The world is currently undergoing significant digitization. Virtually all businesses, regardless of their industry, are digitizing their entire business model to make it more mobile and adaptable to the new apps. Many sectors are undertaking digital transformation in order to more efficiently manage their businesses, and to be more available to their clients. Statista projects that the worldwide spending on digital transformation will hit USD 2.3 Trillion in 2023.
Cloud Computing plays a significant role in digital business transformation occurring on such a large scale, particularly in the aftermath of the pandemic-hit 2020. It provides cost-effective and efficient solutions for managing everything electronically without needing to worry about the infrastructure of their applications or the responsibilities that go with it. According to research, cloud computing is estimated to have grown to USD 371.4 Billon in 2020 and to USD 832.1 Billon by 2025.
Cloud computing is rapidly becoming a popular choice for business solutions. Unfortunately, many businesses are still using legacy systems that have many problems and need to be updated. Therefore, companies are constantly looking for ways to modernize existing software and applications in order to be compliant with current high-tech standards. Application Modernization plays a key role in this process.
The app modernization market was valued at USD 11.4 Billion in 2020. It is projected to grow to USD 24.8 Billion in 2025. But what is app Modernization exactly? Why is it so important?
The following questions will help us to understand app modernization.
* What does it mean to modernize an application?
* Why application modernization is important
* What are the benefits associated with application modernization
* What are some approaches to application modernization
* What are the top technologies that allow for application modernization?
* How do you modernize your applications successfully?
Let's get started by explaining what application modernization is.
What is Application Modernization, exactly?
Application modernization is a process that modernizes legacy applications. Any old application is considered a "legacy application". It still functions, but is not compatible to the current operating systems and information technology infrastructures. Application modernization involves modernizing:
* The internal architecture and functions of applications
* The app's platform architecture
* Existing features in the app
App modernization refers to the conversion of existing applications to a hybrid cloud architecture. It also involves integrating legacy applications into DevOps release patterns such as microservices. You can re-host old applications, or add new features to them. It is important to choose the right strategies to modernize old applications. Application modernization can only be successful if the features added to it are appropriate.
App modernization has many benefits. It is therefore important to modernize apps. Let's look at them.
Why is Application Modernization Important
Because legacy apps are hard to update and difficult to scale, modernization is essential. Monolithic applications are also known as legacy apps. They have a complex architecture that makes it difficult to add new features, and creates difficulties in scaling. It is not possible to scale just one component of the app. This approach can lead to unnecessary costs and additional effort.
Benefits of application modernization
Modernization not only allows developers scale the app's parts independently but also offers many other benefits that make it more important to do.
* Cost-Effective
* Business agility and increased staff productivity
* Enhance customer experience
* New Revenue Streams
* Better Security
* Meeting Compliance
* Meeting compliance
* Automation
Let's take a look at them in greater detail.
Cost-Effective
It's not easy to maintain legacy applications. To maintain legacy applications, you need to invest a lot of money and put in additional effort. Organizations incur many additional expenses due to the on-site IT support, maintenance and use of existing systems as well as capital expenditures related to licensing.
Organizations benefit from application modernization by reducing the operating costs of updating applications. Modernization requires monolithic app development to be moved to the cloud. Everything is saved and managed in the cloud. This allows for a reduction in IT maintenance costs as well as licensing costs.
Increased productivity and business agility
Monolithic applications and legacy systems can have a lot of drawbacks that slow down business operations. This causes employees to spend a lot of time dealing with these issues. The lack of agility and productivity in organizations can lead to loss of clients. This is often due to incompetent system.
The system upgrade will bring about business agility. An application that is reliable and consistent will help employees perform better. Modern cloud-based software takes the worry out of maintenance and allows remote working. This increases productivity and allows for more flexibility in business.
Enhanced Customer Experience
Every business is dependent on a positive customer experience. However, it can be very difficult to offer a good customer experience while still maintaining an old legacy system.
Moving your applications to a Cloud Infrastructure will remove the need for clients to be guided through old applications. Businesses can quickly retrieve all records and data. Customers can also navigate modern applications with ease. Customer support and relations are improved as a result.
New Revenue Streams
Because their systems aren’t flexible, many businesses don’t have the ability to offer new functions and services to their customers. Because of its flexibility and cost-effectiveness, app modernization could allow you to provide new services that add value to your clients. App modernization can create new revenue streams.
Better Security
Cybersecurity is a growing concern, especially in the case of outdated systems. Security systems that have high-security measures are becoming increasingly important. Cybersecurity concerns increase with legacy applications as security measures are constantly monitored and updated.
Application modernization allows you to:
* Make sure to use the most current libraries and security strategies.
* seamlessly integrate security features
* Get full cloud-based security.
* Limit cybersecurity threats
* avoid continuous monitoring.
* Reduce time and save time with automatic updates to security systems.
App modernization gives you better security than legacy apps.
Meeting Compliance
Each industry has its own set of requirements that businesses must comply with. Failure to comply with these requirements can lead to huge financial losses for companies. Legacy systems make it difficult and time-consuming to ensure compliances as everything needs to be done manually.
Modernizing an app can speed up the process of complying with compliances. These processes are automated and regularly updated to ensure that compliances are met. It's easier to fix breaches when the system is modernized rather than monolithic.
Automation
Automating an application is often possible through application modernization. Automated processes allow seamless integrations, APIs, compliance, enhanced customer experience, cost savings, and many other benefits. Legacy systems are difficult to automate and can be very expensive.
Now that you are familiar with the benefits of application Modernization, let us look at some possible approaches.
What are the different approaches for Application Modernization
Modernization of applications can take many forms.
1. The lift and shift method
2. Refactoring
3. Strangler patterns
4. Replatforming
5. API integration
Let's take a look at them in greater detail.
The Lift and Shift Approach
The "Lift and Shift” strategy is for moving an existing legacy application onto a new infrastructure such a public cloud platform. It is also known by the "Rehosting" approach, as the application is simply moved to a different infrastructure without any modifications to its underlying code. The process is not too intensive. However, this approach may not be suitable for all applications.
Refactoring
Refactoring, also known by "Rewriting" or simply "Restructuring", is an approach to retooling important portions of the monolithic application’s underlying software code. It involves substantial restructuring and rewriting all of the codebase. This is done to ensure that the application runs more efficiently in a different environment, such as a cloud infrastructure.
Developers use this approach when they need to separate legacy applications into smaller components, otherwise known as microservices. Microservices help to maximize the cloud infrastructure’s benefits. Although microservices are often considered independent, they can still be used to deliver end-to-end services. Developers could also adopt this approach, decoupling modernization paths from individual macroservices and then enabling the strangler.
The Strangler Pattern
The strangler method is an approach to incrementally transform a legacy app into microservices. This involves replacing a specific functionality by a new service.
Replatforming
The "Lift and Shift" and "Refactoring” approaches are interconnected by the replatforming approach. While the code is not changed, the replatforming method involves additional updates that allow the monolithic application access to the modern cloud platform. Complementary upgrades may involve the modification or replacement of the backend database.
API Integration
API stands to represent Application Programming Interface. APIs are used to support applications that are hard to migrate to the cloud infrastructure. The cloud infrastructure can be accessed by new applications that are externalized with APIs. This approach, which is based upon integration, requires an OpenAPIspecifiedREST interface. This interface allows the interface to be discovered and managed. It is possible to save significant time, effort and money by implementing API integration in the very early stages of application modernization.
Now that you are familiar with the various approaches for app modernization let's examine some of the most important technologies needed to complete the process.
What are the top technologies for application modernization
The following technologies are essential for application modernization:
* Cloud Computing
* Kubernetes
* Containers
Let's take a look at them in greater detail.
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing, the most fundamental technology for application modernization is cloud computing. The process involves the conversion of a monolithic application into a modern cloud environment. It involves:
* Public clouds
* Private clouds
* hybrid clouds
Although the public cloud is a critical part of any modernization plan, private or hybrid /multicloud strategies are crucial for security, latency, architectural, and other reasons. If an organization doesn't want to go to the public cloud, there are other cloud options that can be used to address the problem and meet their needs.
Containers
Containers are used in cloud-centric packaging and deployment of applications. Containerization allows for an app to be packaged consistently and lightweight to run across any environment, on-premises or cloud. Containerization has many benefits.
* scalability
* portability
* Operational efficiency
Kubernetes
Kubernetes, also known under the name "kube", "k8s" or "k8s", an open-source platform for container orchestration is kubernetes. It automates deployment and management of applications.
Containers, Kubernetes, and other containers are key enablers to hybrid cloud and app modernization strategies.
Let's take a look at some ways you can modernize your applications successfully.
How can you ensure that your application modernization efforts are successful?
Here are some steps to ensure successful app modernization
1. Determine your end goal and key performance indicators
2. Thorough Analysi
3. Find the right modernization strategy
4. Embrace new technologies
5. Address technical debt
6. Enhance the test automation
7. Find the right team
Let's take a look at them in greater detail.
Your End Goals and Key Performance Objects
Modernizing applications is possible only if you know what you're expecting from it. You need to identify your end goals, and then determine your key performance indicators. KPIs refer to key performance indicators. KPIs can be used to help you determine your end goals and ensure modernization is able to meet them.
If you are trying to enhance customer experiences, your KPIs may include application error rate, application response time, and uptime.
Thorough Analysis
It is essential to fully analyze and comprehend your legacy systems and interdependencies before modernizing them. This will ensure that no critical data is lost. So that you can make informed decisions about how to modernize and improve your application's performance, you must first know the state of the application.
You can use a thorough analysis to help you organize your efforts for application modernization. It will also allow you to find loopholes, prioritize according to your needs and determine the best approach. This would be a great idea if you carefully analyzed the following.
* Application infrastructure
* App quality and performance
* The impact your application's performance has on your business.
Modernization that is Fitting
It is essential to fully analyze and comprehend your legacy systems and interdependencies before modernizing them. This will ensure that no critical data is lost. So that you can make informed decisions about how to modernize and improve your application's performance, it is necessary to first understand what your current application does.
You can use a thorough analysis to help you organize your efforts for application modernization. It will also allow you to find loopholes, prioritize according to your needs and determine the best approach. This would be a great idea if you carefully analyzed the following.
Embrace New Technologies
Modernization offers you the chance to use new technologies, while also improving the infrastucture of your application. You can create frameworks to support artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic processing automation (RPA), Internet of Things (IoT), and speech recognition systems.
Treat Technical Debt
Technical debt is simply the implicit cost of extra rework required because you choose the faster and easier option rather than the ideal one. It might also take longer. Software that isn’t optimally designed for immediate use is often deployed because people are desperate to get applications up and running.
You must address any technical debt that exists before you move forward with app development.
Strengthen Test Automation
Assuring high-level automation for test helps to validate the current functionality. It helps with regression testing that is required after modernization. This also reduces the risk from changes to a minimal extent. This also reduces testing time.
Hire the Right People
Modernizing your app requires expertise and precision. It is essential that you hire an experienced team for this task. An error in the process can result in huge losses. To avoid costly mistakes, ensure you only hire qualified software development professionals to help with your application modernization.
Read more - https://www.leewayhertz.com/application-modernization/
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