BlogBlog

Cloud computing is now a reality and the benefits are beginning to reach companies in all industries.

But what to do to not be left behind?

Companies will need to prepare and begin taking the next big step in their business transformation by adopting process application modernization and the journey to the cloud, with the aim of gaining strategic and operational flexibility.

The advantages of having third parties specialized in web storage, support, functionality and cybersecurity are going from being a competitive advantage to a mandatory function for all companies.

What is application modernization?

Application modernization is the process of updating old software to adapt to new approaches to computing, including new languages, frameworks, and infrastructure platforms.

This practice is sometimes called "legacy resource modernization" or "legacy application modernization."

Modernizing legacy resources extends the lifespan of an organization's applications while taking advantage of technical innovations.

Reasons to modernize legacy applications.

Application modernization allows organizations to protect their investments and update their software portfolio to take advantage of modern infrastructure, tools, languages, and other technological advances.

For this reason, an application modernization plan is a common feature of a company's overall digital transformation strategy.

Common patterns for application modernization include:

Migration without redesign:

The phrase "migrate without refactoring," also sometimes spelled "retooling," has entered software development jargon to refer to the process of selecting an existing application and moving it from an old environment (such as a local server) to a newer environment. new. That is, infrastructure, such as public cloud platforms.

With this model, you basically move your application as-is, with little to no modifications to the underlying code or architecture.

This means it is often the least demanding approach, but is not always ideal depending on the application at hand.

Refactoring:

It's basically another way of saying "rewrite" or "refactor." This approach to application modernization involves taking the legacy application and redesigning important parts of the underlying code so that it works better in the new environment, often a cloud infrastructure.

In addition to requiring significant refactoring of the existing code base, this approach often involves rewriting code. This might be the approach of a development team that wants to break down a monolithic application into smaller, discrete pieces, an architectural choice commonly known as "microservices."

Teams can use microservices to take full advantage of cloud-based infrastructure and tools, such as containers and container orchestration.

Platform change:

This pattern can be understood as the middle ground between migration methods without redesign and refactoring.

It does not require significant code or architectural changes, such as refactoring, but involves additional updates that allow legacy applications to take advantage of modern cloud platforms, such as modifying or replacing the main database at the end of the application.

Strategy to modernize legacy resources.

The basic strategy for successfully modernizing legacy applications is to conduct a thorough evaluation of candidate applications. This evaluation should include an analysis of the technical characteristics of the application, its suitability for migration to the cloud or similar change, the return on investment of said modernization and its dependency, interdependence of the application with other systems, among other criteria.

Another important application modernization strategy is for companies to develop a long-term application modernization plan to manage their resources effectively.

Most organizations find it more convenient to approach application modernization in pieces, rather than doing it all at once.

This approach can help teams successfully manage the performance and availability of their existing applications and complete modernization work.

Trends in the modernization of legacy resources.

Two of the biggest trends in legacy application modernization are hybrid cloud and multi-cloud.

A multi-cloud environment refers to the use of two or more public cloud services for cost optimization, flexibility, availability, etc. Hybrid cloud refers to a combination of public and private clouds and infrastructure.

A related modernization trend is the industry's adoption of containers and orchestration as a way to package, deploy, and manage applications and workloads. While you can have a legacy application, containers are considered the optimal choice for a more DevOps approach, i.e. a microservices architecture.

It is noteworthy that companies will have to gain flexibility to adapt to an uncertain and changing environment and this is where technology plays a fundamental role.

Migrating to the cloud can be an effective strategy to modernize and grow your organization's IT infrastructure.

At Licensing Assurance we want to accompany you in the next major stage of your business transformation with our assessment for a successful transition to the cloud.

Our only objective is to put our success stories at the center of everything in a market as competitive as the current one.

Our cloud migration specialists can provide you with focused support on strategic and technological factors that drive organizations to embark on deep transformation processes, such as cloud adoption and modernizing their IT infrastructure. If you want to tackle and be successful in this modernization to the cloud, request advice from one of our experts.

We are the ideal ally, we leave successful marks.