Tips to Overcome Barriers to Core Modernization

How to tackle legacy system modernization at scale: How Booking(.)com tackled a legacy API that had gotten completely out of hand: The situation: A 14-year-old API in their Perl monolith had grown from handling simple app updates to managing 21 different features across 7 teams. Instead of a quick migration to Java, the team took a thoughtful approach to breaking down this complex system. Key insights from their successful modernization: 1. Map before you migrate. The team created visual diagrams to understand how 1,500 lines of code connected to various parts of their system. 2. Know your stakeholders. Using repository history, they identified every team dependent on the API and included them in the planning process. 3. Split strategically. They separated the system into focused services based on functionality and platform requirements, making it more maintainable. 4. Test thoroughly. When they encountered unexpected issues with marketing metrics, they used A/B testing to identify and fix problems without disrupting service. The biggest lesson? Modernizing legacy systems isn't just rushing to new technology. It's about understanding what you have and carefully restructuring it into something better. Follow Pratik Daga for daily informative posts on software engineering.

🚫 There’s no such thing as “lift and shift.” When organizations face legacy system renewal deadlines, the temptation is strong: “Let’s just move it over as-is for now and modernize later.” That approach almost always a terrible idea. What you end up with is a poor imitation of the old system—rebuilt on a modern platform, but without leveraging how the new technology is designed to work. It doesn’t improve the experience for users. In fact, it often makes things worse, as the forklifted design won't work smoothly in the new platform, and after the lift and shift is done, your attention will move to the next fire, and the lifted and shifted technical debt becomes the permanent system. 💡 Instead, give yourself the time to do it right. Don’t wait until two months before your license renewal so it becomes urgent. Modernization doesn’t have to mean a total redesign. Today, we can use tools like Copilot or other AI tools to analyze screenshots, documentation, and data to help you understand what your current systems do—and how they could work better. And have at least a short conversation with the key business stakeholders involved in the process to learn more about how they use the system and gaps based on the modern business process. Often, with just a small amount of redesign: - You eliminate costly customizations or third-party add-ons. - You reduce long-term maintenance costs. - You get better adoption, faster performance, and a more future-ready solution. ✨ So don’t forklift your technical debt into a new platform. Use the opportunity to modernize with intention. #DigitalTransformation #LegacyModernization #PowerPlatform #Copilot #EnterpriseTech #ApplicationModernization

𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗪𝗦: 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 Legacy applications can hold your business back: high maintenance costs, scalability challenges, and lack of agility. Modernizing with AWS offers a chance to unlock innovation, but it’s not without challenges. Here are some hard-earned lessons I’ve learned along the way: 1️⃣ 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽-𝗯𝘆-𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 Trying to refactor everything at once? That’s a recipe for disaster.  Instead, adopt an incremental approach: • Start by identifying business-critical components. • Migrate to microservices in stages using containers (ECS, EKS). • Introduce APIs gradually to reduce tight coupling. 2️⃣ 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗔𝗪𝗦 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 AWS offers countless services, but not all are the right fit. Select based on your workload needs: • 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗲: Lambda for event-driven tasks, ECS/EKS for containerized workloads. • 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲: S3 for static content, RDS or Aurora for relational workloads. • 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴: SQS and EventBridge for decoupling components. 3️⃣ 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 Manual deployments and configurations increase complexity and risk. Use: • 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲 (𝗜𝗮𝗖): Terraform or AWS CloudFormation to define environments. • 𝗖𝗜/𝗖𝗗 𝗣𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀: Automate testing and deployment with AWS CodePipeline. • 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴: CloudWatch and X-Ray to gain visibility and ensure performance. 4️⃣ 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 Modernization doesn’t mean throwing money at the cloud. Optimize costs by: • Right-sizing EC2 instances or shifting to serverless where possible. • Using Savings Plans and auto-scaling to keep costs under control. • Leveraging AWS Cost Explorer to identify waste and optimize spending. 5️⃣ 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 Modernization is not just a tech initiative; it’s a business transformation. Engage teams early to align goals and expectations across development, operations, and leadership. 6️⃣ 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘀 A successful modernization effort starts small, proves value, and expands. Identify low-risk, high-impact areas to deliver quick wins and build momentum. 💡 𝗣𝗿𝗼 𝗧𝗶𝗽: Modernization is an ongoing journey, not a one-time project. Continuously monitor, optimize, and adapt to stay ahead. What modernization challenges have you faced? #AWS #awscommunity

Modernizing a legacy platform is like rebuilding an airplane mid-flight. You’ve built something better—maybe even a whole new version of your core product. It’s faster, cleaner, more scalable. But there’s a catch: You’re already serving a large customer base on the old platform. And moving them all to the new one at once? Too risky. You’d be inviting breakage, support chaos, and a hit to customer trust. But not launching the new platform? That’s even riskier long-term. Because while you hesitate, your competitors aren’t waiting. So how do you balance progress and stability at scale? Here are six release strategies we’ve seen work—especially in fintech, where trust is everything and legacy systems run deep: 1️⃣ Let users choose when to switch (like Salesforce Lightning Mode) Allow end users to opt into the new experience. This gives them time to adjust—and gives your team space to gather feedback and make refinements before going wide. 2️⃣ Roll out by user role Start with a specific persona. For example, upgrade your loan officers before your servicing team. This narrows the blast radius and helps your team learn fast in smaller, safer increments. 3️⃣ Route a small % of traffic to the new version Think of it like controlled randomness. Divert a small, randomized slice of users to the new experience (a classic A/B approach), monitor the impact, and refine from there. 4️⃣ Launch for new customers only New customers have no prior expectations—no habits to unlearn. Starting here lets you prove the new platform works without disrupting active workflows. 5️⃣ Let existing customers self-select into early adopter or laggard groups Some customers love to be on the bleeding edge. Invite them to opt in as early adopters—offering advanced access to the new platform and, if appropriate, incentives like preferential pricing. Meanwhile, let your more risk-averse customers remain on the legacy platform until the new experience is fully validated. This creates a natural adoption curve without forcing change on anyone before they're ready. 6️⃣ Start with your simplest customers The bigger and more complex the client, the more edge cases. Begin with smaller, simpler accounts to reduce risk and accelerate learning.

Buying technology is easy. Getting people to use it? That’s the hard part. Too often, companies invest in new software expecting it to transform operations overnight—only to hit major roadblocks with operational alignment and adoption. The system gets underutilized, workarounds emerge, and the promised efficiencies never materialize. Sound familiar? Here’s why technology adoption stalls: ❌ Poor process alignment – If tech doesn’t fit how people actually work, they won’t use it. ❌ Lack of user buy-in – People resist change when they don’t see the value. ❌ Insufficient training – A one-time demo isn’t enough. Users need hands-on learning and job aids aligned to their day-to-day activities. ❌ No accountability – Without clear expectations and leadership support, adoption suffers. A successful implementation isn’t just about turning the system on—it’s about making sure people actually use it. That’s why a change management strategy is essential to drive adoption and long-term success. When we help clients select and implement new vendor management systems, we focus on more than just system setup—we develop a change strategy to drive adoption. This includes: ✅ Setting clear adoption goals and success metrics to measure impact and progress. ✅ Engaging users early to gather requirements and build buy-in from the start. ✅ Optimizing workflows to ensure processes align with and fully leverage the technology. ✅ Designing tailored training, support, and feedback mechanisms to reinforce adoption. ✅ Ensuring leadership actively supports and champions the change to drive accountability. Technology alone doesn’t drive change—people do. Investing in adoption strategy is just as important as investing in the software itself. What’s been your biggest challenge with technology adoption? Drop a comment below! ⬇️

🚀 The Strangler Pattern: It’s the talk of the town in legacy system modernization—but how many are actually doing it? Spoiler alert: Not enough. Here’s the deal: The Strangler Pattern isn’t just a fancy term to throw around in meetings. It’s a practical, risk-managed approach to modernizing legacy systems that lets you build new features around the old, gradually replacing the legacy parts without pulling the rug out from under your users. But let’s get real. For all the hype, it’s rare to see it implemented effectively. Why? Because too many teams either don’t know where to start or they get bogged down in the complexities of their legacy systems. So, let’s cut through the noise with some actionable tips: 1️⃣ Start with Low-Hanging Fruit: Identify the parts of your system that are causing the most pain or are the easiest to replace. Begin by building new services around these components, gradually siphoning off functionality from the old system. Domain Driven Design tools like Event Storming are your friend! 2️⃣ Focus on Mission Value: Don’t just refactor for the sake of it. Target the areas that will deliver the most mission value. If your modernization efforts aren’t moving the needle, you’re wasting time. 3️⃣ Parallel Development: Run your legacy and new systems in parallel. This reduces risk by allowing you to validate the new system’s functionality before decommissioning the old one. It’s like having a safety net while you walk the tightrope. 4️⃣ Automate Testing and Deployment: Automation is your friend here. Use automated tests to ensure the new services work seamlessly with the old system. And automate your deployment pipeline to make the transition as smooth as possible. 5️⃣ Monitor and Iterate: Don’t just set it and forget it. Keep a close eye on the performance of both your old and new systems. Use feedback to continuously improve and gradually “strangle” the legacy system out of existence. 🏃♀️ Modernizing legacy systems is a marathon, not a sprint. The Strangler Pattern lets you pace yourself, but only if you commit to actually doing the work. It’s time to move beyond the buzzwords and start implementing. Who’s ready to stop talking about the Strangler Pattern and start using it? #LegacySystems #StranglerPattern #Modernization #TechDebt #SoftwareEngineering #DigitalTransformation #DevOps

"Our systems are legacy. How do we adopt modern ABX?" I get this question a lot. Here's my take on modernizing legacy systems: Most enterprise marketing teams are stuck with legacy systems that weren't built for modern ABX. It's reality. It's ok. Good news is you can evolve without ripping everything out: Phase 1: Clean up your core data needs ↳ Audit the data flows between existing systems ↳ Document any manual processes and bottlenecks ↳ Create standardized data models for accounts ↳ Understand integrations between CRM and MAP Phase 2: Assess the gaps between current state and ideal state ↳ Identify which systems contain what customer data ↳ Understand current capabilities and limitations ↳ Deploy a standalone marketing CDP as your data hub ↳ Outline required ABX capabilities ↳ Document ideal customer data model Phase 3: Start to add some modern capabilities ↳ Layer in 2-3 off-the-shelf intent data platforms ↳ Start to personalize at the account-level ↳ Build out sample segments and buying groups ↳ Sequence 1-2 cross-channel orchestrations based on segments Phase 4: Begin to replace legacy systems as modern systems are operational ↳ Replace legacy components one at a time ↳ Migrate data sequentially based on revenue importance ↳ Validate new systems before retiring old ↳ Train your team on new tools and systems ↳ Report to stakeholders to maintain business continuity The key with legacy is technology evolution, not revolution. Modern ABX doesn't require throwing everything out. You can integrate new capabilities while maintaining more difficult to remove systems. Start with your data foundation. Clean, connected data will serve you better than shiny new tools on top of broken infrastructure.

70% of transformations stumble. Not on technology. Not on strategy. But on five critical hurdles that few see coming. Here's what really blocks transformation And how successful leaders overcome them: 1. The Comfort Zone Barrier When uncertainty feels threatening: - Create psychological safety - Build small wins early - Make change feel achievable 2. The Communication Gap When clarity matters most: - Over-communicate purpose - Share progress consistently - Make impact visible 3. The Middle Management Freeze When pressure comes from all sides: - Equip them with tools - Provide clear direction - Enable decision-making 4. The Initiative Fatigue When teams feel overwhelmed: - Focus on vital few priorities - Celebrate small victories - Build momentum gradually 5. The Leadership Misalignment When direction isn't clear: - Align on core objectives - Show unified commitment - Lead by example Obstacles don't block your path during transformation. They are your path to better solutions. Each one makes transformation stronger, and more achievable. Leading through transformation challenges? DM me "TRANSFORM" to discuss strategic solutions.