In today’s digital age, an organization’s system or software can either make or break the game, when it comes to expanding or getting a competitive edge. This means the software's capabilities to keep up with the dynamic business needs is something that can’t be ignored. This is where a well-thought strategy for modernizing a legacy application comes in.
According to IDC, most legacy applications will likely undergo modernization by 2025. And, 65% of these applications will likely leverage cloud services to improve the overall functionality or replace the old code. Clearly, modernizing legacy systems will be a prevalent trend in 2025.
However, legacy system modernization is a complex process that requires careful planning. So in this blog post, we will guide you how to modernize legacy applications with essential steps in building a practical application modernization roadmap and how to overcome challenges that come along with the process.
A legacy application or legacy app is an old or outdated software program, technology, or process a company uses. In simple words, when a system or software is no longer able to keep up with an organization’s needs, it is called a legacy system. These systems often have been in operation for many years and may not be actively supported or maintained by the original developers or vendors.
Over time, old systems need to be updated to avoid bigger problems. As the people who know how to maintain them retire, it gets harder and more expensive to keep them running smoothly. Eventually, the issues with these outdated systems become too serious to ignore. It’s like a leaking roof—you can patch it up for a while, but eventually, the whole structure could collapse if you don’t fix the problem.
Although many large enterprises still use legacy apps, maintaining them is challenging. Legacy apps may also not be compatible with new browsers, operating systems (OSes), or IT infrastructures. For example, software made for Windows 7 may not function well on Windows 10.
There are several reasons for firms to continue working with their tried-and-true old software. In some cases, it might be too expensive to replace an old app. In other cases, the legacy app might also be so tightly integrated with other systems that replacing it would be a huge hassle.
Legacy apps are highly unstable, which makes them frustrating for users, dangerous for security, and a pain to keep up to date. To address these problems, more than 85% of C-suite executives prioritize modernization of legacy applications.
Legacy systems often rely on outdated tech stacks like:
A legacy system may require modernization if you encounter any of the following:
Are you experiencing the same while using your old system? It is time to modernize your legacy applications. Legacy application modernization involves adding new features to an old system, updating the IT infrastructure, and improving the architecture. This not only addresses the limitations of the old system, but also ensures that the system aligns with the latest industry trends, ever-changing business requirements, and security standards.
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Here are some risks and challenges associated with legacy applications:
Legacy application modernization involves updating outdated IT systems, applications, and processes to eliminate data silos and pave the way for data-driven operations. It plays a critical role in digital transformation, which focuses on enhancing efficiency, fostering innovation, and driving organizational growth. As part of this broader initiative, legacy application modernization addresses the technology aspect of the people-process-technology framework.
To get started, assess your business needs, prioritize what to modernize, create a detailed plan, and execute it.
Migrating legacy applications is often necessary to ensure that an organization's technology infrastructure remains efficient, secure, and scalable. Here are several key reasons why businesses choose to migrate their legacy applications:
Maintaining outdated hardware and software for legacy systems can be expensive, especially when those systems require specialized support. Migrating to newer, more cost-effective solutions can reduce operational and maintenance costs.
Legacy applications often lack modern security features and are at higher risk for vulnerabilities, especially if the original vendor no longer supports them. Migration can help ensure compliance with the latest security standards and regulations.
Modern applications often require integrations with newer technologies, such as advanced analytics, AI, and cloud computing. Legacy systems may not be compatible with these emerging technologies, so migration enables businesses to leverage innovations and stay competitive.
Over time, the risk of failure in legacy systems increases, leading to potential downtime, loss of productivity, and even data loss. Migrating to more reliable and modern systems can reduce the chances of unexpected failures and improve business continuity.
Legacy applications may have outdated user interfaces and poor usability. Migration can result in applications with more intuitive, responsive, and user-friendly designs, improving user satisfaction.
Modernizing legacy applications can allow organizations to become more agile, enabling them to adapt to changing market conditions and customer needs more quickly. It can also foster innovation by incorporating new features and capabilities.
As businesses grow, their legacy systems may become inadequate to support the increased scale and complexity of operations. Migration to more flexible and scalable solutions allows companies to support expansion efforts more effectively.
A legacy system modernization strategy is a roadmap that defines the steps to modernize an existing application or system to improve its user experience, performance, and functionality. Below are the seven steps to creating an application modernization strategy-
If you plan to switch the COBOL environment to Java, it is not going to solve the problem. In order to reap the benefits of legacy modernization, it is advised to align the modernization goals with your business objectives while focusing on scalability, new features, and quick time-to-market.
Another important step in updating legacy software is finding and fixing issues. If the existing system doesn't meet your current organizational or IT requirements, it's crucial to identify and address these issues. Look for problems in the application or system that bother users, and focus on addressing those specific issues.
Assessing and modernizing legacy applications require a strategic approach that includes identifying the requirements, assessing possibilities, and defining a modernization strategy. Here are key legacy modernization approaches to consider while mapping out a legacy modernization strategy-
After deciding the modernization approach, the next is to set up a clear methodology and timelines for carrying out the plan. This involves deciding the steps, assigning responsibilities, and establishing deadlines for each task. It's important to consider any dependencies or constraints that might affect the timeline.
The prime goal of legacy modernization is to increase value for an organization and it requires automation. Automated migration which includes refactoring legacy data to old platforms is a great way to achieve modernization. In addition, automated modernization enables organizations to modernize their systems without affecting their daily operations.
Application modernization comes with some risks. To manage and minimize these risks, it is crucial to create a comprehensive risk management plan. This plan should identify potential risks, set thresholds for acceptable risk levels, create plans, and establish a systematic process for monitoring and mitigating risks throughout the modernization process.
The next step is to define key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor progress. This involves pinpointing precise metrics, such as application performance, user satisfaction and delivered business value, that will be monitored to ensure the project's effectiveness.
Modernizing legacy applications relies on several essential technologies, including:
Before you start a legacy application modernization effort, there are a few things worth considering-
Understand your company’s overall business objectives and how the application modernization effort helps you achieve these objectives, like increasing ROI, reducing costs, improving customer satisfaction, etc.
Since application modernization is complex, assessing your organization’s resource availability is important. This includes assessing if your enterprise has the expertise/resources to execute the modernization process.
Legacy application modernization is not a one-time event. Thus, it is important to have a long-term strategy to support a business’s objectives. This involves understanding a company’s existing tech landscape, and areas to improve, and defining a roadmap for technology considerations for the future.
Modernizing legacy applications brings a number of benefits for the organization, which are as follows:
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Legacy application modernization is a complex process; however, it is crucial in order to keep up with the evolving business needs. Whether you are looking to update your legacy system, integrate a new solution, or redesign the enterprise system, choosing top-notch legacy application modernization services from an experienced software development company is essential for achieving both short-term and long-term goals.
In order to maintain growth and adapt to the constantly changing business landscape, it is crucial to update legacy applications. At Ditstek, our software development team have rich experience in handling legacy modernization projects for enterprise-level businesses. We can help to optimize observability, scalability and performance of your legacy applications.
There are many steps involved to modernize legacy applications:
Key Technologies for Application Modernization Include:
Legacy application modernization is driven by key factors, divided between business and IT perspectives:
Business Perspective
IT Perspective
Legacy applications rely on outdated technologies, making maintenance increasingly difficult. Regular updates and replacing unsupported tools are often required. Additionally, the use of outdated coding methods or unresolved bugs can complicate the process, turning the code into a puzzle.
No, legacy apps typically have limited scalability, making it challenging to adapt to evolving business demands or support growth effectively.
Legacy systems often lack robust security measures, leaving them vulnerable to cyberattacks due to outdated technologies or insufficient focus on security during development.
Not always. Many legacy apps are incompatible with newer technologies, leading to integration challenges when connecting them to modern software systems.
No, adding new features is often difficult due to the complex structure and dependencies of legacy applications, making modifications a time-consuming process.
21+ years of IT software development experience in different domains like Business Automation, Healthcare, Retail, Workflow automation, Transportation and logistics, Compliance, Risk Mitigation, POS, etc. Hands-on experience in dealing with overseas clients and providing them with an apt solution to their business needs.
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