4 Strategies for Modernizing Your Business Applications

Which option is right for you to get modern? How do you know what to prioritize? Lots of strategies, depending on your needs and resources. Whether you need to migrate to the cloud or optimize existing applications quickly. The only wrong approach is staying put. Here are four things to consider:

Rehost

Often referred to as “lift and shift” migration, this no-code option lets you migrate your existing applications to Azure quickly—without the risks or costs of making code changes.

Use for:

• Moving applications to the cloud quickly
• Apps that use Azure IaaS scalability
• Businesses that require the applications but don’t need to change capabilities right away

Refactor

Often referred to as “repackage,” this cloud migration strategy involves some change to the application design but no wholesale changes to the application code.

Use for:

• When you have an existing codebase and development skills ​
• Code portability is a concern​
• A quick way to modernize your apps

Rearchitect

Modernize your app into a resilient, highly scalable, independently deployable architecture and use Azure to accelerate the process, scale applications, and manage your apps with ease. ​

Use for:

• Taking advantage of existing application investments
• Meeting scalability requirements in a cost-effective way​
• Bringing new Azure capabilities to existing applications

Rebuild

Rebuild an application from scratch using cloud-native technologies, without the expense and complexity of software licenses, the need for underlying application infrastructure, or middleware and other resources. ​

Use for:

• Rapid development when the existing application is slowing you down
• Building innovative apps that take advantage of advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and Internet of Things (IoT)​
• Expediting business innovation