Re-installing legacy apps on modern servers is your best first move
At VirtaMove, we know that legacy apps are a challenge for many customers. Corporate amnesia regarding legacy systems is widespread. Usually, original developers have left, install scripts and source code are missing, and app owners likely inherited legacy apps in their current state.
In past blogs, we’ve discussed using Migration Intelligence or Artificial Intelligence to dynamically “learn” the current state of legacy systems. In this blog, we’d like to highlight the benefits and opportunities that come from app re-installs. We’ve successfully re-installed the current state of thousands of Windows 2000, WS2003, and WS2008 applications to new virtual machines and servers running WS2012, WS2016, and WS2019. We’re aware of the many opportunities that are unlocked for customers when they do a re-install. Re-installing legacy apps on modern servers is your best first move.
The many benefits of re-installing legacy apps on modern servers
There are many tangible benefits to running legacy applications on new servers:
1. Re-learning lets you plan
Re-learning legacy app information lets you plan what to do next with your applications. You’ll learn and understand the size, characteristics, and dependencies of your legacy apps. You’ll be able to size new servers.
Having re-learned your applications, you can start planning the enhancement and redevelopment of the application on new servers.
2. Close known security exposures
A new operating system closes known security exposures on WS2000, WS2003, and WS2008 servers.
3. Address compliance issues
A move to a new OS addresses compliance issues related to running on an unsupported OS.
4. Improve performance
Running on new hardware improves system performance and lets users do more work.
5. Upgrade as you go
Stack components such as IIS and SQL Server can easily be upgraded during the move of legacy systems to a newer operating system.
6. Open the possibility of moving to the Cloud
Moving legacy applications to a modern OS instance opens the possibility of moving applications to the cloud, where they can be managed with modern cloud management tools and easily scaled to meet demand.
Instead of tracking complex patch levels on legacy OS instances, you can take advantage of new DevOps tools to monitor and manage the modern OS on new servers or in the cloud.
7. Extend the application life cycle
Once moved to a supported OS, the life cycle of legacy applications can be extended and normal enhancement cycles can occur to address new functional requirements.
The upgrade cycle and maintenance process for the application stays the same. Application upgrades can be developed, managed, and installed as usual. Development, test, and production instances can be managed in a normal way. Application improvements can be planned and implemented over time as needed and justified.
8. Buy time for a redevelopment project
Given a solid business case, full redevelopment can always be undertaken in the future, as the business needs it, using all the tools available on a modern OS. You’re not forced into application redevelopment simply because you want to run on modern servers.
If application redevelopment is planned in your business, then you probably need to buy time to properly plan and implement redevelopment. Re-installing legacy apps on new servers buys time to undertake careful planning, parallel testing, and successful redevelopment. While redevelopment is underway, you still need to run your business.
Get great returns now from re-installing legacy applications
There are many advantages to running older applications on a modern OS instance. If you’d like to learn more about how a fresh, stateful re-install of legacy applications extends their useful life and helps you buy time to plan for application redevelopment, give us a call, request a free demo, or send us an e-mail. We’re always delighted to share what we know.