Our thoughts on the future of digital innovation and the cloud.

In today’s fast-paced business world, technology is constantly evolving. Companies that fail to keep up with these changes risk falling behind their competitors and losing their market position.

Application modernization is the process of updating and upgrading outdated software applications to make them more efficient, secure, and user-friendly; in most cases this involves using modern cloud based services and development techniques.

In this series of posts about Application Modernization, I will be exploring this topic from various angles from what it is all about, why you should consider modernizing your organization’s applications, what the risks are and what the return on investment (ROI) could be. Check back for more posts on this topic.

There are several reasons why a company should consider application modernization.  The risks of not tackling application modernization are the same, so when reading the list below, consider the inverse in terms of what if you didn’t modernize your applications, these benefits instead turn into risks for your organization.

• Legacy Systems: Legacy systems are outdated software applications that are difficult to maintain, modify, and scale. As a result, they can limit a company’s ability to innovate and compete.  In many cases, the se legacy systems are not well understood or documented by the current IT team that is responsible for supporting and maintaining it.  This is a risk to the organization, but it also poses an opportunity to document and train staff on the application as it is being modernized.

• Security Risks: Older software applications can be vulnerable to security threats and data breaches. Modernizing these applications can help improve their security and reduce the risk of a cyber attack.  Often these older applications are running on outdated and no longer supported operating systems that no longer receive regular security patches (such as Windows Server 2008 or 2012).  Without proper security updates and patches, these applications are at risk of being hacked or compromised. This can lead to a loss of sensitive data, financial loss, and damage to a company’s reputation.

• High Costs: Maintaining and operating outdated software applications can be expensive. Sometimes this is due to a lack of skillsets in old development languages that the application is built on, which typically means that hiring people with those skillsets comes at a much higher cost than regular application development resources.  As applications become more obsolete, they can become more difficult and costly to maintain. This can lead to increased IT support costs and downtime, which can impact productivity and revenue. In contrast, modernizing applications can help reduce costs over time by improving operational efficiency and reducing maintenance and support requirements.

• Poor User Experience: Outdated software applications can be difficult to use and navigate, leading to frustration and inefficiencies for users because the interface does not use modern techniques that users have become accustomed to. It could also be a lack of support for mobile devices, which also frustrates users because the workforce is increasingly more mobile and has an expectation that every application should be accessible from wherever they are.  If employees feel that their company is not providing applications that meet their expectations, it could lead to dissatisfaction among employees and increased turnover.  Modernizing these applications can help improve the user experience.

• Inability to Innovate: Outdated software applications may not support new business models or hinder innovation, limiting a company’s ability to grow and expand.  Without modern applications that can support new features and functionalities, a company may be unable to respond to changing customer needs and market trends. This can result in lost opportunities for revenue growth and decreased market share.  There may be an inability to integrate with SaaS based tools or other systems that the organization relies on to run its business.  Integration is a key benefit for companies achieving innovation through automation or breaking down silos within an organization and many legacy systems do not have the ability to easily integrate with newer systems.

• Lack of Scalability: Many older applications are not scalable beyond simply increasing the compute and storage capacity of the hosts that the application resides on.  This vertical scalability can often limit a company’s ability to meet end user or customer demand during peak times without building an environment that is over provisioned to meet peak demand, which means that there are unused resources that could be better utilized the majority of the time.  Modern applications leverage techniques such as microservices that break down an application into its smallest functional parts that can scale and operate independent of each other, whereas legacy applications typically operate as one large monolithic code base.

• Compliance Risks: Outdated software applications may not comply with the latest industry standards or regulatory requirements. This can lead to compliance risks, including financial penalties, legal liability, and reputational damage. As an example, cyber security insurance providers are increasingly requiring more detail about customer’s application environments to ensure that they meet various security standards and requirements.  There have been examples of companies being declined cyber security coverage because they failed an audit of their environment.  Modernizing applications can help ensure that a company is in compliance with industry standards and regulations, reducing the risk of non-compliance.

• Competitive Advantage: Modernizing outdated software applications can often help a company stay competitive by enabling it to deliver new products and services more quickly and efficiently than its competition.  A modern application approach enables greater agility for a company that can translate into efficiencies in delivering its products and services to end customers.  Additionally, modernized applications may introduce cost savings that enable a company to deliver its products and services at a profit for lower prices than its competitors can, thereby creating an opportunity to grab market share away from the competition.

In conclusion, the risks of not doing application modernization can be severe and far-reaching. Security risks, increased costs, poor user experience, inability to innovate, and compliance risks are just a few of the potential consequences of failing to modernize outdated software applications. By prioritizing application modernization, companies can stay competitive, improve efficiency, and reduce risk.

If you are considering embarking on an Application Modernization initiative, Invero is here to help you to navigate the process and manage these risks for you as you embark on your application modernization journey.  Through years of experience developing cloud native applications, refactoring and replatforming legacy applications, Invero has a track record of knowing how to navigate the risks and deliver a modernized application for its clients in a secure and cost effective manner. 

Contact us today to learn more about our Application Modernization services.

• Application Modernization Assessment
• Proof of Concept Development
• Full Application Modernization