What is application modernization?

Application modernization is the repurposing of legacy software so that it better aligns with a business’s current needs. The majority of IT products have a life cycle of just five years, according to a renowned source. When technology ages, its features, and capabilities begin to dwindle which can negatively impact a business’s ability to operate without disruptions. 

Why should you modernize your applications?

When legacy software becomes outdated, application modernization breathes fresh life into it by enhancing technology, speed, reliability, functionality, and integration capabilities.

As businesses begin to grow and thrive, the need for custom software solutions that can add additional functionality and flexibility also grows.

Growth and expansion could be slowed down considerably for those who still use legacy systems and software, owing to their inability to integrate with new systems and add new functionality.

With application modernization, businesses can update old software in order to access custom and modern capabilities and features.

Aging legacy applications can also affect customer experience which can prove detrimental to the overall brand image of the company.

Fortunately, businesses can get up to speed with modern technology without having to spend a fortune on all new systems. Application modernization is a cost-effective solution that greatly improves flexibility and collaboration.

Outdated platforms can be difficult to use and may contain features that do not align with modern technology. To keep legacy applications running smoothly, it is crucial to make essential updates from time to time.

The top advantages of application modernization

Modernizing legacy systems can come with multiple benefits, such as saved time, money, and aggravation.

Here are just a few important benefits of application modernization for internal legacy systems:

1. Boosts productivity of employees

One of the most important benefits of application modernization commonly overlooked, involves the productivity of staff. Developers and administrative employees tend to function at their full potential when they have access to technology that is easy to use and reduces their cognitive burden.

Application modernization can be used to automate tasks and eliminate repetitive processes, allowing employees to use their time more optimally.

A modernized system may also result in fewer application problems, improved functionality, and advanced features that lead to streamlined operations.

2. Enriches overall customer experience

Operating a legacy application may seem harmless in terms of customer service. However, continuing to use an outdated system can actually have a negative impact on customer experience.

Customers constantly expect businesses to keep up with new technology and trends. Businesses must comply with this demand to avoid losing market share to competitors.

Application modernization enhances the customer experience through various changes, such as transforming the front-end user interface, creating new features, offering new services, or automating previously manual processes.

3. Reduces costs

Since outdated apps need vast amounts of money for maintenance, they are not economically viable for organizations. In addition, most of these apps are hosted on on-premises data centers, which are expensive to maintain.

Thus, organizations do not get a chance to reap the benefits provided by the public cloud.

Moreover, hiring specialists for maintaining legacy applications can also prove extremely expensive since its difficult to find people who are familiar with aged tools and outdated technologies.

To put it precisely, organizations can achieve a 30-50% reduction in costs by modernizing their applications.

4. Improves security

Owing to their age and usage of primitive technology, legacy applications might contain unidentified or known security vulnerabilities.

Due to the lack of modern security practices, developing these applications allows attackers to exploit these flaws and breach an organization’s network.

On the other hand, modernized applications continuously receive security upgrades and bug fixes against new threats. Therefore, it is crucial for companies to use such applications to safeguard their data.

5. Bestows the ability to build cloud-native apps

Once organizations upgrade their age-old applications by adding new features and functions, they can easily rebuild their legacy applications into cloud-native applications.

It empowers them to leverage several public cloud benefits such as faster go-to-market, agility, scalability, and secure data.

6. Enhances 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.

Key technologies used in application modernization

Now that you have a fair idea of the advantages that application modernization offers to your business, let us further explore the key technologies involved in this process.

Some of the most prominent technologies which are used to modernize applications are:

1. Cloud migration

Cloud migration is considered the fundamental technology used in the application modernization process. Companies can scale apps using public, private, and hybrid cloud services efficiently and at a lower cost than on traditional IT infrastructure.

Read More: Data Modernization: Empowering Business Growth

2. Containers

Applications are packaged, deployed, and operated using containers in a cloud-centric way. Containerization makes it possible to package an app consistently and in a lightweight manner to run across workstations, cloud, or on-premise environments steadily.

3. Kubernetes

It is an open-source platform for container orchestration and is used to automate the deployment, management, and scaling of applications.

Role of DevOps in application modernization

DevOps is a practice that is used widely by organizations to upgrade applications. DevOps helps increase collaboration between different teams, resulting in increased speed of delivery along with increased reliability, faster go-to-market, and stability in production.

Some of the standard practices followed in DevOps are as follows:

1. Develop smaller, independently deployable microservices from monolithic services
2. Revamp performance and availability by choosing the right cloud technology
3. Ensure consistent improvement with early feedback, monitoring, and analysis
4. Implement automation practices such as continuous integration, testing, and deployment

In a nutshell

Although there are several approaches for legacy application modernization, each organization must employ a method that aligns with its strategic goals.

Modernization can tend to be costly, and challenging to navigate. Partnering with a highly competent service provider such as Hakuna Matata can help will enable you to refine your legacy software and enhance its functionality, without making any drastic UI changes on the end-user side.

Our experts offer an incremental, low-risk approach to building, modernizing, and managing applications securely across hybrid cloud environments.

To find out more about our solutions, schedule a free consultation right away! Talk to our team members and explore opportunities to boost the value of your existing applications.