Shape the future of legacy applications with Microsoft Azure

The Need for Application Modernization

Application modernization is now essential for businesses that want to succeed in the future, as it is an integral part of digital transformation. However, few businesses are already on their way to migrating from older, rigid architectures to more modern, agile ones. To improve company operations, quickly develop engineering using cloud-based alternatives that include DevOps, APIs, serverless architecture, and microservices. Blockchain, smart (cognitive) computing, and company-wide sensory networks are being gradually integrated to update antiquated IT systems and validate their product-market fit. To provide customers with fresh, improved experiences, cut labor expenses, and speed up company operations, application modernization is becoming the first step. Governmental agencies, banks, merchants, manufacturers, distribution businesses, service providers, and other organizations are looking for innovative digital tactics to boost consumer interactions, revenue, and competitiveness.

Market Forecast

As per  Market Watch, “The size of the global market for application modernization services, which was estimated at USD 18660.5 million in 2021, is anticipated to grow to USD 50400.66 million by 2028, at a CAGR of 15.25 percent over the forecast period.”

By upgrading enough code to connect the old and the new, application modernization is a strategy that enables enterprises to overcome issues without completely giving up on applications. Organizations can improve their current applications by combining them with more modern frameworks and infrastructure platforms through application modernization. It allows them to update their software portfolios throughout the business environment while protecting current investments. Modernizing outdated systems helps to improve the quality of data across processes involving everything from original software development to the customer experience depends on data integrity and efficiency. Legacy system bottlenecks, which invariably jeopardize new projects, can be reduced by organizations.

Application Modernization with Azure

The application modernization strategy includes a variety of advantages. When moving programs to the cloud, you can select a single strategy or specific elements from several strategies. Individual applications are not limited to a single methodology or level of development. Although there are many possibilities that help the majority of firms strike the correct balance between increasing agility and the time and money required to modernize. More modernization alternatives and budgetary resources are available, out of which Azure guarantees that all apps in the plan will continue to run and that resources can be scaled up or down as needed. The following approaches are used in modernizing applications with Azure.

• Cloud infrastructure-ready applications: Applications designed for static computing settings, such as locally controlled servers, are now cloud-ready. The legacy application needs to be changed to work with cloud-hosted environments to be considered “cloud ready.” Applications are essentially the same as they were before, but you now deploy them to cloud-based virtual machines (VMs). “Lift & Shift” is how this straightforward sort of migration which commonly referred in the business. Depending on the application, a traditional application’s specific conversion process may differ. Instead of altering the application’s code, most changes often concentrate on its distribution mechanisms.
• Cloud Optimized Applications: The process of accurately choosing and allocating the proper resources to a task or application is known as cloud optimization. Efficiency is attained when workload performance, compliance, and cost are accurately and continuously balanced, against the best-fit infrastructure in real-time. The infrastructure requirements for each application and workload are different which changes over time. While choosing resources for a workload, domain knowledge is typically used to achieve baseline performance. However, machine intelligence can benefit and further improve all workloads that have been manually matched to cloud resources.
• Cloud-native application: A method for accelerating the creation of new apps, the optimization of current ones, and the integration of all of them is called cloud-native application development. Continuous delivery, Kubernetes, Docker, cloud platforms, DevOps, and agile methodologies are all used. The deployment and development processes are accelerated. Microservices is a word that applies here. Any cloud environment can use them because of their design.

How Azure minimizes efforts of application modernization?

Azure containers can assist you in creating independently deployable, relatively smaller components and removing significant reliance on the underlying infrastructure. These containers can group everything from goods and services to third-party apps, which speeds up and improves the modernization process. Azure containers will assist you in accelerating the process while ensuring the highest level of security, regardless of where you are in your app modernization journey.

The best course of action for a company, would be to replace a legacy program with a cloud-native alternative or heavily recode the legacy application to make it cloud-native. However, when such a substantial shift is not possible, the next best option is only a slight tweak to the traditional program, and make it cloud-ready. Although creating a cloud-ready application still takes expert development efforts, it has numerous attractive advantages for the business. You may introduce a culture of digital transformation and automation through app modernization utilizing Azure containers, and you can also take advantage of the most significant cloud benefits.

• Better innovation and time to market: As businesses don’t have to spend as much time and money managing infrastructure and apps, they may devote more time to innovation. By greatly expediting the development process with cloud-based tools and services decreased time to market.
• Better agility and scalability: The ability to build and deploy apps anywhere is made possible by Azure’s one of the fastest networks and largest global footprint. Microsoft keeps coming up with new ideas and making it simpler, for users to scale and accelerate workloads.
• Better security and performance Cloud service providers have more resources devoted to cutting-edge data protection measures than an enterprise’s local infrastructure. Additionally, business continuity and disaster recovery are supported more readily as application data kept in the cloud.
• Simplified operation: Cloud-ready applications enable users to access real-time data from any device connected to the internet, considerably enhancing the ease of access and workflow effectiveness, in contrast to on-premise programs that limit access to specific onsite devices.
• Compatibility for a Range of Frameworks and Programming Languages: Companies can choose from a range of frameworks to construct their apps. Python, Ruby, PHP, Java, or Net Core. Azure App Service offers background services that support Powershell and other executable scripts.

Initiate application modernization today:

It is not easy to make the switch from legacy apps, services, or goods to digital ones; the process is difficult, risky, and time-consuming. For modernizing apps, as there are hundreds or thousands of tools on the market. However, you cannot simply choose any tool or technology to update your apps.

It makes sense to modernize your legacy applications only when done correctly, with the appropriate technology platform and knowledge. From analysing the current scenario to app re-engineering, our qualified and certified specialists can assist you in streamlining your app modernization journey so that you may take advantage of Azure application modernization benefits.