Debunking The Myths of Application Modernization

Before the pandemic, businesses sought ways to innovate and become more agile, without increasing costs, as an advantage over competitors. But, COVID-19 has made these outcomes a prerequisite for survival in any competitive market.

Many organizations in our new economy cannot afford large-scale restructuring projects and are therefore looking to minimize risks and reduce cost by leveraging the value of existing applications through modernization. 

Application modernization is not a particularly straightforward proposition. Depending on your needs, it can mean converting RPG to free form, updating databases to SQL, refacing 5250 screens for the Web, refactoring, re-hosting, etc.

The fact that modernization can mean so many different things can make it seem gruelling. Not to mention the different approaches, although they’re all under the same “modernization umbrella,” they have little or nothing in common. 

While all this can be overwhelming, application modernization is not as difficult as it seems. In this article, we’ll show you how easy it can get. But before that, let’s look at some factors that might make it seem complicated. 

Why Might It Seem Difficult to Modernize? 

"It's Too Costly"

One of the major reasons why application modernization might seem difficult for most is the “too-costly” myth. Because Modernization can mean different things for different organizations, it is difficult to estimate an overall cost.

However, an effective modernization strategy starts with analyzing existing systems and identifying modernization opportunities. This way, you can ensure a financially viable process. 

More importantly, the actual cost of every project is judged by its Return On Investment (ROI).

Therefore, for modernization, metrics like time to value and total cost of ownership are critical. In which case, modernization reduces both.

"It Takes Too Long"

Many are of the opinion that modernization takes too long. Truly, it is not a one-time project. It involves continuous improvements.

However, While different modernization needs require different approaches, each with varying degrees of complexity, it doesn’t have to take decades before you see results. With an incremental approach and easy-to-use yet, powerful modernization tools, you can see results in days.  

"There's Too Much Technical Debt"

While technical debt seems like a factor with monetary value, it is not entirely so. It refers to the implied costs that developers have to work with due to taking a prior shortcut.

This stems from the increasing demand for IT to deliver solutions faster, in which case, they opt for the shortest approach.

Technical debt can build up to inhibit the point where it hinders the addition of new features. Since most legacy systems are monolithic, each part depends on the other; an attempt to rectify one can damage the others. 

How Can You Simplify Your Application Modernization? 

Taking a holistic approach to improving the architecture, infrastructure, and delivery of your existing legacy platforms addresses these concerns. You can achieve this in two steps.

1. Build a working modernization strategy that enables simplicity, productivity, and scale:

You can approach this by first assessing your existing systems and identifying areas where modernization is needed. After which, you can create an incremental plan based on your identified opportunities.

An incremental modernization plan allows critical business operations to continue running —enabling you to record quick wins even as your modernization project continues. 

2. Choose the right partner:

While modernization is not as difficult as you first thought, success requires the right vision and the right partners. The best partner for true modernization is one with a high-level vision and also understands your business, as well as your short- and long-term goals.

Your partner must take a holistic approach to software and process and possess a proven track record of delivering a tailored strategy unique to your company.

Be sure to have your partner connect you with other like-minded customers with similar needs and provide a working proof of concept as part of your evaluation. Your ideal partner will base its success on the success of your modernization project.

What’s The Best Solution For Easy Modernization?

Low-code development platforms arm IT with the ability to develop and deliver enterprise applications rapidly. Compared to traditional application development, low-code greatly minimizes hand-coding in multiple languages.

It also maximizes code re-use, reduces risk, and eliminates the need to find elusive and costly full-stack developers. The only way to increase IT output – besides hiring more staff – is to provide your current staff with better development tools.