The importance of legacy application modernization
In the digitally-centric business landscape, organizations are grappling with how to manage their increasingly complex and rapidly expanding tech stacks. This is a future-proofing priority, but it’s complicated to execute. And in many cases, legacy systems can be fraught with functional issues, limited scalability, and security risks, all of which can hold your organization back.
This is where legacy application modernization can be a key differentiator in your strategic initiatives. At its core, legacy application modernization is the process of replacing outdated technology and infrastructure with up-to-date solutions. This can include updating or fixing broken code, adding additional features, migrating to a newer hosting platform, and more. Doing so can help your organization move faster and more flexibly, improve your security posture, and help you grow in a sustainable way.
Once you’ve identified a need for legacy modernization, it can be difficult to know where to get started. There are several technical considerations to keep in mind, but you also need to consider the impact of the project on your existing people and processes. This can seem daunting, but with the right roadmap in place, it can be done.
Prioritization as part of your application modernization strategy: Understanding the what and when
During the early stages of your journey, it will be critical to prioritize what needs to be modernized – and when. To help guide your understanding of your application environment, consider categorizing applications by function. Core IT applications are specific to IT teams and often the most technical in both function and oversight. Business process applications support your employees and streamline internal processes. And customer support applications cover the infrastructure that supports existing relationships and helps to grow your business by acquiring new clients. In many cases, applications are customized to meet the individual needs of the business, but they typically fall under one of these categories.
The order in which you modernize your applications will depend on the individual needs of your business and the current state of your existing technology. You’ll also want to consider user feedback and data from both your employees and your customers to further guide your decisions. However, as customer expectations rise with a growing consumer market, taking stock of your support applications is usually a good place to start. Because these applications are the most public-facing, they are also most likely to impact your business’s bottom line. Consider these evolving expectations as you look to personalize the customer experience, make data-driven updates, and provide a robust support infrastructure to users who may have questions or are experiencing technical difficulties.
As cybersecurity grows in importance and organizations face an increasingly sophisticated threat landscape, core IT applications are a close second for modernization. Modernizing helps to ensure organizational compliance and keeps your data and users protected against bad actors.
Business process applications are usually a little further down the list for modernization, despite employees feeling the impact of outdated legacy systems on their day-to-day work. This is why it’s important to consider your applications in categories; it allows you to develop a strategy that includes all categories of applications and take a more holistic approach to your organization’s modernization efforts. At CAI, we call this approach to your people, processes, and tools strategic enterprise modernization .
The 5 R’s of application modernization strategy
Once you’ve categorized your applications and prioritized their modernization order, you’ll have to look more closely at the applications themselves to determine what needs to change and your most logical next steps. Business applications can be modernized in several ways, depending on the goals of your organization, the existing technology stack, and the resources available. Here are some common approaches to legacy application modernization:
Rehosting
Rehosting involves moving an application to a new environment without changing its code, features, or functions. This usually involves moving from an on-premises server to a cloud-based environment.
Refactoring
Refactoring modifies the application’s code to improve its performance, sustainability, or scalability without altering its external behavior. This often involves optimizing the code for the cloud.
Replatforming
Certain applications may require migration to a new hosting platform, a process known as replatforming. A key feature of replatforming as it relates to application modernization is that it preserves the core functionality of the application and does not require a complete replacement, reducing the amount of risk and disruption associated with the changes.
Rearchitecting
In some cases, your applications will require significant changes to their code, effectively shifting them to a new architecture.
Rebuilding
Rebuilding involves rewriting the application from scratch – for example, using a new programming language or adopting new frameworks and technologies. Rebuilding an application still preserves its role, scope, and specifications.
In addition to the 5 R’s, there are several other strategies to modernize your applications, many of which require less time and resources than the above. Two of the most common include:
Implementing security upgrades
As cybersecurity remains top of mind, some applications will simply require the implementation of more modern security features to meet rising compliance standards and security expectations.
Enhancing features
In some cases, modernization may be as straightforward as implementing new features. Feature upgrades enhance the application and can include new integrations to increase functionality and relevance. These changes will positively impact the user interface (UI), making for smoother interactions with the applications themselves. Ensuring these features align with business goals and objectives will help keep your applications relevant in the market.
Each of these approaches can help make business applications more efficient, scalable, and better aligned with current technology standards.
Interoperability and integration in the application modernization process
While you modernize your applications, keep interoperability and integration top of mind. Individual applications are only as good as the purpose they serve in your overall environment, and they can’t function to their full potential in a silo. Integrating business applications can streamline processes, improve data consistency, and provide a more unified view of your operations. As you continue your modernization journey, consider the following strategies to integrate your applications in a way that makes sense for your organization:
Application programming interfaces (APIs)
APIs connect disparate systems and allow them to communicate with each other. They are one of the most widely used integration technologies.
Middleware
Middleware acts as a bridge between different applications. It can handle data translation, communication, and connectivity.
Data integration tools
Implementing data integration platforms that support extract, transform, load (ETL) processes can help merge data from disparate sources and provide a more unified view.
Robotic process automation (RPA)
Leveraging RPA allows bots to automate manual tasks that involve different applications, such as data entry or form submissions.
Custom integrations
In some cases, you’ll need to develop custom scripts or programs to link your applications. While more flexible, this is a more resource-intensive option.
Each integration method comes with its own set of advantages and challenges, and the choice will depend on the specific needs, existing infrastructure, and strategic goals of your business. It's also common for businesses to employ a combination of these methods to achieve a comprehensive integration strategy.
Getting started with the 5 R’s of application modernization strategy
The importance of legacy application modernization cannot be understated. Replacing outdated technology and infrastructure with up-to-date solutions better allows organizations to keep up with a rapidly evolving business landscape, improve overall security, and meet increasing customer demands. But modernization initiatives require a cross-functional strategy and effort, which can be difficult to achieve. With the right roadmap in place and a solid understanding of your priorities, this can become a reality – and if this puts too much strain on internal teams, working alongside a trusted partner can expedite your modernization journey.
At CAI, we focus on helping our clients scale more easily, manage costs effectively, and maintain a strong security posture. We work closely with clients to bolster their agility, speed, and resilience, allowing them to sustainably scale and future-proof their tech stack.
For a comprehensive overview of legacy application modernization, read our eBook here.
