Oct

App modernization: It’s a lot easier than you might think

containers

app modernization

serverless

aws architecture

aws services

Cloud Migration

windows workloads

Tue, 10/18/2022 - 08:25

Contrary to popular belief, application modernization is not the daunting task that it once was. Thanks to a variety of newly advanced services and tools available today, modernizing your applications utilizing containers and serverless infrastructure can be quick, easy, and stress-free. And by taking advantage of cloud migration and modernization tools, companies such as DraftKings, FileForce, and Expedia are experiencing lower costs and higher profits.

What is application modernization?

(Myth: App modernization is a huge undertaking for legacy applications.)

Application modernization is the strategic upgrading of older software and infrastructure to take advantage of more advanced computing methodologies, such as newer languages, infrastructure platforms, containerization, and serverless frameworks. Rather than retiring or replacing older legacy systems, application modernization strategies extend the lifespan of a company’s applications while making them faster, scalable, more secure, and less costly to operate. Nowadays, it’s easy to update legacy systems with complex interdependencies.

Benefits of application modernization and migration

Modernizing applications helps organizations better align with their constantly evolving business goals and objectives. Modernizing also helps smaller and midsize businesses to keep up with the competition by seizing new opportunities for future growth. By improving the systems’ agility, companies innovate faster, save on infrastructure costs, and enhance end user utilization. Other potential benefits include:

Faster time to market of new products and services
Expedited development and deployment of newer, bigger features
Enhanced compatibility across platforms
Reduced licensing costs
Reduced support costs
Increased security
Ability to leverage container orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes that can balance workloads much better than virtual machines.
Migration of legacy programs to cloud-native applications
And so much more.

There are several approaches to application modernization, and each organization must decide which pathway (or combination of pathways) best suits its unique demands and strategic priorities. While each different approach to modernization comes with its own associated benefits, many smaller and medium-sized organizations lack the in-house staff to transition to these new technologies cost-effectively. Partnering with an expert systems integrator like Stratus10 will make the transition far less complex while reducing or eliminating potential systems downtime during the transition.

Modernization and migration: Pathways to success

Once an organization decides to implement a strategy of app modernization and cloud migration, the journey is just beginning. Yet, there are many different pathways to success— depending on the companies’ various applications, systems, data, and infrastructure.

SQL Server on EC2 Linux
Organizations searching for a cost-effective and self-managed way to run SQL Server might consider transitioning to running SQL Server on Linux. This approach strengthens infrastructural security while bolstering overall operational performance. SQL Server on Linux also offers a similar, user-friendly experience to Windows— but without the inflated price tag.
SQL Server to Amazon Aurora
Amazon Aurora is a relational database specially designed for the cloud. By migrating your SQL Server databases to either MySQL or PostreSQL, organizations save money on costly licensing fees associated with SQL Servers vs. the open-source MySQL or PostgreSQL database engines. Organizations might also consider utilizing Babelfish—a mapping middleware that empowers the Aurora technology to understand application commands written for Microsoft SQL Server. Babelfish minimizes effort on the application side so that applications can still use the database (which is now a MySQL or PostgreSQL database) in a similar way it used the SQL Server database.
Serverless deployment of .NET applications using AWS Lambda
AWS Lambda technology allows organizations to run code without managing or provisioning multiple servers. With Lambda, companies gain the ability to run ASP.NET applications (which are built for Windows operating systems) while reducing operational costs of Windows licensing fees. This serverless AWS Lambda tool is useful in running code for automating the management of compute resources. By taking advantage of a Lambda, companies avoid the drudgery associated with managing, patching, and scaling the virtual machines used to run .NET applications.
.NET Core on Linux Containers
Organizations are growing increasingly interested in hosting microservices-based applications, and AWS provides a number of services making it easy to do. One of those services is AWS Fargate, which is a compute engine that allows you to run containers without needing to manage, provision, or scale the Amazon EC2 infrastructure.

This modernization path allows you to containerize .NET applications and run them either on an EC2 instance (running Linux and docker) or with ECS or EKS or Fargate. With an Amazon ECS/Fargate combination, organizations can run microservices codes in many different languages— including NET Core, Java, Python, and Ruby on Rails.
Windows Containers Support with Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS)
Amazon EKS is a fully managed Kubernetes service, operates in the AWS cloud, and enables complete production support for Windows containers. With Amazon EKS, businesses can run Windows worker nodes and Linux worker nodes in tandem. These impressive capabilities allow organizations to utilize a single cluster for the management of applications on either platform.
App2Container (A2C)
A command-line tool for migrating and modernizing Java and .NET web applications, App2Container containerizes existing applications and automatically generates a container image configured with correct dependencies, network configurations, and deployment instructions for ECS or Kubernetes. A2C provisions the cloud infrastructure and CI/CD pipelines, standardizing on a single set of tooling for monitoring, operations, and software delivery. This allows you to unify infrastructure and skill sets, saving on both infrastructure and training costs.

It’s never too late–or too daunting–to modernize your applications

Major conglomerates like AgriDigital, DraftKings, EposNow, Expedia, FileForce, and EposNow are modernizing their applications. Consequently, they are consistently lowering operating costs, discovering new ways to innovate, strengthening security, and improving overall performance. Yet, each company is utilizing a different combination of modernization pathways that include Linux, Babelfish, Amazon Aurora, AWS Lambda, AWS Fargate, Amazon EKS, Amazon ECS, and more.
It’s never too late for app modernization, especially regarding legacy applications and programs. Don’t get left behind.

For more information on the best application modernization strategy for your business, contact Stratus10 today.

Read cases of small and medium businesses on their different pathways to app modernization :

Get in touch with a Stratus10 cloud expert today!