Are outdated applications slowing down your business? Nowadays, legacy systems can feel like a constant obstacle. Many organizations are turning to application modernization to breathe new life into their technology, ensuring they stay the right way.

About 83% of enterprises are actively optimizing their tech infrastructure, but only 35% report that their modernization strategy is effective. Why the disconnect? Success in modernization isn’t just about updates; it’s about having the right strategy.

In this guide, we’ll move into the essentials of application modernization—why it matters, how it can fuel growth, and what to consider in building a strategy that works. Ready to find out how modernization could transform your business? Let’s get started.

As IBM defines it, application modernization is the process of bringing the existing legacy applications up-to-date through modernizing their platform infrastructure, internal architecture, or features.

Application modernization is essentially the process of updating or transforming existing legacy applications to fit current business needs and technological developments. It is basically improving the infrastructure, architecture, and features of outdated systems so that a business can maintain the agility, security, and competitiveness in today's digital world.

The aims of application modernization are to improve efficiency, scalability, and even user experience, hoping the built software can handle growth in the future. Companies that implement application modernization cut down their operational costs, improve performance, and generally meet the needs of users and markets of the modern world.

Also Read: What is application software?

Organizations should modernize applications for compelling reasons.

• Firstly, updating them is difficult for the business to quickly implement new features or respond to changing demands in the market.

• Secondly, their scaling processes are both complex and costly; this makes it hard to grow efficiently with growing business needs.

In addition, app modernization services significantly enhance its ability to improve the changing business requirements. Consequently, organizations can manage and maintain better flexibility, scalability, as well as long-term cost savings. The following benefits are also the reasons to adopt the application modernization for an organization. Keep reading!

Also Read: Best App Development Trends in 2024

Indeed, application modernization will require plenty of up-front investment. However, the long-term payoff is very significant. Here's why keeping your applications updated would be a good idea:

1. Improved Agility

Application modernization will allow businesses to adapt quicker to the evolution within the market. You will be in a position to offer releases, features, and improvements that meet customers' needs by just being timely. This gives you an opportunity to be agile and respond to customers with feedback quickly and no one can outpace you with that.

2. Made Better Scalability

Through cloud service model application modernization, your applications are likely to easily adjust to changes in demand. Due to cloud technology, your applications will serve customers well at peak times without extra costs to support low-demand times thus eliminating growth inhibitors for your business via infrastructure.

3. Improvement of Efficiency

Application modernization enables you to streamline processes by bringing in new tools and automation. This would reduce the time and energy that was spent on an operating system's maintenance, thereby allowing your team to spend more time innovating. That allows quicker time-to-market and efficiency in operation.

4. Higher Cost Savings

One of the most significant benefits of application modernization is the reduction of long-term IT costs. Ensuing out of getting rid of old hardware and streamlining development processes, will have a total cost of ownership going low for your apps. Very few physical infrastructures would be maintained in the cloud, thus saving you money, and scaling would become relatively easy.

5. Increased Security

Application modernization tends to exploit the latest security features and features updated at all times so that the system remains safe against cyber threats. This keeps the data secure, offers trust to the customers, and upholds conformity to the regulations of security standards.

Also Read: 16 Types of Application Software with Examples

When it comes to application modernization, there isn't a one-size-fits-all strategy. The approach chosen depends on the business goals, the current state of the application, and the specific issues that need to be addressed.

The 5R (or 6R) framework is a popular approach developed by Gartner and AWS:

In some cases, organizations may use a combination of these approaches, such as rehosting for quick cost savings while rearchitecting or rebuilding more complex applications.

Did you know the key components of an effective application modernization framework? Be cool, we can explain.

As you move away from legacy systems, there are tools and technologies that should be used to modernize older applications. They include the following:

1. Cloud Computing

The cloud platforms include IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS. It brings in flexibility and scalability. Your applications can run on remote servers, and you can reduce the physical infrastructure needed in your office. Moving to the cloud will save you money, speed up the time for deployment, and give a headway in the recent technological developments.

2. Containers

Containers, aided by applications such as Docker and Kubernetes, make it possible to run the applications more smoothly over a variety of different environments. They enable them to decompose complex applications into a lot of smaller and thus more manageable parts, rendering, updating, and deploying much faster and easier.

3. Microservices

This breaks your application down into much more manageable, independent parts rather than trying to run your whole application as one huge program. This way, it becomes easy to manage, update, and scale specific parts of the system without breaking everything else.

4. DevOps Tools 

DevOps tools improve how your team develops, tests, and delivers applications. They help automate repetitive tasks and speed up the process, and DevOps practices encourage better collaboration between development and operations teams to make modernization efforts smoother and faster.

5. Cloud-Native Data Management

Modern data storage solutions, such as cloud-based databases and data warehouses, are designed to store even massive amounts of data efficiently. They let you manage and access your data quickly, helping you make the most of your updated applications.

6. AI and ML

This way, you'd be able to program so many repetitive tasks and give personalized experiences and thus win over your competitors. Besides, AI tools help developers work much faster and effectively, making the process of updating and creating applications much smoother.

Also Read: What Is App Migration? How Do You Know You Need It

How can an app modernization strategy help organizations work more efficiently and minimize disruptions?

To be successful, application modernization is a strategic process that is required. The following steps will enable organizations to manage this process with less disruption and more positive outcomes.

Step 1: Determine Objectives and Select Applications

Begin by identifying why you should modernize. Do you need better performance, scalability, lower costs, or a better user experience? A clear set of goals will keep you on course. From that, determine which applications to modernize first based on their relevance to your business and how outdated they are.

Step 2: Develop a Roadmap for the Process

Develop a modernization plan - outline how each application will be modernized, the process to be followed in small steps, and timelines, milestones, and resources available. The most important systems should be dealt with first with a plan that disrupts operations as little as possible.

Step 3: Decompose and Transform

Now, break up your applications into smaller pieces that can be worked on separately. Some pieces might require only minor adjustments, such as just moving them to the cloud. Others will demand a total overhaul-a complete redesign. By addressing them one by one, modernization becomes more tractable, and easier to see the fruits of the result sooner.

Step 4: Validate Your New Architecture

Of course, modernization also requires a new design of the system, which should scale well to the latest technologies such as cloud services or microservices. You need to ask yourself if this system is flexible, scalable, and ready for the future. This will ensure that the new version of your applications is better suited for future needs.

Step 5: Implement, Monitor, and Improve

Track things along the way once you get rolling on modernization. Keep tabs on performance, cost, and other key metrics to ensure that the modernization is working as planned. Document results regularly so you can adjust if needed and ensure that your modernization stays on track.

Also Read: Choosing the Right Application Software for Your Business

Application modernization is also never free of its challenges. The following are some of the key challenges that the organizations may face:

1. Legacy System Understanding

Legacy systems are frequently old, complicated, and poorly documented. It might take months to understand how they work, what different parts are connected to which places, and where the problems lie.

2. Skills Gap

Modernization will often involve up-to-date technologies and methodologies your team is ignorant of. Bridging such a gap takes time, resources, and training to make sure that your team is prepared and capable of handling the new systems proficiently.

3. Minimal Disruption of Business

Modernization sometimes disrupts business operations, particularly when vital applications are involved. The challenge here is to minimize disruption and ensure that business runs as smoothly as it did during the changeover.

4. Data Migration

Migration of data from legacy systems to new applications is challenging. The integrity of data, ensuring no loss or corruption during the migration process, and keeping the data complete and correct are essential.

5. Security and Compliance Challenge

Improving applications with cloud migration introduces the potential risks in security. As such, it is still important to ensure that all the security protocols are available, and the system must be within the compliance of the industry regulations.

6. Cost Control in Modernization

Modernization saves much money in the long term, but initial costs are fairly expensive. There is always a challenge to balance front-end costs against future returns, which will often require significant financial planning.

7. Choose the Best Modernization Strategy

Modernizing an application involves various approaches- rehosting, replatforming, rebuilding, and many more choosing the right approach is critical. Wrong approaches make a waste of resources, delay timelines, or even result in the failure of the project.

Also Read: The Benefits and Challenges of Application Software Integration: What You Need to Know

While talking about the app modernization of your business applications, the right partner is very important. Out of numerous app modernization partners, Toobler stands out as the go-to trusted expert providing customized solutions that ensure a smooth transition from legacy to modern technologies. With this skilled team and focus on minimizing disruption, Toobler helps businesses unlock the full potential of their applications and makes them future-ready. 

Here are the top reasons to choose Toobler for app modernization:

1. Expert in Legacy SystemsToobler knows how to handle old systems, making the switch to modern technologies smooth and hassle-free.

2. Skilled TeamTheir team is up-to-date with the latest tech, so they can handle your modernization needs effectively.

3. Customized Modernization PlansToobler creates a plan that fits your business, whether it's rehosting, re-platforming, or rebuilding your apps.

4. Safe Data MigrationThey ensures your data moves safely and stays intact during the process.

5. Minimal DisruptionToobler works to keep your business running smoothly while modernizing your apps.

6. Strong on Security and ComplianceThey ensure your modernized apps meet all security standards and industry regulations, especially when moving to the cloud.

7. Cost-Effective SolutionsToobler offers solutions that save money in the long run, balancing upfront costs with future benefits.

These reasons make Toobler a great choice for smooth and efficient app modernization.

As we've been discussing, application modernization is far more than simply upgrading software; it unlocks an entire set of new opportunities for agility and growth. Where should we begin? Which areas of your business would benefit most? Can modernization help you save costs and still ensure better performance?

Let's face it, this is all quite confusing, but with the right partner, you can transform your business with application modernization. 

Introduce Toobler, once you understand your business needs, success will be predicated on taking a strategic approach. Are you ready to scale? Connect with Toobler and take your place on the road to an efficient and scalable future!