It is time to modernize your legacy applications for cloud

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Cloud adoption has grown tremendously, lowering costs in IT operations and significantly improving the application delivery speed.

A cloud journey can start by shifting the development of new applications to cloud. The entry barrier is low. A more complex and difficult phase of the journey is transforming the existing application landscape for cloud. Legacy applications on aging platforms increase technical debt and imply both a stability and security risk to the business. Typically, they also follow rigid change procedures that slow down digital enablement for the enterprise.

IT leaders recognize the issues and the question emerges: “How can I transform my legacy IT applications and operations to cloud”.

For medium to large enterprises, the portfolio contains hundreds to thousands of IT applications built on a combination of mainframe, service-oriented, database, web-based multi-tier, client-server and packaged architectures that individually need a path-forward strategy on whether to retain and enhance, rationalize, migrate or modernize.

Incremental Modernization Approach

IBM has combined years of client experience, industry best-practices, cognitive capabilities, tools and accelerators to build a cloud transformation delivery methodology we call Cloud Innovate. We are putting this to practice with our clients. This includes an incremental modernization approach to tackle the high-volume of applications and to modernize a target state that is more flexible in taking advantage of cloud.

Starting with a strategy and discovery phase, we assess the portfolio domains and then decompose and de-couple the components that form part of an increment in our modernization execution model. We use patterns. Examples include API enablement, micro-services re-engineering, database modernization, DevOps automation, containerization and code refactoring.

To reach full cloud potential, people and processes need to evolve. We help clients design and implement a new cloud target operating model built for cloud service management and operations. One important aspect is to integrate cognitive automation and embrace DevOps to fully capitalize on speed improvements in cloud.

IBM is being recognized for successfully leading digital transformations using cloud – see this Forbes article: “Inside IBM’s $7-Billion Cloud-Solutions Business: 4 Great Digital-Transformation Stories”

Start your cloud journey with IBM

The opportunity for legacy modernization to Cloud is now! IBM is engaged with clients to transform their IT to meet future business challenges with a more flexible and agile application portfolio modernized for cloud.

Have you started your cloud journey and where are you?  Connect with me via persson@dk.ibm.com or Linkedin. I would like to hear about your experience and challenges.

Stay tuned on the IBM Nordic Digital Blog for more details on how you can bridge and modernize your legacy world of IT to cloud, and gradually transfer to a new mode of operation.