In today’s competitive landscape, Australian businesses face increasing pressure to keep up with evolving technologies and maintain the performance of their existing applications. As legacy apps become more challenging to manage, they often limit an organisation's ability to innovate and scale. A
comprehensive modernisation assessment helps businesses stay competitive by identifying opportunities for cost savings, improving performance, and ensuring security in a cloud environment. This guide provides
practical steps to help you conduct an effective application modernisation assessment.
What is a legacy application?
Legacy applications are outdated systems with limited integration capabilities, often at end-of-life with no vendor support. Their inability to keep up with modern technology, along with high maintenance and security risks, makes them prime candidates for modernisation.
To identify which legacy applications should be modernised first, consider the following:
- Security vulnerabilities
- Performance bottlenecks
- High maintenance costs
What is application modernisation assessment?
An application modernisation assessment evaluates your organisation's application landscape and outlines a roadmap that aligns with the organisation’s technology strategy as well as what’s available in the market. The goal is to align these systems with your business objectives, ensuring they meet specific objectives such as scalability, security, and performance improvements. It is an essential step for businesses looking to maintain their competitive edge and make significant changes to their IT infrastructure.
Why application modernisation is crucial for modern enterprises
Modernising legacy applications is a critical strategy for organisations aiming to reduce costs, improve cloud adoption, and introduce new features that enhance the business value of their IT systems. Whether you're in finance, healthcare, or eCommerce, keeping legacy apps running efficiently while integrating them with modern systems is key to driving business strategy forward.
For example, the
Department of Human Services for South Australia Government needed to modernise and secure their portal for supporting victims of domestic violence. They had highly manual and tedious processes that we were able to digitse and integrate to streamline everything and provide a more secure and efficient experience for both the staff and the victims od domestic violence.
Business drivers for modernisation
- Increased agility and scalability in business operations
- Faster deployment of products and services to the market
- Uplifted compliance & enhanced security
- Simplified solution design and lower costs
The key components of an application modernisation assessment
Conducting an assessment requires evaluating multiple aspects of your current IT environment:
- Evaluating business goals and objectives: Align your modernisation efforts with specific business goals such as reducing operational costs or improving system scalability.
- Assessing your technology stack: Evaluate your current technology stack, including software, hardware, and cloud infrastructure, to identify areas needing improvement. Consider compatibility and security when planning for modernisation.
- Application modernisation strategies and frameworks: Choose the best app modernisation strategy, whether it's rehosting, refactoring, or replatforming. Microsoft Cloud Technologies can help streamline the process and enhance cloud adoption.
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The 7Rs of modernisation: Choosing the right strategy
Selecting the appropriate modernisation strategy is crucial to achieving your business objectives. The 7Rs framework provides options based on your organisation’s needs:
- Retain: Keep the application as-is if it's still delivering business value.
- Retire: Decommission apps that no longer serve a purpose.
- Rehost: Migrate the app to a cloud environment without changing its architecture.
- Replatform: Move the app to a cloud environment and optimise them for the cloud environment.
- Refactor: Rewrite parts of the app to improve performance.
- Replace: Replace the legacy app with a modern SaaS solution.
- Rebuild: Create a new app from scratch to meet specific objectives.
The role of automation in application modernisation
Automation tools, such as CDW’s SAMA, play a critical role in speeding up the modernisation process. Automation helps with tasks like source code analysis, reducing the time required to complete the assessment phase. This allows teams to focus on more strategic activities, ultimately driving faster and more efficient modernisation.
Conducting a holistic application portfolio review
A successful modernisation strategy begins with a review of the entire application portfolio. This process involves breaking down silos between IT, security, and development teams, while evaluating the performance, architecture, and future scalability of each app. Modernisation priorities should be based on business goals, current app performance, and resource availability.
Data security and compliance in modernisation assessments
Ensuring data security and compliance with regulations like HIPAA or GDPR is vital during the modernisation process. Modernising applications can help businesses meet compliance standards more effectively while reducing the risk of data breaches.
How to prioritise applications for modernisation
Prioritise applications by evaluating the complexity of modernisation, the business impact, and the available resources. Start with the systems that deliver the most immediate business value and are easiest to modernise.
Common challenges and solutions in application modernisation assessments
- Managing budget constraints: Start by modernising the most critical apps to see immediate cost savings.
- Addressing IT skill gaps: Consider outsourcing or upskilling your team to handle new technologies.
- Security and compliance issues: Ensure security is integrated into your modernisation strategy from the outset.
The benefits of a successful application modernisation assessment
- Improved efficiency and agility: Modernised applications reduce downtime and improve responsiveness.
- Enhanced scalability and flexibility: Applications designed for the cloud are more adaptable to changing business needs.
- Strengthened security and compliance: Modern apps are better equipped to handle security threats and compliance requirements.
- Reduced costs and resource optimisation: Modernisation reduces the time and resources spent maintaining outdated systems.
How to find the right application modernisation partner
Choosing the right partner is essential for a successful modernisation journey. Look for firms with experience in your industry, proven expertise in modernisation assessments, and a reputation for delivering results. Client reviews and case studies can help you evaluate potential partners.
Conclusion
By conducting an application modernisation assessment, businesses can transform their legacy applications into powerful tools that support innovation and growth. Don’t wait—start your modernisation journey today. For more information or to schedule a consultation, visit Canon Business Services.
