For a long time now, legacy modernization has been an all or nothing endeavor: scrap the old technology altogether or put up with it. Afraid of the risks of the first option, most IT executives opted for the latter alternative.

Today, two fundamental changes have revolutionized the way legacy app modernization is implemented. Firstly, technology has improved radically, offering IT executives a wide variety of modernization approaches to choose from.

Secondly, the pandemic has forced companies to rethink their business models, operations, and delivery channels. Companies struggled to accelerate their digital transformation initiatives to keep up with changing market dynamics and cater to the needs of a remote workforce.

As we usher in the dawn of a new digital era, enterprises cannot afford to retain their age-old legacy technologies. At the same time, the older do or die approach to modernization is not appropriate either.

Organizations must leverage advanced technologies and approaches such as cloud computing, DevOps, and low-code development to ensure modernization success and mitigate risks involved in such a transformation. 

8 Key Legacy Modernization & Application Modernization Trends in 2023

That being said, here’s a list of the key Application modernization trends that you should watch out for in 2023

1. The Cloud

One of the most important aspects of legacy application modernization is cloud migration. Cloud storage offers multiple benefits:

• Facilitates rapid data transfer and processing
• Prevents security breaches
• Enhances third-party software integration

Cloud based software makes it easier to implement DevOps, makes data accessible to AI and enables you to develop SaaS-based mobile apps. 

However, migration can pose a major challenge, if your software has outdated databases and libraries or is overcomplicated in nature. In such a scenario, you would be well-advised to seek the expertise of a digital transformation partner such as Hakuna Matata.

2. DevOps

DevOps is an automation-driven model that fosters seamless collaboration between development and operations teams, enabling them to work closely across the entire product lifecycle. 

DevOps is all about automation, including CI/CD processes, microservices, and information exchange. A DevOps engineer plays a crucial role in implementing this model: they monitor how effective continuous communication and changes are, identify bottlenecks, and ensure that the transition is seamless.

By leveraging DevOps approach, you’ll drive faster deployment and better product quality. 

3. Hyper-automation

Automation is a crucial aspect of the digital transformation journey. Hyper-automation empowers organizations to quickly identify and automate processes by harnessing the power of futuristic technologies such as RPA (robotic process automation), LCAP (low code application platforms), AI (Artificial Intelligence), and virtual assistants. 

4. Composability 

Composability is a system redesign principle in which enterprises choose and combine different components according to user requirements. This principle is applied uniformly to the entire technology stack and business processes.

It provides the following benefits to organizations:

• Provides a highly flexible and agile IT model
• Drives a drastic improvement in time-to-market
• Ensures a high degree of reuse capability and reduces duplicacies of applications and data
• Fosters a culture of continuous improvement and complete ownership

5. Micro Front-End Modernization

In this mirco-level effort, individual components and technologies are changed to ensure faster modernization. To hasten the development process, teams reuse application elements from other application modernization projects that share similar user requirements and features.

This principle reduces cost, time, and effort involved in modernization since teams can avoid the hassle of developing complex application elements from scratch. While retaining the quality of user experience, it ensures that front-end development efforts are in line with modern application architectures.

6. AI chatbots

Artificial Intelligence chatbots have become quite popular in the world of legacy modernization. Although they are complicated to develop, the benefits of chatbots far outweigh the efforts involved in their creation.

According to Forbes, companies using AI chatbots turbocharged sales by 67% on an average. Unlike rule-based bots, AI bots do not need an extensive database and companies can easily incorporate them into their operations.

Unlike rule-based bots, which cannot find the answer if it is not in their database, AI bots possess self-learning capabilities. You need only provide clear initial data to the AI bot, and it will take care of the rest.

AI bots are a go-to choice for companies offering customer support since a well-designed bot can effortlessly replace the services of dozens if not hundreds of customer care agents. 

7. Widespread adoption of containers

According to Gartner, 75% of enterprises plan to deploy containerized applications this year. The rise in popularity of containers can be attributed to the increase in hybrid cloud adoption.

Containers allow enterprises to rapidly deploy applications across multiple cloud platforms. They render applications portable and streamline the process of migration to cloud platforms.

Containers allow developers to dedicate more time to innovation. They automate deployment, enabling developers to respond to customer needs on time. 

8. Increased use of Hybrid Cloud

The public cloud is used widely to migrate and manage the workload. After all, it is cost-effective. 

However, enterprises are concerned about their data security. They want the best of both worlds – the safety of private cloud and the cost effectiveness of public cloud.

As a consequence, the demand for hybrid cloud has shot up. 77% of enterprises already use hybrid cloud to manage their workload. It provides the right level of security, control, and stability in operations. 

As a result, it is becoming the go-to option for enterprises to deploy and manage their applications. 

In a nutshell

You would be well-advised to seek the services of an external technology partner to modernize your applications. To choose the right modernization strategy for your business amongst the plethora of approaches available out there, it takes skin in the game and deep knowledge of modernization trends.

At Hakuna Matata, we provide end-to-end application modernization services encompassing:

• Application Modernization Strategy
• UI Modernization
• Web Application Development
• Data Modernization
• Mobile and IoT Enablement
• Cloud Migration

If you’re looking to modernize your applications, then look no further. Schedule a free consultation with our experts right away!