Outdated software may continue to serve its main purposes and cater to the clients’ specific needs, but in reality, it is a tinderbox waiting to explode. Read on to know more about legacy migration.
What Is Legacy Migration?
Legacy systems are applications, programs, or hardware that continue to be used despite their advanced age. They are often obsolete, and ongoing use of these systems can delay the business upgrade and enhancement.
Legacy programs can in fact pose a threat to the company’s security and workflow efficiency.
It is not easy for businesses to make a thoughtful technical plan on changing outdated applications and software platforms to welcome innovation and transformation of their IT processes, which is why a comprehensive approach is imperative.
Why Should My Business Migrate?
It is easy to list the reasons for legacy application migration, as there is a bounty of advantages this change can introduce. First of all, it significantly boosts the productivity of your enterprise and the quality of your work, which can help you stand out among the competitors in your business domain. Further, old-fashioned software is incompatible with new systems, so if you continue using it, multiple issues will arise, such as malfunctioning, cybercriminal attacks due to poor security features, expensive support and maintenance services, and lack of available updates. That’s why it is imperative to migrate legacy software.
The migration procedure should not interrupt company processes, so it’s vital to choose the approach with minimal intervention in the system. Currently, the following migration options are possible: lift-and-shift and transformation. The former is the transfer of the app along with all the stored information to the cloud, with no application redesign. This approach is often chosen by software engineers when the system fails to function properly, becomes outdated, or a more advanced technology emerges.
The latter type mainly refers to cases, when the organization’s politics is remodeled, or when the legacy software no longer facilitates business ventures or satisfies customer demand. Timely legacy application migration services help companies to be in sync with the latest technologies, address all the technical challenges and ensure the ultimate UX to the clients.
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Why Adopt the Cloud?
There are numerous reasons why it is a wise decision to utilize cloud technologies. Here are the most widespread ones:
- Cutting costs
The most alluring reason is driving down costs. No need to spend money on storage space and buy expensive programs. A lot of applications are on the cloud services for free usage, and you can add others only when needed. The problem of cost savings is especially significant for small companies, enterprises with limited budgets, and startups.
- Ease of use
All you need to do is set up the cloud technology and enjoy it, no need for time-consuming downloading and installation. With almost unlimited data storage capacity and remote access, it enhances the workflow and collaboration in the company.
- Availability of additional storage
In comparison with regular hard drives and servers, the cloud provides an opportunity to store more data.
- Automation
No need to feel anxious about updating your service – the cloud syncs with the most recent versions automatically.
- Flexible agile working process
Cloud ensures better coordination of collaborative efforts in real time. Your team can view and edit the same files simultaneously from different locations and multiple devices without the need to be physically present in the office.
- Scalable technology
Companies can scale the cloud easily if they need more space for data storage. Similarly, if they need less space, they can change their storage limits and switch to a less expensive plan.
- Increased data security
All employees, regardless of their whereabouts, can access the stored information securely thanks to strict confidentiality policies and permission-based rules.
Why Don’t More Companies Migrate Legacy Applications?
Legacy programs and technologies may seem safe and reliable since they have proved to be of use for so many years. Nevertheless, in most cases, this is a delusion. Moving forward with new solutions always requires a lot of courage, but improvements are generally huge.
Do not be afraid of trying new approaches and testing new ideas, as they are more likely to bring a lot of benefits to your daily work routine than holding on to the old ways. But every company is unique and it is important not to overlook the peculiarities of your organization while migrating to new business applications.
Why Do So Many Legacy Migrations Fail?
Often companies run into financial losses when their migration process is interrupted and fails. Migration failures occur because of a lack of proper strategy and the inability of applications to correctly restart in the cloud. Disruptions during the migrating process pose threats to the efficient work of the organization, its stability, income, and good repute.
Given there are so many risks in migration, business owners should be careful when choosing the software company they partner with. With profound expertise and in-depth knowledge of cloud technologies, good software experts are able to make sure that the migration goes smoothly and without any technical issues.
What Are Legacy Migration Options?
Application Rehosting
In this case, the legacy applications are transferred to the cloud under real-life conditions. It is a fast and comparatively simple way to migrate the system. The drawback of this variant is that it does not have many cloud-oriented advantages. However, it is optimal when a company’s aim is to guarantee access to their app from any location on the globe, when the consumption of hardware resources needs optimization.
Application Replatforming
Replatforming option means the transfer of legacy applications to the cloud when only minor code tweaking happens. As a result of this option, the app will be more scalable and secure than before. It is less expensive than refactoring variant, but developers should limit code adjustments and concentrate on cloud-native characteristics and open-source coding. It is the best choice when you have a distinct return on investment in mind and are eager to cut costs.
Application Refactoring/Rearchitecting
This type of legacy application migration includes the adjustment of large chunks of code. It allows you to add significant flexibility and efficiency to the code. Software engineers can add multitudinous new elements and refine all the details in the app to leverage all the possibilities that the cloud can introduce. In this case, there is no need to commit resources to buy unnecessary hosting. However, this method requires more skilled professionals, and more financial and time investment in comparison with the previous two.
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How to Successfully Migrate Your Legacy Application
SWOT Analysis
It is extremely beneficial to conduct a SWOT analysis prior to any other actions during the legacy application migration process. This tool allows comprehensive investigation of your project by looking at the following aspects:
- Strengths: You can define what unique resources and capabilities you can use in the project.
- Weaknesses: Find out the answer to the question, what needs to be done better in this business case and what necessary resources are absent.
- Opportunities: Discover how you can take advantage of the instruments and resources you have, and how your strong points can benefit the process.
- Threats: Find out what can hurt your efforts and disrupt the process of migration to Linux, and how your weak points can influence the outcomes of the project.
Environment Assessment
A thorough evaluation of your current infrastructure and resources that you have will help you develop a well-rounded migration tactic. This can include several parameters such as architecture, capacity, system performance and resilience requirements, etc.
Defining Strategy
There are several options you can implement during the migration procedure. We described three variants previously: rehosting, replatforming and rearchitecting. To choose the right strategy, take into account such important factors as your personal business needs and budgeting. Do not forget that the second and third options can introduce certain difficulties while migrating and can result into extra costs.
Pilot Migration
To prepare for the actual migration, it is recommended to run a pilot test. It can take quite some time, but eventually, it will help avert the risks that may arise during the actual migration.
Legacy Application Migration
After the assessment and preparations, you have everything you need to migrate your app. Remember to use the following best practices: data backup before migration to store the data in a safe place, and testing services after the migration to ensure that the system is user-friendly, secure and compliant to the requirements.
Resources Management after Migration
After migration, you have to monitor and optimize your system regularly to ensure a smooth and stable performance along with reasonable payment for it.
What Does SaM Solutions Offer?
Legacy application migration is a challenging process that requires comprehensive understanding and deep expertise in software development. To avoid the risks of errors and malfunctions, make sure you consult a well-established software services provider for this transition.
SaM Solutions will be happy to provide services of legacy application migration to Linux, and cloud technologies, which can help you boost your company’s infrastructure and make internal processes more efficient. For example, migration to Linux may be of use, if Windows doesn’t support low-level requests that are needed for the devices, and it is possible to implement Linux at a lesser cost.
Our team consists of experienced software engineers who would be glad to help you with your digital modernization. We genuinely value IT evolution with the ultimate aim to help you streamline business processes, secure confidential data, increase productivity and gain more recognition.
IT INDUSTRY OBSERVER
Maryia is an avid technology enthusiast who constantly follows the developments in the industry and enjoys shedding light on the hottest IT topics. She combines her own in-depth research with the direct input from seasoned engineers to create insightful and empowering content.
Yes, I agree that the reason why some businesses haven’t decided to migrate yet is that they got into the habit of using the same technology over the years. But change is all around us, and I would recommend upgrading after all.
My reason to migrate is to save on costs. I wish to optimize the working processes in my company and cut expenses. I’m also thinking of moving to the cloud for the sake of unlimited storage and more flexibility.
I cannot decide which legacy migration option to choose: rehosting or replatforming. Please advise which is better for minor changes in legacy code (not large chunks of code, like those in the rearchitecting option).
I recently had my legacy application migration done. Unfortunately, it failed for some reason and now I need professional advice on how to fix it. I would really appreciate your help with this issue.
Thank you for explaining legacy application migration. I knew little about migration before reading the article, and your thorough description has helped me understand it better. I am now thinking about migrating my software.
Thank you for the article. It’s helped me become aware of reasons to migrate. Legacy application migration is a great decision, especially given the fact that it provides more efficiency and productivity to business processes.
I’d never considered trying new technologies until I read this article. But now that I know that migration improves performance and provides better quality protection against cybercriminals, I think I’ll give it a shot.