While legacy systems indeed have been indispensable for most enterprises for many years and served key business functions, today such systems usually inhibit the potential for further innovation, efficiency and growth. According to a research, analytic inefficiencies cause a waste of 62 billion analytic work hours per year, which is consuming roughly 100,000 lifetimes!
The answer to this grand problem is app modernization: a cutting-edge solution that assists in transforming an obsolete system into an agile, efficient platform that is scalable. This blog post explains the problems and challenges associated with legacy systems, importance of application modernization and how businesses can take this journey.
Reasons Why Legacy Systems Should No Longer Exist
The overwhelming need to modernize a business becomes blatantly apparent when integration of new IT infrastructure with existing legacy systems fails to yield synergy. Certain components of a business become inefficient in nature, expensive to support & maintain, and vulnerable in terms of security when business requirements become more complex but the technology and system involved stays the same.
A survey indicates that 65% of businesses struggle to transform digitally due to the limitations due to legacy systems. Another report further validated this claim stating that 88% businesses are still actively facing the restrictions put down by legacy systems. In an ideal world, if a business is incapable of transforming digitally, it ends up being 90% dependent on legacy systems. Also, out of the 78 million advanced spreadsheet users worldwide, data-native workers reported losing 800 hours annually due to 61% of data activities still being completed in inefficient legacy spreadsheets.
If these statistics are still not enough to make you realize the importance of changing these, then the mere issue of operating and maintaining these legacy systems is estimated to cost an astonishing $337 million each year!
Evolve or Expire: The Need for App Modernization
Application modernization is the process of upgrading the organizational processes, systems and tools to the most recent versions. Such upgrades improve performance, increase security, provide room for better integration with progressive oriented solutions and guarantee long-term business competitiveness. Businesses observe an approximate ID of 124% for their application modernization actions which is so critical given the funding problems and the shortage of resources. App modernisation results in a 124% ROI, a metric that should never be overlooked especially with the lack of resources and funds.
More than 50% of enterprises in a survey state that these two attributes, security and efficiency are the major driving forces for these software modernisation programmes. According to a recent report, companies that manage to implement an update in their legacy systems reduce their operational costs by even 25%. A report by IBM revealed that businesses, who have upgraded and used security artificial intelligence and automation tools extensively save an average of $1.76 million to the ones that have not.
So, if upgrading is in the best interest, then why is it that the organizations are not in a hurry to do it?
Approaches for an Effective Application Modernization Approach
So, we have established that there is a gap requiring application modernization, but the gap still needs change management to be possible. In absence of a coherent and logical transformation roadmap 86% department transformation projects fail which is a sad reality. It takes careful planning to ensure that this new business process gets integrated into the culture of the organization without disrupting it.
Now, in order to unlock the huge value associated with successful app modernization, let me outline some important steps that may help.
1. Analyze and Evaluate
The first step involves looking into the application’s deep areas. Organizations must enhance accounting credentials and analyze business worth for every application, degree of acceptance, and possible goals in future. Feedback analysis, benchmarking, bottlenecks, vulnerabilities, and outdated technology also has to be done properly. This stage provides the rationale for building strategies that help concentrate on which applications to modernize and what resources to use. A proper analysis and evaluation build up the foundation for the change process to have a case to begin.
2. Formulate the Problems and the Boundaries of the Project
The next step will be beneficial when there is consideration of a clear problem statement, and what the project boundaries are – that is to say which features, functionalities or systems need to be changed. A detailed project scope document is created which acts like a roadmap by providing all involved with an understanding of the objectives and the direction to follow.
3. Select the Most Appropriate Strategy
Now with a clear understanding and goals in mind with respect to the elasticity of the project and its boundaries, the next step is to choose the approach to the modernization that will be needed for you specifically. The most impactful strategies, the 5 R’s of application modernization tend to come in handy – those being Rehosting, Retrofitting, Rearchitecting, Rebuilding, and Replacement. Rehosting is changing as little as possible while creating an environment and moving the applications to it.
Retrofitting is altering the internal code of an application in order to improve performance and/or scalability. Rearchitecting is when an application is redesigned to utilize a new technology, for example – to use cloud-native capabilities. Rebuilding is constructing new and fuss free systems when the existing ones are aged. Replacing is decommissioning the older and family applications and replacing them with new commercially available ones. Each R does its magic enabling businesses to easily modernize while working with the set strategy and resources limitations.
Besides the strategy employed, modernization efforts can be reinforced by employing modern technologies such as the use of cloud platforms, microservices, AI-assisted tools, or containerization. Development also adopts flexibility and responsiveness through fostering agile practices such as continuous feedback loops or iterative development where necessary.
4. Determine the Metrics for Success and Monitoring Strategy
When modernizing, it is vital to have defined metrics as this will assist in assessing the strategy used. Regular assessments of the modernized systems functional capabilities against changing business needs is crucial. In this instance, appropriate KPIs such as lower application cost, higher efficiency, and enhanced user experience can be used. Further, coherent monitoring strategies can help track these KPIs accurately and in real time, making useful decisions possible all through. Performance metrics benchmarking across and within different timelines can greatly assist in setting your targeted KPIs and the necessary optimizations enabling better and prolonged KPIs achievement.
5. Look for the Appropriate Partner for Modernization
Although the internal members such as the chief architect or a project manager are important in achieving the goal of app modernization, they often do not have the appropriate tools or skill necessary to during the transformation. For your specific needs, it is wise to seek the right modernization partner that is fit for your project.
Working together with a professional consultant means that the process is completed efficiently, with the minimum of disturbance and with the best outcome.
Business giants and industry experts such as Ikea, Netflix, Amazon, Adobe, and many others have invested into technological optimizations to increase sales, reduce operational expenditures and improve customer satisfaction.
The app modernization services offered by Stride Digital are focused on enabling the modern business by changing the legacy systems into agile, scalable and robust solutions in line with the fast-paced digital world. Stride Digital further enhances IT infrastructure by incorporating advanced technology which deepens industry skills for improved scalability, resilience and operational effectiveness. By using seamless digital integration and automation backed by AI, businesses transform workflows, generate actionable insights and streamline processes. As a result, Stride Digital does not only improve the tech level of a business but also puts in place the right services to foster tension free alignment and growth. Whatever the case, be it skimming over new innovations, minimizing costs, or finding sources of new income, Stride Digital’s competitiveness in service delivery is evident through its app modernization solutions which are crucial in today’s dynamic World.
Conclusion
Remember that the future is for the swift, and do not allow last age platforms to hold you there. The pace at which technology is improving means that there is a greater need to update old systems. The worldwide market for application revamping services, which was projected to be worth $11.4 billion in 2024, is slated to expand at a CAGR of 16.5% to reach $38.7 billion by 2032. A staggering 92% of businesses report that they are working on an app modernization project or more than one. Similarly, a survey revealed that around 60% of businesses plan to start a modernization project within the next 12 months, while 23% aim to begin two projects, and 13% are looking to commence three!
To hop on the bandwagon and future-proof your business, reach out to Stride Digital, and start your digital glow up today. www.stridedigitalpartners.com
