Published on October 26th, 2023
Modernization of applications requires more than just an application. It is important to consider modernizing operations, databases pipelines for release, and much more. These components could be or aren’t transition-friendly. This is where you will need to determine the limitation! You can benefit from the ” theory of constraint” to reduce costs by taking on the modernization culture.
In a conversation on a podcast, JJ Asghar, an advocate for developers at IBM spoke about ” Application modernization isn’t just about modernizing apps, but involves an organization that embraces a new culture of modernization.”
iTechnolabs offers modernization of applications for organizations in order to minimize risk and improve costs with improved digital product engineering. Recalibrate your old applications without risk! Join us to receive 30 minutes of free time.
Modernization of applications: Be aware of your limitations first!
Modernization of applications can mean building from scratch or altering particular elements of software. But, tearing down the application in question can lead to dangers like security risks, interruptions to operations releases or issues with virtualization, for example.
1. New architecture break down because of old broken elements
Modernization of applications helps companies improve the system’s structure to increase efficiency as well as performance and capacity. However, old software could contain many broken components. The process of modernizing a program without identifying and fixing damaged components could result in performance problems in the app.
2. Data loss as a result of migration
The loss of data can result from human error, machine malfunction Cloud migrations, security breaches or other reasons. Furthermore, modernization requires breaking the current app architecture to redesign or redesign it that can result in loss of data.
Data leaks can happen when data extraction is taking place or when transferring information to cloud storage. In the report 2020 Cloud Security Report, 60 percent of companies are concerned about data leaks. This means that you must plan your cloud migrations in order to reduce the risk of the loss of data.
3. Security implications
Modernizing the application is changing the current system, which may pose security risks. For instance, API security becomes critical when you upgrade the application using a microservices-based architecture.
In the same way, you should ensure that the older components are in compliance in the cloud.
4. Disruptions to operations
If you’re using monolithic architecture, and are transferring into microservices due to tightly cooped structures, you may be interrupted.
Also, consider the staff, resources and the tools needed to ensure both systems run smoothly. It will also help in tackling operational issues.
5. Virtualization bottlenecks
If you virtualize in a monolithic environment, you face efficiency problems. For instance, if you are looking to virtualize a service in a monolithic structure the tight coupling architecture makes it complicated.
It is possible to deploy a sandbox virtualization environment in order to create virtual services. But, due to the connected architecture, failure of just one virtualized service could cause the entire process to go down.
Moving to microservices can assist your testers and developers develop environments that resemble production. They can build or test apps on demand without the need to manually configure environments.
6. Issues with observability
Observability is a way to observe and monitor the behavior of the system. But, if you’re running an unidirectional architecture it is difficult to observe because of the coupled structure. The data’s visibility is limited, making it challenging to analyze the system in a timely manner.
You can create independent data sources for your services and manage them easily. You can also develop specific services to log, trace, and metric measurements for your system.
Additionally, the microservices architecture includes numerous independent services that make observation much less difficult.
7. Errors in release
If you are using an unidirectional architecture, your releases can be prone to errors and will be slower due to manual processes. In addition, you need to wait until the development phase is completed before you can begin testing.
If your code fails to work, the release of your build will require longer and require more effort.
Microservices can be a good option. This allows for concurrent development, testing and production assisted by speedier releases and reducing errors.
The top factors that influence the price of modernization for applications
Modernization of an application can cost anywhere from $40,000 to $150,000 or over. But, the cost varies between projects. Numerous factors affect the costs of modernization projects such as the design requirements, costs for migration gap in skills, tech debt, size and complexity of the software that was used in the past.
1. Complexity and size
Size and complexity of legacy software can impact the cost due to the different effort required. For instance, a smaller app that has limited functionality needs lesser effort and less time.
However, complicated software takes longer due to complex functions and integrations, which leads to higher expenses for the project. Additionally, you require experienced and skilled developers.
In the same way moderate apps that have basic functionality and features will cost between $75,000 and $150,000. In addition, apps that are complex and have advanced features can cost more than $150,000.
2. Architecture design requirements
Modernization of applications isn’t just about re-designing the backend. you should also think about the frontend. Particularly, the requirements for design for modernized apps are different from the older version. Consider an instance that is an eCommerce application.
A monolithic eCommerce application consists of one Web Application Archive (WAR) file that runs all services such as StoreFrontUI accounting, inventory and shipping. It runs all of the services in a web container, like Tomcat. The system also features a load balancer that can support the application’s ability to scale.
As you transition to microservices, each one has its own database. Thus, the design requirements of the architecture are changed which can be costly.
Additionally, the costs of developing APIs to communicate between load balancers on the client can add up to the costs of modernization.
3. Tech debt
The most significant factor in the cost of modernizing an application will be technological debt. Older software typically has obsolete technology and components. Modernizing the software requires changes in the technology stack. In addition, replacing obsolete components could lead to increased expenses.
In the case of, for instance, moving your software to the cloud to modernize the compatibility of your legacy components is an essential aspect. Because of technical debt, there may be compatibility issues and addressing them could increase the cost of your project.
APIs for integration with services are a prime example of technology debt affecting the cost of modernization. If you decide to move your application to cloud computing, the changes in the APIs for service integration are crucial. But, these modifications add up to the expense of modernizing your application.
4. Inadequate engineering methods
Modernization of applications is a collaborative process in which your teams have to work in tandem. Teams that are not unified in their operations and development could result in slow and error-prone releases.
In the same way, CI/CD pipelines can aid in improving speed of deployment of software and also quality. While the price of implementing best engineering practices such as DevOps, Agile, and CI/CD is more expensive, it’s worth it.
5. Skill gap
The gap in skills is a significant factor in the overall cost since it requires skilled experts to integrate new tech stacks. For instance, if you are switching your backend to Node.JS it will require an experienced development team to implement a node-based architecture.
Additionally, there are different types of technologies that require experts to upgrade the application. The hiring of these professionals is expensive.
6. Costs for moving databases
Data migration costs are the cost associated with data transfer from a local system to cloud-based storage. If the amount of data is greater it will cost more. Furthermore, the technology you employ for data transfer will also impact your costs. If you utilize massive servers for data transfer this will result in a higher cost.
Moving small-sized to medium-sized jobs can take between 1-2 months and costs between $5,000 and $15,000. In the same way, a large to medium data migration can take up to six months and could cost $20,000 to $5000.
7. Costs of transition
If you are modernizing an application or program, this transition will require a huge amount of investment of time and effort. You must maintain the old system while advancing other parts of the application.
In addition to these expenses The transition process demands testing of specific components within the older system in order to adapt them to new environments. Testing and maintenance on parallel systems, and making sure that they have greater availability cause the costs of transition increase.
Reduced risks and costs associated with application modernization Best practices
The mitigation of modernization risks and reducing costs requires methods like standardizing engineering, reducing broken parts, preparing the transition and deciding the best modernization strategy.
1. Define the requirements for architecture and design.
The definition of architecture is an important element of modernization. If you’re using an architecture that is monolithic, understanding its weaknesses and selecting the most appropriate choice is the first step towards modernization. Selecting microservices SOA and/or transforming the monolithic architecture to modernize it is an important choice.
It is the next stage to establish the design specifications of the architecture you choose. If you can define the architecture, as well as the requirements for its design making planning the modernization simple. This allows companies to plan the migration of data along with maintenance and the transition phase.
2. Find out if the component is broken or outdated.
The next step is to look over the code that is in place and identify damaged elements. By removing the source code and studying it for obsolete components can help lessen the impact on a new technology.
Consider an instance of a security element or policy that doesn’t conform to the cloud-based environment. If you decide to move to cloud computing security policies will be different. Therefore, it is important to look over the system you have in place and identify policies that will not apply to the new system.
3. Plan the transition
Moving to a different tech stack or changing the design of the application to a different architecture is not a sign that the previous system will be shut down. It is essential to keep in place both systems, which makes planning an essential element.
Design the phase of transition of
- Reduce the expense to manage two teams simultaneously
- Reduce the chance of overloading systems
- Control resources needed for the transition phase
- Reduce downtime for apps and improve availability
- Enhance collaboration between teams who manage the new and legacy systems
4. Select the most appropriate modernization approach
Businesses can modernize their UI using a traditional backend or upgrade the backend to modernize it with the same user interface. Certain modernization requirements assist in determining what approach the business will take.
- Rehost(Lift & Shift)
Rehosting your database on the cloud is among the most efficient ways for modernizing your databases. Particularly, if you’re looking to increase the scalability of your application using cloud-based infrastructure, this approach is a good idea. The codebase stays the same, however the infrastructure along with network resources are transferred into the cloud. - Re-architect
Re-architecting involves changing the whole design of the application. For instance, when you move from monolithic applications to microservices the design of your system is divided into clusters of service. Separating the application into service clusters can increase flexibility, scalability and time to market. - Refactor
Refactoring an application is the process of making small adjustments to the structure of the application without altering the function. For instance, many companies make use of app refactoring in order to integrate cloud storage services that are accessible to the public. The principal reason behind changing an app’s structure is that minor changes can affect the performance of the system without altering the behavior of the app. - Rebuild
If you are looking to overhaul the app completely, then rebuilding is the best approach to modernization. It’s a process that lets you create an application entirely from the ground up. For instance, you could build a cloud-native app instead of just migrating some components. - Replace
It’s an approach that allows you can substitute an existing component of an application with a new one that uses advanced technology. For instance, you could replace your existing applications with open-source alternatives and also support microservices architecture.
5. Standardize engineering practices
Engineering practices such as DevOps, CI/CD, and others can help organizations reduce costs and minimize the risk of modernization in applications. However, establishing standardization in practices of engineering requires streamlining the processes across the entire organization.
Modern technology integration and the development of cloud-based apps requires a certain engineering culture. So, it is essential to nurture the engineering culture and standardize processes to ensure an optimal quality digital delivery of your product.
In this case, for instance, you could take a step towards embracing practices of DevOps throughout your organization. establish a standard for security practices, such as two-factor authentication across all touchpoints. This will guarantee that you have systems that are optimized and with greater efficiency and lower cost.
6. Have a reliable data migration checklist.
Data migration is among the crucial tasks of modernizing applications, particularly in the case of moving your application towards the cloud. If you do not plan it, you could face problems with security of data leaks, security issues, and costs of recovery.
Here is an informational checklist for data migration that to follow:
- Perform a resource analysis to figure out how much time, money, and personnel you’ll require to complete the migration of your data
- Examine critical systems and data within the system in order to prepare the migration in a timely manner
- Set up data rules and provide that you are able to trust the quality of data
- Decommission old and inefficient systems as required
- Develop a system for accessing data based on the information source
- Implement security policies based on the type of data, its destination environment, and source.
- Make use of orchestration to optimize virtualization
- Microservices are independent of resources. They are also managed by the implementation of policies and guidelines can be a challenge.
Container orchestration lets you deploy microservices in a way that is scaled without the burden of managing resources. It makes deployment easier and makes it easier to scale containers. There are a variety of container orchestration tools you can utilize, such as Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, and more.
Kubernetes is an open source orchestration software that allows you to control, manage and expand containers. By using containers, you can improve virtualization efficiency, lower costs, and increase productivity.
7. Find out the skills gap and design your modernization plan
Modernization of applications requires a particular ability set to meet the shifts in design, architecture needs, and the latest technology. To address the skills gap, it requires a thorough understanding of the requirements and methods to attract the talents.
If, for instance, you plan to use microservices, you need to look at the requirements for software architects, developers as well as test engineers and quality assurance. Additionally, you must determine costs of employing people and determine the most effective choice.
A software architect can cost about $128,970 a year. A software test engineer can cost around $90,682 a year. The cost of hiring an internal modernization team is higher. You can cut the cost for hiring experts by choosing “an Application modernization system” with a wide range of experts for all your requirements.
Implementing the best practice requires deliberate method and careful planning. Many companies have successfully implemented the best practices. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Examples of modernization strategies that have worked successfully for applications
Companies that have succeeded in modernizing their applications have well-developed strategies. They employ the best practices to increase efficiency and stability of the system.
1. Gordon Food Services improved total annual deployments from 4 to 2,920
Gordon Food Service(GFS) used on-premise CRM for its customers in the US and off-the-shelf ERP for Canadian customers for a long time. But as demand for the market changed and consumers were seeking more of a B2C user experience GFS had to make it speedier, which made modernization an essential element.
GFS has decided to modernize their eCommerce platform to accommodate Canadian customers. Utilizing Google Kubernetes Engine Google Kubernetes Engine, GFS updated the cloud-based application specifically for Canadian customers in less than six months.
Also known as Gordon ordering system, the eCommerce application has improved customer satisfaction and responsiveness to requests from customers by 90%, and improved capacity transferability. Additionally, GFS reduced the deployment time and reduced the number of years of deployments to 2,920.
2. Delaware North eliminated 91% of data centers using AWS
Serving over 500 million clients within the F&B industry, Delaware North operated an on-premise system. The problem was that Delaware North teams struggled to manage, upgrade, and upgrade the servers of 225.
Delaware North migrated its on-premises infrastructure to the AWS cloud, with the exception of 20 servers that support core communication and file-and-print functions. The result was cost reduction, increased availability, as well as an improved experience for customers.
In migrating the virtual desktop system as well as configuration management, business intelligence as well as analytics, to cloud storage Delaware North reduced the data centers by 91%..
In addition, modernization has helped save $3.5 million in the development costs and ongoing maintenance for five years.
3. Pacific Life goes hybrid with AWS to modernize its financial services
Pacific Life needed an on-demand resource management system and just-in time computing on their platforms. It was unable to handle high load and refreshes to hardware every time it introduced a new feature.
Then, It decided to move some of its software or systems over to AWS. This hybrid approach meant that it was necessary to modify certain elements to make them compatible with the cloud-based environment.
Moving specific apps to the cloud, and utilizing the hybrid approach to modernization was helpful in making Pacific Life release features faster and keep a year-over-year budget of 4 percent.
4. DroneGrid develops their platform that is designed to serve customers.
In the past, DroneGrid was developing an automated drone management solution that would allow companies to monitor the drones’ operations and gather crucial information.
But, the solution required an advanced and scalable architecture that could handle operations at a large scale. This is why it selected Azure’s Platform as Service(PaaS) solution to redesign the management system for operations.
The original architecture employed React for the front end and ROR coupled with RabbitMQ as the backend. However, the solution was based on Azure’s PaaS. Additionally, it utilized PostgreSQL as well as Node.JS as the backend.
The new technology enabled DroneGrid to incorporate the IoT communication hub to ensure that businesses are able to easily coordinate drones.
iTechnolab’s modernization of applications is a solution from iTechnolabs.
Modernizing your application can be a challenge when you don’t have the necessary skills. This is why, when a top bank and financial firm was looking to modernize its technology stack, it contacted iTechnolabs to modernize its front-end.
Our engineers used engineering practices to design an individual solution. We implemented micro frontend technology for their project. We also transferred terabytes worth of data to the cloud.
Our teams also ensured strong performance using microservices API testing and OAS3 conformance. Utilizing Selenium as a tool, we automated the web UI testing process and created an effortless user experience.
How iTechnolabs Can Help Optimize Cost and Reduce Risks in Application Modernization
In today’s fast-paced and rapidly evolving business landscape, the need for application modernization has never been greater. Organizations are continuously striving to stay competitive, meet the ever-changing demands of customers, and adapt to the latest technological advancements. However, the process of modernizing applications can be complex, costly, and fraught with risks. This is where iTechnolabs, a leading technology solutions provider, can play a pivotal role in optimizing costs and mitigating risks associated with application modernization.
iTechnolabs: A Trusted Partner for Application Modernization
iTechnolabs is a well-established IT consulting and solutions company with a proven track record of helping businesses harness the power of technology to enhance their operations and achieve their strategic objectives. With a team of experienced professionals and a deep understanding of modernization challenges, iTechnolabs offers a range of services and expertise that can make the journey of application modernization smoother, cost-efficient, and less risky.
Optimizing Costs in Application Modernization
- Comprehensive Assessment
The first step in optimizing costs during application modernization is conducting a thorough assessment of the existing IT landscape. iTechnolabs specializes in this critical task, identifying redundant systems, outdated technologies, and areas where optimization can result in cost savings. This assessment forms the foundation for a cost-effective modernization strategy.
- Cloud Migration
iTechnolabs is well-versed in the benefits of cloud computing and can assist organizations in migrating their applications to the cloud. This approach offers several cost-saving advantages, including reduced infrastructure and maintenance expenses, scalability, and pay-as-you-go pricing models.
- Legacy System Integration
For organizations with extensive legacy systems, iTechnolabs can help seamlessly integrate modern applications with existing infrastructure. This strategy eliminates the need for a complete overhaul of legacy systems, saving both time and resources.
- Containerization and Microservices
iTechnolabs recommends containerization and microservices architecture, allowing applications to be broken down into smaller, more manageable components. This approach not only reduces development costs but also enhances scalability, making applications more adaptable to evolving business needs.
- Automation
Automation is a key driver for cost optimization during application modernization. iTechnolabs provides expertise in implementing DevOps practices and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines. These automation tools reduce manual intervention, improve efficiency, and minimize operational costs.
Reducing Risks in Application Modernization
- Data Security
One of the primary risks in application modernization is data security. iTechnolabs ensures that data is handled with the utmost care and that modernized applications are compliant with industry regulations. Their security experts conduct thorough risk assessments and implement robust security measures.
- Business Continuity
iTechnolabs understands the importance of maintaining business continuity during the modernization process. They develop detailed migration plans, implement rollback strategies, and perform rigorous testing to ensure minimal disruption to operations.
- Vendor Lock-In Mitigation
The risk of being locked into a specific vendor’s ecosystem is a genuine concern during modernization. iTechnolabs focuses on creating vendor-agnostic solutions, enabling organizations to switch providers or technologies without incurring excessive costs.
- Change Management
Change management is an often-overlooked aspect of modernization that can result in resistance and decreased productivity. iTechnolabs helps organizations navigate this challenge by implementing effective change management strategies to ensure a smooth transition.
- Quality Assurance
iTechnolabs places a strong emphasis on quality assurance throughout the modernization process. Rigorous testing, quality control, and post-implementation monitoring help identify and mitigate risks related to application performance and functionality.
- Knowledge Transfer
To reduce the risk of knowledge loss due to employee turnover or retirements, iTechnolabs provides knowledge transfer and training programs. This ensures that organizations maintain the necessary expertise to manage and maintain modernized applications.
Are you looking for a Software application development company?
Application modernization is essential for organizations seeking to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. However, the process can be riddled with complexities, costs, and risks. By partnering with iTechnolabs, businesses can optimize costs and reduce risks associated with application modernization.
iTechnolabs comprehensive approach includes conducting a thorough assessment, leveraging cloud technology, integrating legacy systems, implementing containerization and microservices, and automating processes. These strategies not only minimize costs but also enhance the agility and scalability of applications.
Furthermore, iTechnolabs helps reduce risks by prioritizing data security, ensuring business continuity, mitigating vendor lock-in, managing change effectively, emphasizing quality assurance, and facilitating knowledge transfer.
In a world where digital transformation is imperative, iTechnolabs stands as a trusted partner for organizations looking to embark on the journey of application modernization while optimizing costs and minimizing risks. With their expertise and commitment to excellence, iTechnolabs can help businesses thrive in the modern era, achieving their goals with confidence and efficiency.
