Application Modernization Services on AWS - NEW
AWS Migration & Modernization Competency
Application Modernization Services on AWS
Reduce the operating drag of legacy applications without forcing an all-at-once rewrite. Stratus10 assesses the current system, selects the right modernization path for each component, and delivers the work in controlled stages with testing, rollback, and production stability built in.
63% lower
database read-tier cost
20%+ lower
Kafka hosting cost
AWS Competency
Migration & Modernization
$1,000 in AWS credits
with a free Windows assessment
Request a Modernization Assessment
A workload-level plan for what to keep, move, change, replace, or retire.
What is application modernization?
Application modernization updates an existing application's architecture, code, data, infrastructure, or delivery process so it is easier to operate and change. The work can range from moving a database to a managed AWS service to breaking a monolith into smaller services. The right path depends on the application's business value, technical debt, risk, and remaining useful life.
Stratus10 helps teams modernize on AWS without assuming every system needs to be rewritten. We assess the application, identify the constraints worth solving, compare practical options, and sequence the work so the business can keep operating.
A phased modernization can produce measurable results without a full rewrite.
BoviSync's production PostgreSQL database had grown to billions of rows on a self-managed EC2 deployment. Stratus10 moved it to Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL, then upgraded the database and tuned the read tier after the new platform was stable. The project reduced read-tier cost by 63%, cut storage-tier read traffic by 98% and limited write downtime during the upgrade to 16 minutes.
When an application needs modernization
Modernization is worth considering when the system still matters to the business but its current design creates a recurring constraint. Common signals include:
- Releases are slow because the application is difficult to test or deploy.
- A monolithic design makes small changes risky.
- The team depends on aging frameworks, operating systems, databases, or scarce skills.
- The application cannot scale with demand or recover cleanly from failures.
- Maintenance work is crowding out product work.
- Integrations rely on brittle point-to-point connections.
- Security, identity, logging, or audit controls are hard to maintain.
- Database or messaging infrastructure is expensive to run and difficult to operate.
- Windows or SQL Server licensing is limiting the available architecture choices.
The assessment should also identify systems that should be retained, replaced, or retired. Modernizing a low-value application can create a new platform the company did not need.
Application modernization assessment
The assessment turns a broad goal into a workload-level plan. Stratus10 reviews the current system and recommends which components to keep, move, change, replace, or retire.
What we review
- Business criticality and expected life of the application
- Architecture, codebase, frameworks, and operating systems
- Databases, storage, messaging, and integration points
- Current performance, availability, and scaling limits
- Security, identity, compliance, and data requirements
- Deployment process, testing, observability, and rollback capability
- Infrastructure and licensing cost
- Team skills, delivery constraints, and acceptable change risk
What you receive
- Current-state findings and technical-debt priorities
- Recommended modernization path by application or component
- Target AWS architecture
- Delivery sequence with pilot and production stages
- Risks, dependencies, and mitigation plan
- Directional effort, timeline, and operating-cost implications
- A decision on whether the application should be modernized now, later, replaced, or retired
Compare application modernization paths
Replatform to managed AWS services
Move selected components to managed services without redesigning the whole application. Examples include moving PostgreSQL or MySQL from EC2 to Amazon RDS or Aurora, or moving Kafka to Amazon MSK. Replatforming can remove patching, backup, failover, and capacity work while preserving the application interface.
Refactor the code
Improve the internal structure, test coverage, performance, or maintainability without changing the entire architecture. Refactoring is useful when the system works, but specific modules or data-access patterns create recurring problems.
Re-architect a monolith
Separate a tightly coupled application into modular services where the business needs independent scaling, deployment, or ownership. The target may use APIs, event-driven components, microservices, or managed messaging. The cost and testing burden are higher, so the business case must be clear.
Containerize the application
Package the application and its dependencies into containers for repeatable deployment across environments. On AWS, the operating model may use Amazon ECS with AWS Fargate or Amazon EKS. Containerization can improve portability and deployment consistency without requiring a complete code rewrite.
Adopt serverless components
Move event-driven or variable-demand functions to services such as AWS Lambda when server management adds little value. Serverless is a good fit for some workloads and a poor fit for others. Workload duration, latency, integration, observability, and cost behavior should drive the decision.
Modernize the database or data layer
Change the database platform, schema, access pattern, or analytics architecture. The work can include moving to Amazon RDS or Aurora, separating read workloads, introducing caches, or shifting a self-managed data platform to a managed AWS service.
Rebuild, replace, retain, or retire
Some systems need a ground-up rebuild. Others should be replaced with a SaaS product, kept in place, or decommissioned. The assessment compares these options before engineering work begins.
Our modernization delivery process
1. Assess the application and business case
Stratus10 conducts a discovery to identify dependencies, operating pain, business requirements, and acceptable risk. The team selects a modernization path for each component and defines success measures. A discovery report is provided to the customer.
2. Design the target and choose a pilot
The target architecture covers infrastructure, data, security, integrations, deployment, observability, and operations. A pilot test with the highest-risk assumptions is run on a contained workload or module before the team commits to other components.
3. Build and validate in stages
Modernization work is divided into deployable increments. Automated tests, performance checks, security review, data validation, and rollback criteria are added to the delivery process. Parallel environments can be used when a gradual transition reduces risk.
4. Cut over and stabilize
The production release follows a runbook with owners, checkpoints, and rollback conditions. The team monitors performance and user impact, fixes issues, and keeps the prior path available until the new component is stable.
5. Document and operate the modernized system
Stratus10 completes architecture and operating documentation, transfers knowledge, and establishes monitoring and support. Managed AWS Services is available when the client wants Stratus10 to operate the environment after delivery.
AWS modernization capabilities
Windows and .NET modernization
Assess Windows Server, SQL Server and .NET applications for licensing, platform, and architecture options. The path may include moving Windows workloads to AWS, shifting .NET applications to cross-platform .NET on Linux, changing database platforms, containerizing the application, or replacing selected components with serverless services.
Database modernization
Move self-managed databases to Amazon RDS or Amazon Aurora, upgrade major versions, change read-tier design, improve connection management, and automate backup and failover. For high-risk data moves, Stratus10 uses staged testing, change data capture, validation, and a documented rollback plan.
Containers and orchestration
Containerize applications with Docker and operate them through Amazon ECS, AWS Fargate, or Amazon EKS when the application benefits from repeatable environments, better scaling, and independent deployment.
Microservices, APIs, and event-driven architecture
Separate components when the business needs independent scaling, release cycles, or ownership. Stratus10 can design secure APIs, managed messaging, and event-driven integrations without breaking the system into more services than the team can operate.
CI/CD and Infrastructure as Code
Automate application and infrastructure delivery with services and tools such as AWS CodePipeline, AWS CodeBuild, AWS CloudFormation, and the client's existing source-control platform. The goal is repeatable deployment with approvals, testing, and a clear rollback path.
Observability and operational readiness
Add logs, metrics, traces, dashboards, and alerts that match the new architecture. The system is not ready when the code deploys; it is ready when the team can detect, investigate, and recover from a production issue.
Windows Modernization Assessment
Stratus10 provides a focused assessment for Windows and .NET workloads. The review can compare options such as:
- Windows Server to Linux where the application supports it
- SQL Server on EC2 or RDS to Amazon Aurora, PostgreSQL, or MySQL
- .NET applications on Windows to cross-platform .NET on Linux
- Containerized .NET applications on Amazon ECS or EKS
- Selected components moved to serverless or open-source services
The assessment considers application dependencies, licensing, testing, timeline, budget, and team capability.
Selected application modernization results
BoviSync: Aurora modernization at multi-billion-row scale
Stratus10 moved BoviSync's production PostgreSQL database from EC2 to Aurora, upgraded the database and tuned the read tier. Results included a 63% lower read-tier cost, 98% less storage-tier read traffic, and just 16 minutes of write downtime during the upgrade window.
Peachjar: Kafka to Amazon MSK
Peachjar's platform includes more than 60 services and hundreds of containers. Stratus10 moved Peachjar's Kafka messaging from a third-party host to Amazon MSK, reducing Kafka hosting cost by more than 20%, eliminating data-transfer costs in the new design, and adding repeatable CloudFormation deployment.
Skybound: WordPress containerization
Stratus10 containerized Skybound's WordPress application, used Amazon ECS and AWS Fargate for task execution, moved the database to Aurora Serverless for MySQL, and built CI/CD pipelines across development, staging, and production. CloudFormation made the environments repeatable and auditable.
Prime Time Produce: legacy ERP access with business continuity
Stratus10 moved Prime Time's data-center workloads to AWS and delivered their ERP application through Amazon WorkSpaces with SAML federation and Duo MFA. The migration preserved business continuity while adding remote access that expands with concurrent demand and a modern cloud foundation.
FAQs
Migration changes where the application runs. Modernization changes how some part of it is built, deployed, integrated, scaled, or operated. A project may migrate first and modernize later, or combine both when the added change is worth the risk.
Replatforming makes targeted platform changes, such as moving a database from EC2 to Amazon RDS, while keeping most of the application intact. Refactoring changes the code or internal design to improve maintainability, performance, or cloud fit.
No. Many applications can gain useful improvements through replatforming, database modernization, containerization, or focused refactoring. A rewrite is appropriate only when the current architecture blocks the required outcome and the business can support the cost and transition risk.
Yes. A staged approach is often safer. The team can modernize one database, service, deployment pipeline, or integration at a time, validate the result and expand from a stable baseline.
A contained replatforming or containerization effort may take several weeks. A complex application or portfolio can take months or longer. Timing depends on code quality, test coverage, dependencies, data migration, compliance, user change, and how much of the architecture will change.
The estimate starts with an assessment of the current application, target architecture, testing needs, data movement, security, deployment, and transition plan. The cost should be compared with ongoing maintenance, licensing, infrastructure, release delays, and business risk in the current state.
Yes. Stratus10 assesses Windows Server, SQL Server, and .NET workloads for migration, replatforming, containerization, cross-platform .NET, open-source database, and serverless options on AWS.
Stratus10 uses workload assessment, a contained pilot, incremental delivery, automated and manual validation, parallel environments where appropriate, production runbooks, monitoring, and rollback conditions. The exact controls depend on the system and release constraints.
Build a modernization roadmap before changing production
Share the application, the constraint it creates, and the outcome your team needs. Stratus10 will review the current situation and recommend a practical assessment path.
Request your assessment
Name, company email, and company name is all we need to start the review.