can be difficult for the IT operations team to manage a diverse portfolio of applications. In addition, most IT operations teams find it challenging to integrate multiple overlapping product points into a cohesive mesh of application delivery services because they find it overwhelming to master this avalanche of tools and the vendor contracts that go along with them.

The Legacy Conundrum

IT companies that depend on legacy modernization applications often encounter hurdles like incompatibility, undesired maintenance costs, and a scarcity of legacy coders. This ails organizations in their abilities to effectively achieve complete digital transformation. Fanning the flames are the integration challenges the legacy application brings along. Legacy apps are hard to integrate with modern technologies like AI, IoT, and Cloud.

The statistical insights indicate:

  • 90% of businesses are impeded from harnessing the full potential of digital technologies due to their reliance on legacy applications
  • 65% of businesses believe that legacy system modernization is incapable of addressing the emerging requirements of the digital business
  • 88% of IT leaders agree that modernized IT systems are critical to meet emerging digital business demands
  • 80% believe that not modernizing IT systems will negatively impact the long-term growth of their organization

Application Modernization: Breaking the Legacy Conundrum

Application Modernization: Breaking the Legacy Conundrum

In a nutshell, cloud application modernization is the process of updating existing legacy applications, or building entirely new ones, to better align with the business objectives. Modernizing helps organizations to stave off the legacy code and take advantage of new, innovative tech. Rearchitecting legacy modernization applications enables organizations to realize the much-needed flexibility and agility to address imperative business requirements and seize opportunities for future growth.

Why modernize your legacy applications?

  • 15-35% infrastructure year-over-year savings
  • 30-50% lower application maintenance and running costs
  • 74% lower costs on hardware, software, and staff
  • 10% improvement in application operational efficiency
  • 14% boost in annual revenue, which equates to USD 1 billion on average for large organizations

Across many industries, forward-thinking companies are embracing new thinking and techniques around IT modernization strategy to turn legacy into an asset.

In fact, 65% of organizations will aggressively modernize legacy system modernization with extensive new technology platforms and investments through 2023.

Let’s look at some of the potential benefits that applications modernization brings along:

The Business Benefits of Application Modernization

Business Benefits of Application Modernization

1) Competitive Edge

While your competitors are still pondering, you can reap the advantages of a head start by embracing cloud modernization. Take the leap of faith by modernization the applications which would double down on the organization’s digital adoption. Cloud modernization enables your organization to integrate modern platforms and technologies and outpace laggards.

2) Enhanced compatibility

Modernization of legacy applications enhances their interoperability with new technologies, platforms, and code. In addition, it enables organizations to seamlessly integrate their applications, so they’re better positioned to meet current and future business demands.

3) Cloud-native

Cloud modernization aids organizations in rearchitecting their legacy applications to cloud-native applications. This enables you to embrace cloud benefits like faster speed to market, scalability, agility, and lower costs.

4) Better efficiencies

Modernizing applications improves process efficiencies and business performance. Apps can be updated frequently and refined with bug fixes and security patches. Modernization ushers in operational simplicity and alleviates the burden on IT operations.

5) Robust security

In a recent survey, 87% of IT decision-makers admitted that legacy applications make businesses more vulnerable to security threats. This is because obsolete applications are incompatible with modern security standards and authentication methods. Modernizing your applications can drastically wick off security vulnerabilities that legacy systems pose.

6) Improved user satisfaction

Whether it’s your employees or customers, using legacy applications can be a real hassle. Modernizing applications with a refined user-facing interface, leading-edge functionalities, and innovative features will improve customer satisfaction and brand reputation.

7) Staying relevant

Application Cloud modernization enables organizations to make the most of the digital technologies, including AI, machine learning, big data, and cloud. It helps transform your IT ecosystem based on current market trends and build a flexible foundation for future innovation.

8) Productivity boost

According to IBM, updating legacy stems could boost developers’ productivity by as much as 40%. Modernizing applications and facilitating access to better developer services can help make engineering teams more productive and enhance time-to-market.

The Right Course

Though there are many approaches for legacy application modernization, each organization must choose the course that aligns with its strategic priorities. All modernization approaches may come with their own benefits, but they tend to be costly, complex, and challenging. A more efficient option for achieving software modernization is partnering with an external service provider like Veritis.

Veritis, the Stevie Award Winner is uniquely positioned to help you plan and implement the right modernization solutions based on your current and future business needs. Our application modernization services offer an iterative, low-risk approach to build, modernize, and manage applications securely across hybrid cloud environments. Reach out to us to enhance the value of your existing apps and reduce their maintenance cost.

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