App Modernisation in Microsoft Azure

Application modernization is the transformation of a legacy app’s features, infrastructure and code to better align it with an organization’s business requirements.

There are multiple options for application modernisation, for e.g. rehosting a legacy app in the cloud or entirely replacing the existing application all together. The best choice will depend on the application in question as well as the budget for the project and the capabilities of the technology partner.

One process of modernizing apps using containers is called ‘containerisation.’ Modernizing legacy applications is an important component of digital transformation. App modernization with Microsoft Azure helps you leverage microservices, serverless architecture, and containers to remove huge dependencies within your products and create smaller and independently deployable components. App modernization using Microsoft Azure containers is one of the best ways to digitize your Line of Business (LOB) apps. It enables you to get to market faster and with greater agility. Moving an on-premise application into Azure provides an opportunity to reduce the associated infrastructure spend and also shift from a CapEx to OpEx model.

Benefits of modernizing applications

· Faster app modernisation and DevOps agility

· Reduced total cost of ownership and lower deployment costs

· Improved time-to-market and reduction in IT admin

· Better security protocols and improved performance

Cloud migration steps to consider for app modernisation when migrating to the Cloud

Discovery

Before starting a migration project, it is necessary to do a discovery of all the existing applications used by the organization therefore technical information gathering is required. This step is essential to understand which applications are most used by the organisation and more importantly, which are critical applications for the business using the well Architect Framework.

Assessment

After making an assessment of your existing applications, you can start making a more exhaustive technological analysis which will help provide the best strategy and a clear roadmap based on business needs. Here is where application modernisation plan is created which sets target cloud architecture and application modernisation plan to either rehost, replatform, refactor or rebuild.

Migration

You’ve made a list of all existing applications that would benefit from app modernisation and you also have information about your organisation’s architecture and technological stack. Migrating your application can now begin with details strategy outlined in the Assessment phase.

Summary

The app modernisation steps are just the first step on the journey for organisations to become cloud-native companies. By taking this first step, they become more familiar with designing initiatives that are oriented towards a cloud reality. App modernization using Azure containers not only enables you to bring a culture of digital transformation and automation but also help you to achieve the most substantial benefits of the cloud.