Legacy application modernization services

Legacy application modernization

Upgrade your software and scale up your business

When to decide on the modernization?

No matter the industry you’re in, no matter the particulars of your business, there’s a universal truth you should be aware of: software gets old. Nothing – not even the most battle-tested and well-liked system – lasts forever. As IT solutions age, they become harder and more expensive to maintain – and since your business depends on these solutions, it gets harder and harder to grow and retain the competitive edge. You may also become aware of new challenges and business circumstances that may force a change.

High development and maintenance cost

Sometimes, the costs of maintaining and enhancing the existing system get too high. With legacy tech, further development becomes more expensive with each new change, and old technologies also create risks for the stability of your production environment. Another factor is the licensing costs, which may have seemed fine when your business was small but added up as it grew and potentially started getting out of control.

Discontinued support or production (End of Life)

Sometimes, your old solution stops being actively developed (so you won’t get new features unless you implement them yourself), or, even worse, it completely loses support (so you won’t get help if you encounter any issues). The product you use may also undergo a radical change with a new version, making it unsuitable for your business. Or, maybe you simply find out there are better alternatives that give your competitors an advantage. In such cases, migrating to a new system helps you retain the competitive edge.

Technological debt and lack of developers

The older they get, the harder legacy systems are to improve. Their monolithic architecture often becomes too bloated and skilled developers who still want to work in that technology may be progressively harder to find (driving wages up). Moreover, if the people who created the solution leave the company and there’s no comprehensive documentation, onboarding new hires is hard. You may also encounter security and compatibility issues (when integrating with other systems, etc.) that get harder and harder to overcome.

The dilemma of bridging the old and the new

Sometimes, you want to keep your legacy system but improve it with new capabilities. This creates a dilemma – on one end, you need new features to optimize operations and scale up your business, and on another, you don’t want to keep investing in old tech. You also need to ensure full business continuity, so abandoning the old system immediately isn’t feasible – you need to plan a transition period. How? You can create an API “around” the existing solution that integrates it with an entirely new system, which you can then build upon.

Do you need to plan legacy system modernization?

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Five modernization protips

Have a comprehensive modernization plan – Analyze your existing IT infrastructure and business circumstances and plan the project thoroughly to avoid surprises down the road, such as suddenly learning that you can’t do something (integrate an existing and new solution, etc.) you assumed you could. Consider different strategies: refactoring, rearchitecting, replatforming and rehosting.
Avoid pitfalls caused by the system’s complexity – If your legacy system based on the monolithic architecture grew significantly over the years, don’t underestimate its complexity. Simple things might turn out to be problematic, especially when key information and documentation are hard to come by (and they often are).
Resist the urge to get it over with quickly – You might be tempted to opt for the “big bang” mass migration approach and move everything in one big move. Resist that temptation. There are few businesses that can afford the downtime this approach requires. In most cases, both systems have to co-exist for a while, and the migration has to be gradual (the “Just-In-Time” approach).
Listen to end-users – Some people have been working with your existing software for many years and got used to it. Some may even fear the change as they believe their livelihood depends on old solutions. Listen to everyone’s feedback and take it into account while designing your new solution. When the time comes to move to the new system, guide users through it as smoothly as possible.
Try to estimate the costs – Migrations can be costly and time-consuming (though that’s not always the case). It’s a good idea to estimate the scale of the project so that you know what you are dealing with. You can use tools such as our AI Forms to APEX Assistant Calculator to make this a bit easier (check out the articles below for more information).

Why choose Pretius as your vendor?

Proven track record – We have over 18 years of experience in building software and a proven track record of enterprise-grade projects – including successful large-scale migrations for market leaders. Check our client portfolio for more information.
Understanding of business processes – We know the ins and outs of various industries, so you can be sure we’ll understand your particular circumstances and tailor the software to your business needs (not the other way around).
Technical expertise – We work in complete development teams (developers, analysts, software architects, testers, etc.) and have extensive know-how regarding modernization tools and technologies (we even create custom migration tools, such as AI Forms to APEX Assistant).
Different migration strategies – We use the Phased Migration Approach, which means we separate the entire modernization into clear phases and carry them out without affecting your business negatively.
Client-centric approach – We always put our clients first and tailor the project to their particular needs. We pride ourselves on building long-term relationships (10+ or even 15+ years) with many of our customers