Modernization is a scary topic. After all, modernizing your outdated applications is a complicated job. What approach should we take? Which tool do we use? Where do we start?

I’d like to help simplify modernization for you. If you boil it down, there are two essential aspects of any modernization project:

1. It shouldn’t disrupt business.

2. The foundation of the applications must be replaced.

I doubt anyone will argue with me on the first point. Nobody wants to disrupt business with a modernization project. However, the second point often raises questions: Why must the foundation be replaced? Why can’t we just replace the front end?

Let me ask you a question: If I take a 1990 Toyota Corolla, and replace the body with that of a 2010 Toyota Corolla, did I “modernize” that car? Of course not. I would still be driving a car built with 20-year old technology. The same is true for applications, but even more so. If you only replace the front end, you’re not only using applications built on outdated technology, you’re using applications built for an entirely different era.

Now, that’s just a quick explanation, but there is much more to this topic…far too much for me to fit in one post. If you want to learn more, check out this free whitepaper entitled “Crash course in modernization.” It covers the basics of modernization, and also explains in greater detail the importance of modernizing the underlying foundation of the application.