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***Editor's Note: Without proper governance SOA can become inflexible, expensive, and ultimately ineffective. Learn effective SOA governance at this ebizQ webinar!
The need to modernize legacy applications has never been greater. Intense global
competition and web-based innovations are forcing companies to find efficient
and cost-effective ways to refresh old applications and integrate them into
their current IT infrastructures, while causing minimal disruption to business.
The good news is that application modernization is more "doable" than
ever, thanks to new standards-based open technologies.
Legacy applications, which usually contain a company's essential business functionality,
are expensive and difficult to maintain. Completely replacing these applications
is never a viable option because the cost and time involved would be grossly
disproportionate to the benefit.
As with most important programming endeavors, application modernization can
be done in different ways, depending on a company's needs, budget, IT expertise,
and knowledge of the pros and cons of each approach.
Broadly speaking, there are three ways to transform a legacy application into
a modern one: rewrite it; purchase an off-the-shelf solution; or migrate the
application to a web-based platform.
Application modernization initiatives enable companies to quickly and efficiently
move legacy applications to modern web-based platforms that deliver optimal
functionality and flexibility, to comply with regulatory requirements, and to
keep pace with competitors without disrupting their operations. In addition,
such initiatives help businesses to cut operational costs, while refocusing
existing budgets to serve new projects.
Different ways to modernize applications
Rewrite an application
The big advantage of rewriting an application is that you can customize it exactly
as you want it. Any application that no longer meets current business requirements
will likely require a re-architecture and change in business logic.
On the downside, however, the process of rewriting is very time-intensive and
expensive, and consumes a lot of internal resources. Another negative is that
the process can be disruptive to the end-user's work life, as they have to do
their job while learning new technology.
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