A typical plan to extend the life of legacy applications is to move parts of the application over time, but this can be an extremely time-consuming process. It is more efficient to build a new application using new technologies while using the existing code as a foundation. This declarative approach is called the application modernization strategy. It involves dealing with critical application elements in legacy software and is considered the lever for business transformation and API management platforms.

1. Application Modernization and its Impact on Business
Transformation
Introduction
The rapid rate of change in business, industry, technology, and infrastructure is putting a
premium on the ability to continuously improve and update legacy business systems.
However, legacy software applications are difficult to modernize due to the high cost of
converting a large body of code and their functions into modern modularized applications.
Also known as monolithic applications, legacy applications are often difficult to break up. They
are also difficult to update and expensive to scale up, and not suitable with hybrid cloud – hence
the need for modernization.
A typical plan to extend the life of legacy applications is to move parts of the application over
time, but this can be an extremely time-consuming process. It is more efficient to build a new
application using new technologies while using the existing code as a foundation.
This declarative approach is called the application modernization strategy. It involves dealing
with critical application elements in legacy software and is considered the lever for business
transformation and API management platforms.
Modernization Theory
Modernization provides a way to create new functionality without having to re-invent everything
from scratch. The resulting system has all the benefits of the legacy infrastructure with a few
enhancements from the new system.
This approach does not require a complete transformation of your legacy application. The key is
to analyze what components are reusable and what components are worth migrating over time.
It is also important to recognize that modernizing your application is not free; there will be costs
associated with continuous delivery, but it may be cheaper than doing transformation from
scratch with an entirely new software release.
Advocates of Modernity
The idea of modernization and digital transformation is not new. The term "modernization" has
been around for over 40 years.

2. A variety of disciplines and methodologies have been developed to modernize legacy
applications. They include reworking legacy systems and business process reengineering.
In the past, modernization has focused on code migration techniques. Today, more and more
attention is being paid to service-oriented architectures (SOA) and continuous software
improvements as a foundation for modernizing legacy applications.
History of Modernity
A large body of research has been conducted on modernizing legacy applications. This
research has demonstrated that a well-planned modernization effort can be a good investment.
For example, the Department of Defense (DoD) has invested billions of dollars in modernizing
its systems and creating new ones. The goal is to create more capable systems that can be
maintained at a lower cost.
The DoD began its modernization efforts in the early 1980s and is still actively engaged in the
process today.
In 1986, Tom Poppendieck published a paper on reworking legacy systems titled "Lean Legacy
Systems". This paper described the systematic approach to converting legacy systems into new
applications.
In 1993, Poppendieck authored a book on the topic titled "Reengineering Legacy Systems" that
was based on his research at IBM Almaden Research Center.
His research showed that up to 80% of the functionality of a legacy system could be reused in a
new system.
Types of Modernization
There are many ways to modernize legacy applications. Modernization can be done in a variety
of ways, including:
Reworking involves making changes to the existing code without re-writing it. This can be done
by using a scripting language to replace code segments with equivalent functionality.
It is usually easier to use a scripting language because the language is usually less complex
than the original programming language. The script may also provide more operational
excellence since it was written by a programmer and not generated by an interpreter.
Rewriting involves replacing large amounts of legacy code with new code written from scratch
using newer technologies and approaches.

3. In some cases, this can be a good strategy if most of the existing code is bad or outdated, or if
new requirements make it impossible to reuse existing code.
However, rewriting is often very expensive due to the large amount of effort required for each
feature that needs to be added or changed, resulting in significant technical debt.
Retooling involves changing the way existing code is used in a new system. This approach is
usually done by modifying the existing code and using it as a foundation for a new system.
Updating involves adding new features to an existing system without re-writing it. This can be
done by adding objects or layers of abstraction to the existing code.
This approach has been used extensively in converting legacy systems into Web applications.
Refactoring involves making small changes to the design of existing code without changing its
functionality or behavior.
The key is to make sure that the changes do not affect the existing functionality.
Remodeling involves re-writing a small part of the system or by replacing the entire application
with a completely new one. It's often regarded as the quick-win path in application
modernization.
Reengineering involves modernizing an entire business process rather than doing continuous
software improvements. It often uses an all-or-nothing strategy.
For example, a banking application may be reengineered to provide an online banking customer
experience for its customers.
Reengineering usually involves using a variety of techniques such as object-oriented (OO)
design, service-oriented architectures (SOA), object-relational mapping (ORM), and business
process management (BPM).
Five Dimensions of Modernization: Economic, Social,
Political, Cultural & Global
The application modernization process is affected by many factors.
Economic Factors:
Modernization initiative costs money. There are many ways to reduce costs, but they all require
a careful analysis of the cost-benefit tradeoffs.

4. For example, some people prefer to build new applications from scratch because it is cheaper
than migrating existing code over time. However, these digital initiatives usually require a large
upfront investment and long development cycles.
Other economic factors include:
● Replacement Cost
● Upgrade Cost
● Migration Cost
● Support Cost
● Time Value of Money (TVM)
● Depreciation Rate (Tangible Assets)
● Amortization Rate (Intangible Assets)
Social Factors:
Social factors are related to people and the quality of their interactions. Many organizations
choose to focus on improving their relationships with customers, partners, and employees.
Social factors include:
● Communication
● Teamwork
● Leadership
● Trust
● Responsibility
Political Factors:
When it comes to organizational structure and culture, political issues are also important. It is
possible that you can take these issues outside the scope of your application modernization
project, but they certainly have an impact on how your organization operates.
Political factors include:
● Decision-Making Processes
● Conflict Resolution Processes
● Management Approval Processes (Project Management)
● Budgeting & Resource Allocation Processes (Operations)
Cultural Factors:
Cultural factors are related to the way people think about themselves and others. Culture is one
of the most difficult areas to manage because it involves beliefs, values, and behaviors that are
deeply ingrained in a person's mind.

5. Cultural factors include:
● Organizational Values
● Organizational Structure
● Organizational Processes
● Organizational Practices
Global Factors:
The application modernization process is affected by global factors such as:
● International Standards
● Technology & Technical Competence
● Culture & Language
● Political Environment
● Legal Environment
● Cultural Environment (Religion, Ethnicity, etc.)
● Economic Environment (Governmental Support)
As you can see, the factors that affect an application modernization project are very diverse.
There are also many interrelationships between these factors.
How Company Help Organizations Using Modernization
The most effective way to modernize an application is to work with a growth software company
that specializes in application modernization services.
These companies have decades of software experience and expertise in the application
modernization process.
They know how to analyze the various factors that affect an application modernization journey
and come up with strategies for reducing risk, uncertainty, and improving acceleration of time to
market.
In addition, they have a lot of experience working with organizations in various industries, so
they know how to handle situations that are unique to your industry.
Finally, they have access to engineering talent and source technology that can help you
address specific problems such as application assessment, modern applications, technology
migration, and database migration.

6. Conclusion
Application modernization is an essential part of any modernization strategy. If you want to
succeed in the long term, you have to get your applications into a state where they can evolve
as your business evolves.
We hope that this article has provided you with some useful information that will allow you to
evaluate your existing application portfolio and plan the road to modernize them.