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Published January 28, 2025
Article summary:
Learn the basics of application migration with our beginner's guide. Discover strategies, tools, and best practices for a seamless transition.
Product Owner, Ispirer Systems
Application migration means moving software applications from one environment to another. Reasons for such a move vary from trying to keep up with the tech to saving on the app's maintenance with the less demanding stack. Infrastructure-wise, companies can shift from on-premises servers to the cloud or switch between cloud providers.
For example, apps built on older frameworks like .NET 5 or Java 7 often need updates to work on AWS or Azure. Otherwise, they may fail to comply, miss out on better features, or require expensive custom maintenance.
Legacy apps (built on older technologies) also often lack the scalability, security, and performance compared to the newest tech. As a result, poor performance can cause many lags on the end-user side. Users can find themselves stuck on the slow page or confused by the broken parts of the UX. And, as Shopify says, in 40% of cases, they will leave your website asap.
That's why 87% of companies say modernizing critical apps is essential and that the competitive advantage is their top motivator. Also, 45% of companies have moved at least half of their apps to the cloud.
In the following sections, we'll break down the app migration process and the tools to simplify this (sometimes) long journey.
Understanding application migration
When companies decide to migrate their systems, it often stems from the need to improve security, reduce costs, make it better for users, and more. Typically, the responsibility for this project lies with the IT department, but it often involves finance, operations, and other teams to assess the costs, risks, and perks. The app migration project itself can involve several phases:
- Preparation
- Assessment
- Conversion
- Checking conversion results
- Customization
- Post-conversion refinement
- Testing
- Acceptance
- Cutover
A project like this usually takes 6 to 12 months or even more, depending on the complexity, and costs can vary. A simple migration might cost anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000, while a complete system overhaul could run into the hundreds of thousands. App migration automation can significantly cut these costs.
Key strategies for application migration
Let's explore a typical case for migration. A company has run a 10-year-old inventory management system on an Oracle database since the 2000s. It works well enough but is expensive to maintain and struggles to integrate with newer tools like Salesforce for invoice automation. Depending on their needs, they might choose to go for either of these six paths:
Rehosting (lift-and-shift)
The company could move the system as-is from its on-premises server to a cloud provider like AWS. They would get immediate benefits like improved uptime but wouldn't optimize performance or reduce maintenance complexity
Replatforming
They could make minor adjustments, such as migrating the Oracle database to a managed service like Amazon RDS. This move would ease administrative tasks like backups and scaling and keep most of the system intact.
Refactoring
If the inventory management system is too inflexible, they might break it into smaller, independent services. For example, separating inventory tracking, stock reordering, and supplier management on a modern stack. They would get scalability and new features like automating purchase orders.
Rebuilding or replacing
If the system no longer meets their needs, they could replace it with a modern cloud-based solution like Oracle Netsuite. Yes, this would involve higher upfront costs and a longer transition. But it could drop ongoing maintenance challenges and offer better integration with the new tools.
Repurchase
The company could replace its current inventory management system with a commercial, off-the-shelf solution. This way, they could migrate to a SaaS platform like Oracle Netsuite or SAP Inventory Management. They would drop the need for custom development and get regular updates and modern features without much in-house effort.
Retire
Sometimes, parts of the inventory system are outdated and no longer needed. For example, the old system might have a module for tracking product lines the company no longer manufactures. In this case, they could be retired entirely. Reduced complexity and no unnecessary maintenance costs would be a result of this strategy.
Retain
Certain system components that still work well, such as a reliable barcode scanning module, could be retained. These modules can remain as they are, with minimal updates, while the rest of the system undergoes migration or modernization.
Some strategies involve transforming old code into a new language for the entire application or specific parts. You can rewrite it manually or automate the process. The following guide is for you if you're willing to automate your old code upgrade. We'll cover each step of automatic app conversion to make it crystal clear.
Planning your migration
Migrating an app requires careful planning, and the first step is gathering accurate data about the future project. At the planning stage, you will need the following data:
1. Amount of source code. Or how much needs to be migrated. You will get a clear picture of the scope from the start.
2. Potential migration issues. Such as any broken or missing components, outdated database objects, or unsupported code so you can address issues early.
3. Database key parameters. Review your database structure: tables, objects, data sizes, etc.
4. Project duration. Try to obtain an accurate estimate of the migration time to plan your resources.
The Ispirer Metrics tool simplifies all of this and delivers a comprehensive report for applications. Our team is ready to guide you through the assessment process if you need assistance.
Tools and technologies for migration
The good news is that migrating apps between platforms and languages don't have to be 100% manual. nGLFly Wizard automates the migration process and reduces the project's timeline. The tool is part of the Ispirer Toolkit for cross-platform application migration. It automatically migrates source code between different languages and can even change the application's architecture. Let's say from desktop-based to web-based solutions.
Mixing the best automated migration tools and human intelligence is a wise business decision for eight reasons:
- You will need to analyze data types, object relationships, reserved words, and code structures that don't have direct equivalents in the target tech. It's much faster when automated.
- Automating much of the migration process will reduce both time and costs.
- nGLFly Wizard can be customized to add new things that the older app lacked.
- nGLFly Wizard also allows migrations from desktop applications. You can migrate apps written in Delphi, Informix 4GL, or PowerBuilder to modern web apps on JavaScript, Java, C#, or Python.
- For complex migrations, like COBOL to Java, nGLFly Wizard ensures the resulting code is clean, maintainable, and easy to work with.
- Ispirer offers expert support throughout the migration process.
- The tool operates offline with read-only access, so no data is transferred or modified without permission.
- Before the migration, you can assess your application's complexity for free. The tool provides the timeline estimates so you can plan accordingly. It's free to download and use.
When you've decided to move, download the tool, customize it to fit your needs, and start an automated migration process that many businesses trust.
Steps in the migration process
Let's break the app migration into manageable steps to make it less overwhelming. Here's a checklist that you can refer to at every step:
- Preparation
- Plan your approach and define the scope of the migration.
- Choose which parts of the system will be migrated first.
- Form your migration team, including project managers, architects, and engineers.
- Select which parts of the project can be migrated simultaneously.
- Set clear deadlines and timelines.
- Assessment
- Choose a flexible tool for automated assessment.
- Examine the source code to identify any unused parts.
- Evaluate the complexity of the existing code.
- Use tools like nGLFly Wizard and Ispirer Metrics to automate the assessment process and gather key insights.
- Adjust the timelines if needed.
- Choosing tools for automated migration
- Select the right tool for automated migration, like nGLFly Wizard.
- Conversion
- Use the chosen migration tool to generate the result code automatically.
- Checking conversion results
- Review the generated code and assess if it meets your expectations.
- Determine if there's an opportunity to increase the level of automation for even faster results.
- Customization
- Add new conversion rules to the migration tool if necessary.
- Tailor the tool to the requirements of your system and make adjustments as needed.
- Post-conversion refinement
- Fix any code issues that are not rationally addressed by the tool.
- Make manual interventions to refine the code and ensure it's optimized for your system.
- Testing
- Conduct thorough testing of the migrated application.
- Identify and fix any bugs or issues that arise.
- Test both the functionality and performance to ensure it matches the original application.
- Acceptance
- Perform user acceptance testing (UAT) to check if the migrated application meets the user's needs.
- Make any final bug fixes based on user feedback.
- Cutover
- Start using the migrated application in a live environment.
- Onboard users and make sure they're comfortable with the new system.
- Monitor the system continuously, with a dedicated team for improvement and updates.
Looking for an app migration team? With Ispirer's application migration services, you will get:
- Migration of the entire application, including business logic, GUI, reports, etc.
- Clean, maintainable code that mimics the original functionality without loss of features.
- A modernized application that allows for easy integration of new features.
Our customers have already accelerated their digital transformation and left the complexities of legacy applications behind.
Case studies
At Ispirer, we have helped businesses across various industries modernize their applications. Below are two case studies with the results of our migration services.
1. Migration service for a Delphi to C# transition
Customer: A manufacturer and supplier of gift packaging and accessories
Source tech: Delphi
Target tech: C#
Project scope: 40,000 LoC
Duration: 4.5 months
A U.S.-based gift packaging company needed to migrate its outdated Delphi application to a modern C# solution. The application had custom GUI controls and unique code structures, which made the process challenging.
Using a combination of automated migration with the Ispirer Toolkit and manual adjustments, we delivered the project in just 4.5 months. It was 4-5 times faster than doing it in-house. The result was a highly flexible, efficient application with enhanced performance and better integration capabilities.
Read the full case study: Migration service for a streamlined Delphi to C# transition
2. Two times faster migration for automotive supplier: COBOL to Java
Customer: Autobacs Seven Co., Ltd.
Source tech: COBOL
Target tech: Java
Project scope: 1,000 files, 400,000 LoC
Duration: 12 months
Autobacs Seven, a major automotive product retailer based in Japan, wanted to migrate their COBOL-based application to Java for better performance and scalability. The application was deeply integrated with Oracle databases and was critical for the company’s operations. With the Ispirer Toolkit, Autobacs could complete the migration in half the time it would have taken with other methods.
The project was finished in 12 months, and the upgraded Java application delivered enhanced performance and efficiency.
Read the full case study: Two times faster migration for automotive supplier
Conclusion
Application migration can seem complex, but with the right tools and strategies in place, it becomes a smooth and efficient process. Whether updating legacy systems or moving to the cloud, automated solutions like Ispirer’s can significantly reduce costs, time, and effort. Make the move now and stop outdated software from costing you potential profit!