What is legacy app modernisation?

Before diving into legacy application modernisation, it’s important to understand what legacy systems are.

These systems often run on older technologies like COBOL, Visual Basic, or Fortran, as well as newer ones such as .Net Framework or AngularJS. They tend to be monolithic, meaning different functions are interdependent and compiled into a single platform, making them rigid and difficult to update.

As legacy systems age, they become more prone to security vulnerabilities, costly to maintain, and increasingly difficult to integrate with modern technologies. They often lack proper documentation and support, further complicating their maintenance and adaptation to newer business needs or hardware. Signs of a legacy system include high maintenance costs, poor integration with current software, and compatibility issues with modern infrastructure.

As technology evolves, older applications often struggle to meet the demands of modern performance, security, scalability, and integration with new tools. They are also characterised by poor UX, making them less user friendly.

Modernisation involves rearchitecting, refactoring, replatforming, or even replacing legacy systems to enhance their functionality, improve security, and ensure they work seamlessly with newer technologies, helping businesses stay competitive.

A common approach to modernisation is the 7R strategy, which includes options such as rehosting, replatforming, refactoring, repurchasing, retiring, retaining, and relocating – allowing organisations to choose the best path based on their specific needs.

Why modernise legacy apps?

Modernising legacy applications is essential for staying competitive in today’s fast-paced digital world. By upgrading legacy systems, businesses can significantly enhance efficiency, streamline processes, and reduce the risk of system failures.

Modernisation also strengthens security, ensuring that applications are protected against evolving threats and vulnerabilities. Furthermore, legacy systems often struggle with scalability, but through modernisation, applications can be optimised to handle increasing workloads and future growth.

Additionally, modernising ensures compatibility with emerging technologies like cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and microservices architectures, allowing businesses to leverage these innovations for greater flexibility and improved business outcomes. Ultimately, modernisation reduces operational costs by eliminating the need for expensive and time-consuming upkeep of outdated systems.

The key benefits of legacy application modernisation

The benefits of legacy application modernisation are numerous and impactful, allowing businesses to optimise their infrastructure and drive long-term success:

Business enablement and process optimisation

Modernisation removes limitations imposed by outdated systems, allowing businesses to streamline operations, automate workflows, and adopt innovative solutions. A modernised system can improve efficiency, reduce bottlenecks, and create opportunities for cost savings through better resource utilisation and optimised business processes.

Improved scalability for business growth:

As businesses expand, their IT systems must scale accordingly. Modernised applications can handle increased workloads and growth, providing the flexibility to meet future demands without facing the bottlenecks common in outdated infrastructure.

Better security and compliance with modern standards

Legacy systems are frequently vulnerable to security breaches and may not comply with current regulatory standards. By modernising legacy systems companies ensure that applications are updated with the latest security protocols and compliance measures, protecting sensitive data and reducing the risk of costly security incidents.

Reduced maintenance costs and improved system performance

Outdated systems often require expensive, frequent maintenance. Modernising applications can lower ongoing support costs, increase efficiency, and enhance system performance, ensuring faster processing, better overall functionality and improved critical business processes.

Enhanced user experience and application speed

Modernised applications generally feature improved interfaces and faster processing speeds, which lead to better user experiences. Faster load times, streamlined workflows, and more intuitive designs help increase customer satisfaction and employee productivity.

Easier integration with modern cloud-based services and APIs

Legacy systems can be challenging to integrate with new cloud-based services or third-party APIs, limiting business agility. Modernisation makes it easier to connect to a wider range of tools and platforms, promoting seamless collaboration and data sharing.

Read more:

• How to achieve business agility through application modernisation?
• How to re-engineer applications to achieve scalability?
• What is infrastructure modernisation? A complete guide for businesses

How do I know if my business needs modernisation of existing systems?

If your software is slow, costly to maintain, lacks security updates, or struggles to integrate with newer technologies, it’s a clear sign that your existing legacy systems need an upgrade.

These issues hinder performance, increase costs, and expose your company to security risks, while preventing you from fully capitalising on new opportunities.

Additionally, if your application does not adequately support business processes, acts as a blocker, or requires workarounds and manual tasks, this is another strong indication that modernisation is needed to improve efficiency and streamline operations.

How to modernise legacy applications? 5 key steps

Modernising legacy applications is a strategic, multi-step process that requires careful planning and execution.

To ensure a successful transition, businesses can follow these five key steps:

Assess the current state of the legacy application

Begin by conducting a comprehensive audit to analyse performance, security vulnerabilities, maintenance costs, and compatibility with modern technologies. Identifying pain points and defining clear business objectives for modernisation is essential to guide the entire process.

Choose the right modernisation approach and plan your scope

Depending on your business needs, selecting the right modernisation strategy is crucial. Common approaches include:

• Rehosting – moving applications to a new infrastructure (e.g. , cloud( with minimal changes.
• Replatforming – making slight modifications to optimise applications for a new platform while keeping core functionality intact.
• Refactoring – restructuring and optimizing the existing code to improve performance, scalability and mantainability.
• Rearchitecting – redesigning the application to take full advantage of modern technologies, such as microservices or cloud-native architecture.
• Replacing – completely retiring the legacy system and adopting a new, modern solution.

Carefully planning the scope of modernisation ensures that all key areas are properly addressed.

Implement cloud and modern technologies

Migrate applications to cloud-based infrastructure (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) for better scalability and cost-efficiency. Integrate APIs and microservices to improve compatibility with modern applications and adopt DevOps practices for faster deployments and continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) automation.

Ensure security, compliance, and testing

Upgrade security measures to safeguard data and ensure compliance with industry standards. Conduct both automated and manual testing to guarantee the modernised application operates smoothly, with minimal downtime or disruptions.

Deploy, monitor, and optimise continuously

Gradually deploy the modernised application through phased rollouts or containerisation (using Docker or Kubernetes). Implement monitoring and observability tools to track performance, security, and cost efficiency. Continuously update and optimise the application based on user feedback and evolving business needs.

What challenges do businesses face when modernising legacy applications?

Legacy system modernisation can be challenging. Some of the most significant challenges businesses face include:

High initial investment costs

The upfront costs of modernisation – spanning new technologies, skilled resources, and consulting services – can be significant. This initial financial outlay may seem daunting, especially if the ROI isn’t immediately apparent.

Businesses should conduct a cost-benefit analysis and consider phased modernisation to spread costs over time. Cloud-based solutions with pay-as-you-go models can also reduce upfront investment.

Downtime and business disruption risks

Migrating legacy applications may lead to system downtime, disrupting business operations. This can affect productivity, customer satisfaction, and revenue generation, particularly for businesses reliant on continuous application access.

A well-defined rollout strategy, including phased deployment, pilot testing, and rollback plans, can minimise downtime. To further reduce risks, businesses can adopt the Strangler Pattern, where new functionalities are introduced gradually while the legacy system remains operational.

This incremental approach avoids a “big bang” migration by enabling step-by-step modernisation, ensuring smoother transitions with minimal disruption. Additionally, implementing changes in non-peak hours further mitigates operational impact.

Data migration complexities

Transferring data from legacy systems to modern platforms is often complex and error-prone. Ensuring data integrity, format compatibility, and secure migration is a critical challenge that requires detailed planning and testing.

Using automated migration tools, conducting thorough data validation, and running parallel systems during migration can help ensure a smooth transition.

Employee resistance to change

Employees may resist using new systems, especially if they are accustomed to legacy software. Overcoming this resistance involves clear communication, comprehensive training, and demonstrating the benefits of modernisation for both individual users and the company as a whole.

Engaging employees early, offering hands-on training, and appointing internal champions to advocate for the change can encourage adoption.

Integration with new technologies

Legacy systems may struggle to integrate with new technologies such as cloud platforms, APIs, or microservices. Ensuring seamless communication and compatibility requires careful planning and often, custom solutions to avoid compatibility issues.

Businesses should assess integration needs early, use middleware of API gateways where necessary, and adopt standardised protocols to simplify compatibility.

What factors should businesses consider when modernising legacy applications?

When undergoing legacy modernisation, businesses must carefully weigh several factors to ensure a smooth and successful transition:

Business goals and IT strategy alignment

Aligning modernisation efforts with your broader business goals and IT strategy is vital. Understanding how modernising legacy systems can support your company’s vision will help prioritise which systems to update first and the approach to take.

Budget and cost-benefit analysis

Modernisation involves significant investment. It’s essential to conduct a thorough cost-benefit analysis, weighing the initial costs, ongoing maintenance, and potential savings, alongside the long-term value in terms of efficiency and scalability.

Security and compliance requirements

Security is a top priority during modernisation. Legacy systems often don’t meet current security standards or regulatory requirements, so it’s important to ensure that the updated systems are compliant and well-protected against evolving threats.

Long-term scalability and flexibility

As your business grows, your IT systems must scale to meet future demands. Ensure that modernised applications are flexible enough to handle increasing workloads and can easily adapt to changing business needs over time.

Integration with cloud and emerging technologies

Ensure that modernised systems can seamlessly integrate with cloud services and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and microservices. This integration will help maximise the flexibility, performance, and future-readiness of your IT ecosystem.

Ready to unlock the full potential of your business through legacy application modernisation?

At Future Processing, we specialise in helping businesses in legacy app modernisation to reduce costs, and enhance performance. Contact us today to discuss how our expert team can guide you through every step of the modernisation and digital transformation processes, ensuring seamless integration, security, and scalability for your future growth.

Let’s transform your IT infrastructure and take your business to the next level!