Software innovations and business growth are inextricably linked and go hand in hand from the beginning.

Everyone should be clear that the evolution of computer technologies and software solutions has enormously impacted the global business world and economic environment.

This is why today when a new turn of the industrial revolution is rapidly gaining momentum, the importance of enterprise application modernization comes to the fore.

Why legacy apps modernization is a must in today’s business environment?

The first operating systems and programming languages emerged in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In the late 1970s, businesses started implementing computers and software solutions on a massive scale and reaping the benefits of such innovations.

The introduction of the PC (IBM Personal Computer) in 1981 probably had the most significant effect on the future development of the global business world.

Soon after its initial release in 1988, the IBM i system acquired a reputation as the most reliable, secure, and advanced enterprise platform to power business processes.

Tens of thousands of organizations around the globe have implemented IBM i infrastructure over the years. In no small part, IBM i owes its long-term success to 5250 apps, often built with CA 2E (Synon), a popular tool for rapid IBM i application development.

IBM i green-screens are legendary today for their extremely high performance, reliability, and level of security that remains unmatched today.

But the world does not stand still, and digital technologies have come a long way since the 1980s. Even though the IBM i platform has remained relevant by focusing on its core strengths, such as seamless compatibility, most other technologies have evolved tremendously over the years.

And when it comes to the IBM i apps, which often play, without exaggeration, fundamental roles in a company’s processes, the need to make them up-to-date and meet modern-day requirements gets more and more pressure for all businesses.

Over time, using legacy applications and systems becomes increasingly problematic for a company, causing multiple bottlenecks and challenges.

In the age of digital transformation, if your business apps are not able to support the integration of the latest technologies (such as AI, cloud deployment, real-time analytics, etc.) that are vital to being competitive in today’s dynamic market, it can result in a severe decline of business performance overall.

Outdated apps are increasingly expensive to maintain. However, they don’t support modern-day cloud-based solutions to deliver high-profile and scalable capabilities at low costs. As a result, many old IBM i apps offer a poor user experience.

Generally, they need more innovation in this domain, which leads to lower employee productivity. Legacy applications are also considerably more vulnerable to security risks, including hacker attacks and data breaches.

What are the top 10 firsthand tips for companies considering app modernization?

As you can see, there is no shortage of reasons to initiate an IBM i application modernization project, and the sooner, the better. But, on the other hand, you don’t want to rush with developing and implementing new apps without careful planning and building a detailed modernization roadmap.

The selection of software tools to facilitate such a project is another crucial stage of creating an app modernization strategy.

Here are 10 quick firsthand tips and recommendations on application modernization that should be among your priorities during the initial planning stages.

1 - Modernization goals should be aligned with business KPIs

Modernization for the sake of modernization is a common mistake many organizations make when approaching this issue. First, identify all essential business KPIs and ensure they align with the company’s digital goals.

Create your legacy application modernization program based on these goals.

2 - Account for both technology and business factors

It is also typical for organizations to focus on technologies primarily when planning and implementing application modernization projects, forgetting about business factors.

Both technological and business aspects of replacing old apps with new ones should be accounted for in a balanced manner.

3 - Eliminate redundant features and applications

Many features and even whole applications that were once necessary will be redundant as part of the modern-day business IT network.

Your job is to identify those features and apps during the initial modernization planning and find ways to eliminate them without disrupting the processes.

4 - Integrate new tech to overcome business challenges and empower workers

Utilizing new technologies, such as AI, machine learning, Big Data, real-time analytics, etc., and integrating them into business applications is essential for modernization.

But the pursuit of technological innovations should not be an end in itself. Instead, look for ways to use advanced tech capabilities in modernized business apps to solve business challenges and make staff more productive.

5 - Prioritize the creation of customer-centric solutions

One of the aspects of the currently unfolding digital transformation is an increased focus on customer-centric IT solutions. As a result, outdated legacy apps can’t be customer-centric unless modernized.

When still in the app modernization planning stage, prioritize business capabilities crucial to providing truly customer-centric solutions.

6 - Data modernization is required as well

Data modernization is another aspect of general legacy application modernization. For example, we should transfer data from outdated formats and databases to modern cloud-based databases.

Data modernization would allow you to integrate the information from your business apps with various data intelligence and visualization tools and other third-party business solutions.

7 - Map business capabilities to identify areas that need new apps

The analysis of current business operations and abilities should be conducted to determine white spaces in the processes that outdated applications do not cover.

For example, new business apps would have to be developed and implemented to eliminate these blanks and strengthen the value stream.

8 - Invest in augmenting current apps with new features

In some cases, a better alternative to building a whole new app to cover some of the white spaces in business operations would be integrating modern features in current applications as part of modernization.

Some of the new features may require time and substantial effort. For example, the modernization roadmap should help identify features worth these investments based on their potential impact on business processes.

9 - Protect your apps against cyber threats

The original business apps were mainly

developed when organizations didn’t require any severe cybersecurity features for their business apps. The applications were used internally, and developers did not need to include any sophisticated security mechanisms in apps as authorization occurred at the application entry point.

This is not the case today, so implementing up-to-date security and protection against cyber threats is part of your application modernization project.

10 - Take steps to maximize your application modernization ROI

Naturally, the modernization of apps should lead to improved performance, better efficiency, and other benefits for the company. But proper planning and selection of tools should allow you to maximize your application modernization ROI (return on investment).

To get a higher ROI, make sure app changes enable better developer productivity, improve operational efficiency and reduce costs as much as possible.

Do we have one platform for all your app modernization needs?

Visual LANSA is a low-code, rapid application development platform for building enterprise-grade mobile, web, and desktop apps. This platform has been a critical component powering hundreds of organizations' successful delivery of IBM modernization projects.

Utilizing Visual LANSA allows organizations of all sizes to use their existing development resources to build new apps and integrate them with other IT systems.

It enables easy IBM app modernization by simplifying this process as much as possible and minimizing the need for technical skills to complete an app development project.

The arsenal of development instruments and features offered includes several tools created for the IBM i platform to make the modernization of IBM i apps and related systems accessible to any business.

Is there a framework for fast and easy app portals creation?

Portalize is a fully functional and customizable portal framework with robust security and access control elements. By providing pre-maid portal components, Portalize simplifies the creation of app portals and saves your developers from the need to code complex portal features.

LANSA prioritized security when developing Portalize and other IBM i modernization tools. In addition, we placed our expertise in data security into Portalize to ensure that your application is up to date with modern security standards.

The framework incorporates a wide range of pre-built administrative features that can be integrated into any app. For example, admins can easily manage user accounts and fully control users' security and notification settings.

They can control session logging and turn Google Analytics on or off. Whether you have a few, a few hundred, or a few thousand users, Portalize’s admin features will make keeping control of your portal users a snap.

Portalize also allows you to enable request validation checks for enhanced security. This is in addition to IP monitoring and banning features from reducing malicious attempts and thwarting attacks. You can also limit login attempts and control the number of security questions and the actual questions asked.

Which tool can combine new and legacy applications?

Rapid Application Modernization Process (RAMP) is an incremental modernization approach that implements the best refacing of existing applications and new development. By consolidating existing functionality with new capabilities inside RAMP’s application framework, you get the applications you want without throwing everything away.

Modernization is performed in stages, new functionality can be introduced incrementally without a profound impact on business operations, and the user interface becomes consistent across all applications.

Are you ready to web-enable your old IBM i apps for free right now?

aXes is a tailor-made solution created by LANSA for IBM i users exclusively and designed to automate the creation of web-enabled IBM i applications. It allows organizations to quickly transform their existing IBM i 5250 apps into web pages out-of-the-box without changing source code.

In addition, aXes includes an API that will enable developers to automatically create programs to operate applications written with RPG or COBOL. Additionally, applications can use aXes to simulate a person’s actions entering data on screens in an IBM i application.

This feature makes it possible to integrate 5250 apps with .NET, Java, and other platforms without changing their source code. For example, aXes caters to a wide range of automation options with versions of the API for .NET for Windows, Java for IBM i and Windows, and RPG for IBM i.