How Application Modernization Can Help You Cut IT Costs
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer Jane Haynie
Revenue, budget, and cost management are on everyone’s mind these days. With many industries reeling from the sales and revenue hits and rapid technology adoption fueled by the pandemic, finding ways to be more cost-efficient without making cuts to customer satisfaction or product quality is more important than ever. Even companies in industries that fared well - or even grew - over the past year or two are facing an uncertain future and taking precautions for what might be ahead.
In times like these, it’s important to evaluate areas where your IT department can make changes that will build efficiencies and cut costs. One tactic that can produce significant savings while also future-proofing your business is modernizing legacy applications.
Challenges of Legacy Applications
Legacy applications pose a challenge for many organizations because, while the technology may be antiquated, these apps can still be integral to critical business processes. This means that replacing them is potentially incredibly cost-prohibitive and disruptive to day-to-day business operations. As a result, many companies choose to keep them even when their functionality can no longer keep up with the needs of the business.
Unfortunately, skill sets for these applications can be difficult and expensive to find. Up to 80% of a company’s budget can be spent maintaining legacy systems, according to some estimates. If you find yourself in this position, it might make more sense to take stock of which applications are still providing heavy value for the business, modernize them, and then cut loose any obsolete apps rather than continuing to support dying technology.
Why Modernize Your Applications?
Application modernization is an investment that pays dividends for years to come. When your monolithic applications are re-architected, replatformed, and refactored, you open up the ability to build and scale with modern tools such as:
● Hybrid and multi-cloud environments
● Containerization
● Microservices
● Data streaming
● Low-code/No code development
Modernizing applications is a high priority for almost 50% of CIOs, according to Future of Work. The cost benefits gained from reducing legacy infrastructure and support - and the time your team spends wrestling with poor performance - can be seen almost immediately, but they will become even more apparent as you watch the speed, agility, and efficiency of your applications skyrocket.
Application Modernization Case Study
One of our higher education clients is a great example of how application modernization can bring major benefits to a business’ bottom line. The client was in need of help modernizing their international application process, which had been neglected for some time. As one of the largest public colleges in Canada, it was imperative that their portals were efficient and easy-to-use so they could continue to attract high-performing students.
We worked with their internal teams to build a brand new front end, refresh and integrate the back end, build an application portal and an administrator portal, and migrate the entire application to Microsoft Azure Cloud where they could leverage cutting-edge features like Azure Active Directory B2C, Azure API Management, Azure Blob Storage, Azure Application Insights, and more.
By modernizing and upgrading its international application platform, the client has enabled users to view their status quickly at a glance, which had previously not been possible. Both the college and the students now enjoy faster turnaround time and a streamlined, efficient application process. In addition to reducing infrastructure costs and regaining potential lost tuition from students who abandon applications due to performance issues, they have also increased the college’s yield rate (percentage of accepted students who matriculate), making a positive impact on revenue.
Final Thoughts
Application modernization pays dividends to organizations of all sizes. In addition to reducing costs and providing better application performance, it also provides your company with cutting-edge tools that will enable you to scale IT for the future.
Revenue, budget, and cost management are on everyone’s mind these days. With many industries reeling from the sales and revenue hits and rapid technology adoption fueled by the pandemic, finding ways to be more cost-efficient without making cuts to customer satisfaction or product quality is more important than ever. Even companies in industries that fared well - or even grew - over the past year or two are facing an uncertain future and taking precautions for what might be ahead.
In times like these, it’s important to evaluate areas where your IT department can make changes that will build efficiencies and cut costs. One tactic that can produce significant savings while also future-proofing your business is modernizing legacy applications.
Challenges of Legacy Applications
Legacy applications pose a challenge for many organizations because, while the technology may be antiquated, these apps can still be integral to critical business processes. This means that replacing them is potentially incredibly cost-prohibitive and disruptive to day-to-day business operations. As a result, many companies choose to keep them even when their functionality can no longer keep up with the needs of the business.
Unfortunately, skill sets for these applications can be difficult and expensive to find. Up to 80% of a company’s budget can be spent maintaining legacy systems, according to some estimates. If you find yourself in this position, it might make more sense to take stock of which applications are still providing heavy value for the business, modernize them, and then cut loose any obsolete apps rather than continuing to support dying technology.
Why Modernize Your Applications?
Application modernization is an investment that pays dividends for years to come. When your monolithic applications are re-architected, replatformed, and refactored, you open up the ability to build and scale with modern tools such as:
● Hybrid and multi-cloud environments
● Containerization
● Microservices
● Data streaming
● Low-code/No code development
Modernizing applications is a high priority for almost 50% of CIOs, according to Future of Work. The cost benefits gained from reducing legacy infrastructure and support - and the time your team spends wrestling with poor performance - can be seen almost immediately, but they will become even more apparent as you watch the speed, agility, and efficiency of your applications skyrocket.
Application Modernization Case Study
One of our higher education clients is a great example of how application modernization can bring major benefits to a business’ bottom line. The client was in need of help modernizing their international application process, which had been neglected for some time. As one of the largest public colleges in Canada, it was imperative that their portals were efficient and easy-to-use so they could continue to attract high-performing students.
We worked with their internal teams to build a brand new front end, refresh and integrate the back end, build an application portal and an administrator portal, and migrate the entire application to Microsoft Azure Cloud where they could leverage cutting-edge features like Azure Active Directory B2C, Azure API Management, Azure Blob Storage, Azure Application Insights, and more.
By modernizing and upgrading its international application platform, the client has enabled users to view their status quickly at a glance, which had previously not been possible. Both the college and the students now enjoy faster turnaround time and a streamlined, efficient application process. In addition to reducing infrastructure costs and regaining potential lost tuition from students who abandon applications due to performance issues, they have also increased the college’s yield rate (percentage of accepted students who matriculate), making a positive impact on revenue.
Final Thoughts
Application modernization pays dividends to organizations of all sizes. In addition to reducing costs and providing better application performance, it also provides your company with cutting-edge tools that will enable you to scale IT for the future.
But application modernization isn’t the only strategy you can use to cut IT costs. To learn seven more ways you can shrink your budget, download our white paper.
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