App Modernization Strategy: All You Need to Know

While undergoing a digital transformation, the development of an enterprise digital strategy to plan for a merger or acquisition, or finding themselves stuck with an outdated infrastructure the modernization of legacy applications is a crucial milestone in the business’s growth journey. Application modernization refers to the process of converting, migrating, updating, etc. legacy systems to new-age hardware, architectures, protocols, development languages, etc. This transformation helps extend the application value through migration to new platforms while bringing in the benefits of the latest technology within them. Also, successful modernization of application infrastructure is possible if it is meticulous about their plans and the challenges they are trying to solve.

As you can imagine, such immense modern changes fortify apps with newer technologies and solutions to help deliver better value. Before we delve deeper into the world of app modernization, let us begin with a quick look at precisely what kind of businesses need to consider app modernization.

1. Businesses with in-house development teams: While not all businesses in the modern market offer software as a service, most of them do rely on software to serve their customers. No matter if it is a payment app or an e-commerce store — apps are involved. Now, given the evolving demands of today’s customers, companies simply cannot afford to offer outdated software to their users and clients.
2. SaaS businesses: Companies that offer software as a service to their clients, i.e. SaaS companies must continually not only develop and host software but also regularly update the said products to ensure they remain competitive in the market. This is why app modernization is especially important for such companies which stand to gain not only improved scalability levels but are also able to reduce their support costs.

Now, a quick look at the key considerations and factors that constitute a robust application modernization strategy.

1. Factor in resources: There is no denying that application modernization is a sizable undertaking, involving a variety of factors such as technical aspects, company culture, etc. During this stage, it would also help to determine managers, team leaders, etc. who understand how the app works, how it must be maintained, etc.
2. What will modernization entail?: It is vital companies at least consider a handful of modernization methods before deciding which one of the options on their shortlists best suits the organizations’ expectations and requirements. Perhaps you need to simply introduce new features or undertake a complete overhaul for the infrastructure — it is important to identify the approach to continue the process productively.
3. Get a plan: Once the organization has understood precisely what it expects to achieve from the modernization process and what will be included within the purview of this project, it is now time to put together a plan based on the aforementioned factors as well budget, remediation, etc. Do not forget to compare the plan against the projected outcomes to see to it that it is indeed possible to achieve acceptable levels of ROI.
4. Monitor performance: Companies must keep a close eye on the infrastructure as well as the applications, all the way to the codebase, once at least the preliminary modernization stage has been completed.

We understand if app modernization comes across as a complex and intimidating endeavor. Though it is admittedly a tad intricate, it is still possible to put together a seamless modernization process without over-complicating things. All you need to do is to design a thoroughly-researched and well-strategized plan to ensure app modernization can indeed serve the purpose for which it is being undertaken. Alternatively, you can look for a trusted legacy software modernization company that can take over the entire process for you and deliver top-notch results by the time they are done with modernization for your organization.

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