Here’s a million dollar question: What’s the best application modernization method for your company?

Here’s the answer: It depends.

If your company needs to modernize existing legacy applications, choosing the best method varies largely on your needs, goals, and resources. You’ll need to answer a few questions before you begin, such as:

• Why are you modernizing in the first place?
• What’s your budget?
• When do you need the job completed?
• What do you hope to accomplish?

If you need help choosing the best modernization solution for your company, here are a couple of things that could help: First, here’s a free whitepaper entitled “Crash course in modernization,” that takes an in-depth look at the modernization basics. We’ve also created a handy little comparison chart, which compares 5 different modernization methods.

	Screen Scraping	Code Conversion	Rip and Replace	Buy new and migrate	Extend and surround
What is it?	Scrapes data from legacy apps and displays it in a graphical format	Convert legacy code into modern code	Throw out old apps and build new apps from the ground up	Purchase pre-built applications and migrate existing data	Gradually surround legacy applications with modern applications
Does it replace legacy code?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Does it replace legacy architecture?	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Speed	Fast	Fast	Very Slow	Slow	Variable (Moves at your own pace)
Cost	Cheap	Cheap	Expensive	Very Expensive	Moderate
Risk	Low	Low	High	Moderate	Low
Ongoing maintenance	Difficult	Difficult	Easy	Easy	Easy
Business Disruption	Low	Low	High	High	Low
Advantages	Fast and Cheap	Fast and Cheap	Produces modern apps that are built for your business	Gives you completely modern apps faster than the “rip-and-replace” method	Lets you modernize at your own pace, and re-use existing code as needed.
Disadvantages	Not actually modernization Limited capabilities Difficult maintenance	Doesn’t replace legacy architecture Limited capabilities Difficult maintenance	High-risk Time consuming	High cost Requires a lot of customization	Time consuming
Ideal for…	Companies that need to appear modern, without actually modernizing	Companies that want to turn old code into new code without actually modernizing	Companies with a large developer staff who need a completely custom solution	Companies who need modern applications but lack the time for the “rip-and-replace” method	Companies on a budget who want a custom modernization solution at a prioritized pace with minimal disruption
Long-term modernization solution?	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

Of course, if you have any questions about modernization, feel free to let us know. We’ve helped countless companies modernize their legacy apps over the last 30 years, and would be more than happy to help you. If you need help, just fill out this short form and let us know what you have on your plate.