In today’s fast-evolving digital landscape, organizations can’t afford to keep running outdated Oracle (and other) applications, as they slow down business growth and innovation.
Many tech-savvy enterprises are taking digital transformation further by modernizing their legacy applications and adopting new cloud solutions. They understand it’s a good investment and worth the spend. Whether already in the cloud or getting ready to move, CIOs, CTOs, IT Directors, and key business decision-makers can optimize the application modernization process. This article explores the different approaches, common challenges, expected benefits, and strategies for success.
What is Application Modernization?
Application modernization is the process of updating or replacing software applications to align with current business needs and take full advantage of technological progress. This often involves a capital expenditure to modernize hardware or switching out on-premises infrastructure for more modern, cloud-based architectures.
Key Modernization Approaches
Several approaches can be used to modernize software assets, depending on your digital landscape and organizational preferences. These include:
- Rehosting (Lift & Shift): Migrating apps from on-premises to the cloud, with minimal changes. This will be the fastest hardware modernization option, provided the application is certified to run on a supported version of the OS.
- Refactoring/Rearchitecting: Making significant changes to the application’s architecture to better align with modern computing paradigms. For Oracle applications and other major applications, this involves an application upgrade and some business process changes.
- Rebuilding from scratch: Completely rewriting the application using modern technologies and architectures. Home-grown applications can utilize cloud-native technologies for rapid application development and better integration and security.
- Replacing with Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions: Using a service provider and subscription model to host/manage apps in the cloud.
Why It’s Needed
Legacy applications simply can’t keep up with modern business demands for scalability, performance, and agility. Additionally, the IT maintenance costs for outdated systems are high, with slower time-to-market for new features.
The following limitations are often reason enough to modernize your applications:
- Outdated hardware
- Older application versions lacking security and functionality
- Older programming languages and frameworks
- Complex dependencies/integrations with other outdated systems
- Lack of automation
Reaping the Benefits of Application Modernization by Migrating to a Hyperscaler
Application modernization delivers numerous benefits that overcome challenges while also enhancing your business operations, transformation goals, and competitiveness edge.
| Achieve… | How… |
| Improved Scalability & Performance | Host applications in the cloud to dynamically scale up or down, adapting to changing business demands. Many cloud platforms offer built-in auto-scaling features that automatically adjust resources based on predefined metrics, ensuring optimal performance without manual intervention. Cloud providers maintain data centers worldwide, enabling the deployment of applications closer to users. This reduces latency and improves response times, particularly for users in different geographical regions. Additionally, cloud providers implement redundant hardware and software components to minimize downtime and ensure business continuity. |
| Enhanced Security & Compliance | Cloud providers invest significantly in advanced security infrastructure, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and encryption technologies. Data is encrypted both at rest and in transit, ensuring confidentiality and protection. They maintain certifications such as ISO 27001, SOC 2, and HIPAA, underscoring their commitment to robust security and compliance standards. Additionally, many cloud providers offer data residency options, allowing data to be stored in specific geographic locations to meet local regulatory requirements. |
| Cost Efficiency | Cloud gives pay-as-you-pricing that eliminates upfront costs, and no need to invest in hardware and infrastructure. Cloud helps to accelerate application deployment and updates, leading to faster time to market. Multicloud strategies can increase cost efficiency by using multiple cloud providers to choose the right PaaS services. |
| Increased Agility & Innovation | Accelerate development cycles by rapidly deploying application updates and new features. Test and refine ideas quickly without incurring significant upfront costs. Additionally, harness cloud-based AI and ML services to create intelligent, innovative applications. |
| Better Customer Experience | Deliver a seamless, secure, and reliable experience for end-users with access to applications from any device, anywhere. Empower employees with self-service tools and efficient workflows to enhance productivity. |
The Role of Cloud in Application Modernization
Migrating applications to the cloud removes the limitations of traditional data centers. Cloud-native architectures support microservices, containers, and serverless infrastructure, offering enhanced flexibility and efficiency.
Cloud-powered platforms enable automated operations such as scaling, data monitoring, recovery, and reduced operational overhead. Elastic resources allow businesses to scale based on demand, optimizing cost management. Furthermore, modern cloud-based applications facilitate the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), enabling big data processing and expanded automation capabilities.
3-Step Application Modernization Strategy
Before launching your application modernization initiative, it’s important to have a strategy that encompasses these three steps, at a minimum:
- Prioritize Critical Applications: Focus on high-impact applications that offer the greatest value when modernized to maximize your return on investment.
- Assess Your Legacy Portfolio: Evaluate your existing applications by asking key questions, such as: Which applications are suitable for modernization? Which can be retired or replaced?
- Choose the Right Modernization Approach: Select an approach tailored to your needs, such as Rehosting, Refactoring/Rearchitecting, Rebuilding, or transitioning to SaaS, as discussed earlier.
How a Managed Cloud Services Provider Can Accelerate Modernization
Providers of managed cloud services, like Data Intensity, help IT organizations expedite the modernization of their enterprise applications by offering specialized expertise and comprehensive support for faster, more precise results. These services include the following:
- Expert Assessment & Planning
Help evaluate your legacy application landscape and develop a strategic roadmap.
- Implementing Cloud Migration
Handle your complex migrations with minimal disruption to business operations.
- Ongoing Management & Optimization
Ensure your cloud-hosted applications are continuously managed and optimized for high performance, security, and cost-efficiency.
- Collaboration with Internal IT Teams
Work alongside your in-house teams to augment and complement existing skill sets.
Getting Started: Best Practices for Application Modernization
We recommend the below best practices to effectively and efficiently modernize your software applications.
Data Intensity uses the latest application development tools and safe migration methods to help you get started. Read more about our Oracle Cloud Managed Services here.
Authored by: Tammy Morgan