Importance of 7 R Strategy for Cloud App Modernization

So, what does it mean when someone says they want to modernize their application for the cloud? Okay, let me tell you – consumers share a common perspective: they expect modernization to result in better user experiences, more dependability, better performance, and, ideally, more often, feature updates. Many architects, developers, and DevOps engineers explain app modernization differently. 

Why so?

Various technical methods exist for modernizing apps, and the ideal one isn’t always apparent. Organizations nowadays prefer application modernization solutions instead of working on their legacy systems. The application modernization services market is expected to value around USD 32.8 billion by 2027. The popularity is evident, though!

Now, for instance, dozens of individuals utilize the workflow software made in the most recent versions of MySQL and Java, which might be simple to move to a public cloud. This technique involves code rewriting and calls for CI/CD updates, new test automation runs, and configuration modifications. On the other hand, there is a reasonable probability that the app will need to be rewritten entirely before running in the cloud.

However, between all the lift and shift and a total revamp, there are still several technological choices or ‘the 7 R’s of cloud app modernization.’ This is the hottest and most crucial part of legacy modernization services. On a brighter note, here we’ll discuss the same.

Firstly, let’s start with the basics.

What is Application Modernization?

Application modernization is the act of modifying, rewriting, or relocating legacy system software to work more efficiently with a new infrastructure. It includes migrating to the cloud, developing serverless apps, containerizing services, or updating data pipelines using modern DevOps techniques. 

Application modernization is sometimes called legacy or app modernization since it extends the lifespan of an organization’s applications while utilizing advanced technologies instead of abandoning or replacing an existing outdated system.

Understanding the Difference Between Legacy and Modern Apps

In legacy systems, all components are frequently merged onto a single platform, making them monolithic single-tier software solutions. Consequently, it is essential to distinguish clearly between the various parts of monolithic systems. 

As a result, updating one component of the app necessitates the release of a new version of the entire application. Similarly, locating and fixing a failure in one area may be challenging while still allowing for full functionality. Because legacy apps are monolithic, upkeep and maintenance can be quite labor- and time-intensive. 

Application modernization solutions, however, are divided into small, loosely coupled services called microservices. Here, containers are runtime environments. They store microservices and contain only the operating system (OS) components needed to run them.  

Benefits of Application Modernization

Application modernization solutions give legacy and old apps new life. It often occurs as part of a larger organization’s digital transformation strategy; however, modernizing legacy applications aims to reduce operational costs and streamline the company’s operations. Here are some advantages of application modernization solutions:

• Significant long-term cost savings exist with a more effective infrastructure and pay-as-you-go strategy.

• Due to uptime and performance improvements, applications can accomplish more incredible things with the same resource allocation. 

• Refactoring a database from a legacy system to a more up-to-date one can save performance overhead and open the door to new functionality.

• Enterprises can terminate and close down resources as necessary with the help of container and orchestration technologies like Kubernetes and Docker.

• Automating playbooks or workflows to ease the strain of low-level administrative tasks is possible by converting legacy systems to new infrastructure and enabling data-driven analytics.

Now, let’s move to the heart and soul of our article and learn about the seven famous R’s of legacy app modernization services. 

7 R Strategy for Application Modernization

Only organizations considering cloud migration and legacy modernization services to be completely different things can utilize the 7 R strategy efficiently. With almost minimum hazards and no downtime, these strategies help businesses modernize applications. 

Let’s understand these R’s one by one:

1. Retire

It is more cost-effective for businesses to eliminate apps with outdated elements and unnecessary features. It also disperses the need to start everything from scratch and enables companies to streamline their existing apps and codebases with minimal effort. Organizations need to decide on the ownership of applications after finding applications for migration and modernization. 

AWS claims that about one-fifth of the company’s IT portfolio has to be eliminated since it’s no longer relevant. The cost savings are expected to help organizations do better business by focusing their staff on apps that are in demand and reducing the number of applications that need to be safeguarded. 

2. Rehost 

Rehost method entails relocating applications without changing them. This is compatible with businesses’ objectives to ensure a quicker transition. Although tools usually handle rehosting when automatic, some firms choose a manual method to comprehend moving legacy apps to the cloud entirely.

Rehosting, also known as the lift and shift method, allows applications to get redeployed in a virtual environment quickly. Applications run without a glitch in the new environment, even when their data is moved without being altered. Rehosting occurs significantly more rapidly, allowing businesses to optimize going forward with little initial outlay. 

3. Replatform

The platforming technique includes modifying the organization’s cloud platform to experience solid advantages. This allows organizations to manage their app system’s basic design, drastically reducing the time needed to manage database queries.

Organizations can migrate their apps to a database-as-a-service (DBaaS) platform, such as Amazon RDS or Amazon Relational Database Service. Migrating their application to a fully managed environment is another choice businesses must make. This aids organizations in minimizing licensing costs while working the virtue of the primary architecture. 

Also, changing the cloud vendor or using various cloud services from a single vendor during this phase is quite similar to rehosting. Replatforming while modernizing apps has advantages identical to rehosting, but optimizing the former requires more work.

4. Refactor

With the aid of the finest legacy app modernization services with cloud-native capabilities, the refactor strategy enables businesses to rethink how to design and create apps. Application refactoring is motivated by critical business needs that would be challenging to fulfill in the current environment, such as adding features, scaling, or improving performance. 

Although this strategy costs money, it is still considered the most profitable for a company with a good product. In essence, refactoring includes updating the app modernization design. Organizations favor serverless architectures when modernizing apps to take advantage of better opportunities. However, this technique requires more time and effort, so it’s a drawback. 

5. Retain

Before migration and modernization, the retain approach stacks and prioritizes apps that need major updating but are crucial to the organization’s operations. Organizations should migrate only the apps that boost productivity at the workplace. As the power of their portfolio grows, there will be fewer circumstances to retain their applications.    

6. Relocate 

Without requiring new hardware, changes to current operations, or rewriting applications, the relocation strategy aids enterprises in moving their infrastructure to the cloud. This approach encourages workload mobility and VM compatibility between cloud and on-premise environments. The relocation method was created explicitly for companies migrating their architecture to the VMware cloud. 

7. Repurchase 

Repurchasing is the first step towards the adoption of software-as-a-service (SaaS). For instance, they use an open-source server instead of apps housed on premises in the SaaS model. Companies regularly find cloud-based software that, with the acquisition of a license, may replace their existing on-premise systems. The term’ drop and shop’ also describes this method. 

Application Modernization: Key Takeaways! 

As technology develops, more companies will use cloud-based solutions to assist them in achieving their objectives and maintaining the efficiency of their operations. By switching to cloud app modernization, you can save much money compared to the high expense of upkeep, updating gears, and data centers, which might eventually become outdated. 

Software teams can now optimize current systems for these increasingly distributed computer paradigms by modernizing them rather than developing them from scratch. A relief, isn’t it? As a result, hybrid cloud and multi-cloud are two fundamental driving forces behind legacy modernization. 

However, app modernization is not a piece of cake, as it requires much time and effort. 

No need to worry!

Here’s the deal – with a solid plan and proper orchestration, organizations can simplify and switch to the cloud without any mishap.

And as per my suggestion, you can also collaborate with a good application modernization company to begin a smooth journey toward modernizing your apps. Also, it will help organizations concentrate their efforts on things that are essential to their goals, increasing efficiency and productivity. 

That’s all from my end.

I hope you enjoy the article and it helps solve your queries. 

Thank you!