Abstract. White Paper on Application Modernization 1

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2 Abstract The present day market is loaded with extreme competition that invites only the most innovative and smart organizations to compete together and stay above the water level. Added to this are the inflation and tough economic conditions that have made sure that the organizations require not only to create smart products and/or provide efficient services but also spend smartly to keep their reputation as successfully operational firms. Application Modernization is a very delicate but an equally effective way to achieve the best in not only the operational procedures but also the cost factors. This white paper discusses the usual difficulties that any organization faces with its outdated equipment (Legacy System) and discusses how Zigron can help it achieve Application Modernization using the latest techniques and technologies. It also discusses Zigron s ability to achieve Application Modernization for a company which presently doesn t have a Legacy System but can benefit from the transformation of all its operations to the latest principles and technology of computing; technology which Zigron as a seasoned player has mastered over the passage of time. White Paper on Application Modernization 1

3 Contents 1. Introduction: Genesis of Application Modernization and its Need The Present Scenario of Organizations: Legacy Systems Why Move to New Technology? What is Application Modernization? Other Aspects of Application Modernization Zigron s Approach towards Application Modernization Comparative Transformation Model Popular Approaches towards Application Modernization: Virtualization and Cloud Computing Application Modernization Methodology Identification System Study Requirements Analysis Migration Strategy Database Migration Planning Conversion/Transformation Defining New Architecture through SOA Gateways between Current and New Applications Database Provisioning Implementation Development User Experience (UX) Integration Testing Integration Testing System Testing Regression Testing Load Testing Database Test Migration User Acceptance Testing Migration Summary White Paper on Application Modernization 2

4 1. Introduction: Genesis of Application Modernization and its Need One of the biggest concerns for organizations today is to cut off as much expenses as possible to efficiently face recession driven circumstances. Many organizations have to spend a lot on their IT equipment which is a significant problem for relatively low budget establishments (and a burden for larger organizations in any case) because it has become impossible for them to reduce this cost after IT has become an essential part of any organization s business processes. The concept of Application Modernization in such times is just what the doctor ordered as it is a practical and achievable alternative to the high maintenance and over spending monolithic equipment that companies have to keep for their operations. 1.2 The Present Scenario of Organizations: Legacy Systems The distinct characteristic of Computer Science is that it progresses and improves very quickly as compared to other fields of science. What was in popular demand ten years back is probably an obsolete solution with a lot of security and structural loopholes today; and it can be safely assumed that the solutions that were developed in 20 th century (1980s onward) are in dire need for restructuring and adaptation to a newer technology. If your organization is running on a system just like one mentioned above, it is time to upgrade to the present standards and technology to not only reduce your expenses but to also get support for the features introduced in your business processes at the later stages. 1.3 Why Move to New Technology? If you are running a legacy system to run your organization s processes, the risks that you are carrying with it can be articulated as: Slow and Expensive Hardware o Legacy systems often run on obsolete and slow hardware, and since the hardware is either not or rarely produced, it is expensive to buy it for the purposes of replacement. Cost of Maintenance o Unless there is a compatibility between your legacy system and newly produced hardware (which seldom happens), the cost of maintenance eventually increases as compared to the cost of shifting to a new technology. Lack of Understanding o Because of being so old, it will become harder and harder for you to find the capable technical support for your system as engineers and technicians would not be trained in handling that generation of equipment. Expansion and Scalability Issues o Since your system s hardware or software is not manufactured anymore, you will have to expand your organization (if needed) by using new technology and you will have to face the compatibility issues of legacy system and new technology. The result may be that you will not be able to integrate your whole system successfully. White Paper on Application Modernization 3

5 1.4 What is Application Modernization? In today s fast paced world, organizations are experiencing new developments at a constant rate. New requirements ask for new processes to successfully meet the new challenges. Today s requirements ask organizations to rely on computers to assist their operations and it is computer systems that need to adapt to the ever changing demands of the market. The systems that were employed too long ago were not designed in a way that may have made them to absorb the changing trends and technology to an acceptable level. The result is that they cannot successfully conform to the upcoming business processes and become a burden for the organization. Application modernization is the answer to such problems which means a migration for the organizations from legacy systems to up to date technology. By following certain standards and procedures (that help mitigating the risks of this procedure), software development companies help organizations in building applications that perform their operations while being intoned with the modern requirements for their industry Other Aspects of Application Modernization Application modernization can be of use to those organizations as well which do not possess an equivalent legacy system to a new solution but are running various software applications to run their business and require transferring all their processes to one platform that caters to all their needs in singularity. 2. Zigron s Approach towards Application Modernization Application modernization is a very delicate process and demands a responsible treatment. As an experienced company, Zigron possesses a complete process to deal with any project related to Application Modernization called Comparative Transformation Model (CTM). We base CTM on Rational Unified Process (RUP) that takes its own roots from Unified Modern Language (UML). We have successfully accomplished a flawless and fluent delivery of the renewed services to our client using CTM in the past. 2.1 Comparative Transformation Model CTM is an iterative process down to its individual phases. It transforms application iteratively with zero down time by using gateway approach to integrate new application modules/components with current application. Existing application is extended to start using new component/service/module simultaneously. Once both applications are in production, this model uses comparative reports to verify data integrity between new and old applications. After running both applications modules simultaneously for a while with 100% data integrity, old application is deprecated and next module is transformed. Moreover, in our findings and working with companies for last several years, this model has been very successful as compared to big bang approach where complete application is rewritten and then it takes years to fix issues. White Paper on Application Modernization 4

6 2.2 Popular Approaches towards Application Modernization: Virtualization and Cloud Computing Virtualization and cloud computing are two of the most important and significant upcoming processes in the software industry and means to achieve Application Modernization. On a fundamental level of understanding, virtualization lets a user run multiple virtual machines on a single physical machine, with each virtual machine sharing the resources of that one physical computer across multiple environments and/or running different operating systems and multiple applications on the same physical computer. With Zigron s solution for virtualization, a client does not need to assign servers, storage, or network bandwidth permanently to each application. Instead, the client's hardware resources are dynamically allocated when and where they are needed within its private cloud. The highest priority applications always have the necessary resources without wasting money on excess hardware which is only used at peak times. This private cloud can also be connected to a public cloud to provide the required flexibility, availability and scalability to the client s business. Like virtualization, cloud computing is also a very bright and feasible alternative for any organization that does not want an excessive budget disposed off for IT management. With cloud computing, an organization does not need to maintain any server or hire any system administrator. Instead, all its database and services are hosted by a service provider in a hypothetical cloud. This way, the organization will not have to worry about the surety of the non stop services being provided to its customers or the expansion or scalability of its databases as every aspect is covered by the service provider. We created an application called Zigron Cloud Integration and Management System (ZCIMS) that takes database files and application from a client and sets up a cloud network for that client by employing various cloud computing service providers like Amazon and GoGrid. The client only needs to pay for all the services combined which is very inexpensive as compared to the client maintaining the servers and employing support teams itself. ZCIMS provides various functionalities like switching to one cloud computing service provider from another and also saves a huge amount of time as it at least takes working hours of a few days for any qualified network administrator to setup a cloud network for an organization. Virtualization and cloud computing are a couple of very substantial ways through which application Modernization may take place for an organization. Zigron thoroughly possesses the required skill, expertise and technology to carry out a project related to Application Modernization via virtualization and/or cloud computing if the requirements specify the criteria for such an approach. If an Application Modernization project has to adapt to the criteria and standards of virtualization and cloud computing to attain its required goals besides garnering the advantages of any or both of these fields, it is decided by the experts at the starting phase of a project. The implementation and deployment then follow as described in detail in Section 3. White Paper on Application Modernization 5

7 3. Application Modernization Methodology Figure 1 shows a higher level portrayal of our methodology to achieve Application Modernization for any organization. RUP generally comprises of four major phases that are iterative in nature and are separated by prominent milestones (each of which verifies the completion of a particular phase). Following are the names of RUP s phases along with their important features that are carried out here at Zigron as parts of CTM. Inception o Identification System Study, Requirements Analysis, Migration Strategy, Database Migration Planning Elaboration o Conversion SOA based New Architecture, Gateways between Current and New Architectures, Database Provisioning Construction o Implementation Development, User Experience (UX), Integration o Testing Integration Testing, System Testing, Regression Testing, Load Testing, Database Test Migration, User Acceptance Testing Transition o Migration Production Environment Setup, Database Live Migration and Migration Validation, Code Deployment, Documentation, Ready for Production 3.1 Identification Identification involves the basic know how of the client s already working system along with the history and knowledge of the client itself as it is our belief that before providing any solution, if we know about our client at an acceptable level, we shall be in a better position to help it grow professionally. Identification of client, its system and its processes for an Application Modernization project takes place in various steps which are discussed underneath System Study We believe it is very essential to understand the working of the legacy system or the present setup before the development of a new solution. We think that answers of the following questions regarding our client s present legacy system are essential to gather: Why this legacy system was developed for our client? What business processes it currently supports? What are the functional integration points of this system? Which kind of users it entertains and how it does it? White Paper on Application Modernization 6

8 We also try to gather the source code of the current application, any documentation related to it, use cases, test scenarios, test cases and regression test sets and old models of our client s business processes if possible. Figure 1: Our Application Modernization Procedure at a Higher level Requirements Analysis The information gathered from system study is categorized into discrete functional areas or groupings that are further categorized into various sub groupings to objectively observe the characteristics of the present setup. Some of the elementary analyses are: What does our client require? o Our analysts sit down with the authorized personnel of the client and gather all the requirements and convert them into the working business processes. How much of these requirements the present system fulfills? o Comparison takes place between what is missing from the functionality of the present setup that must be integrated into the new solution and what it is providing. What is the cost of maintenance? o The costs of keeping this system running along with the issues that are faced to support the system are analyzed. White Paper on Application Modernization 7

9 Various analytical techniques are used to compare the client's actual performance with its potential performance. This identifies the areas where the present services are lacking the support for company s updated and newly preferred goals. Input gathered from the users of the legacy system is used to discard any obsolete or redundant features of the legacy system. The finalized set of requirements is then put forward to the client for approval Migration Strategy After the approval of the requirements, analysis of the present tools and technologies in relevance with the current process takes place. The necessary requirements along with the additional functionalities are locked down and teams are formulated for the specific tasks (as will be discussed later) Database Migration Planning A dedicated team of database experts initiates the process of Database Migration 1. The important steps at this level include: Migration Planning o The experts build the database migration strategy and performing the key activities along with it that include (among other things) resource planning and project scheduling, collecting technical requirements and dependencies, and figuring out required equipment and migration tools. Analysis and Design o The old database system is thoroughly analyzed and understood to its individual entry. The basic data structure is reviewed; various interfaces and reports utilizing the to be migrated data are considered. Design of a new database system is sketched on the bases of the conclusions gathered through the detailed analysis of existing system and the new requirements. 3.2 Conversion/Transformation After the initial strategic planning and requirements gathering comes the major process of conversion of the functionalities of the old system to modernized set of procedures and the creation of new solutions according to the updated requirements put forward by the client. The major steps to achieve a workable solution are discussed below Defining New Architecture through SOA Service oriented Architecture: At the core of Zigron s methodology for Application Modernization is service oriented architecture (SOA). SOA primarily concentrates on building those services separately that businesses need for their processes which can then be integrated on one platform (presently, Web is the most popular platform) to be accessible to the organizations personnel as well as their clients. The costs of operation and maintenance are reduced because SOA also focuses on reusing the 1 Data Migration is a 6 step process that is carried out by database experts and is expanded over the whole length of the application modernization project. The steps are: i) Migration Planning, ii) Analysis and Design (both steps are carried out in Identification ), iii) Provisioning (carried out in Conversion ), iv) Test Migration (carried out in Testing ), v) Live Migration and vi) Migration Validation (both steps are carried out in Migration ). White Paper on Application Modernization 8

10 functionalities provided by the legacy systems (if possible); additionally, web based solutions (if sought) reduce the maintenance costs significantly. The analysis of previous setup of client and requirements gathered from it gives us the required knowledge to architect the distinct services that our client requires according to the recognized guidelines of SOA Gateways between Current and New Applications Once the new services are defined, their relevance with old system is analyzed along with the consideration that which of the previous functionalities can be reused and integrated with the new solutions. A channel for the reusable, reworked and completely new components is thus designed so that they may be integrated on a singular platform Database Provisioning The database experts prepare the destination storage environment for the newly developed database system. In this step, relevant database management system is decided and other support mechanisms are finalized. 3.3 Implementation In the phase of construction and implementation, the development of actual code and application(s) takes place apart from the practical implementation of the database design. The phase comes after the milestone of every architectural detail and design is reached Development The development is an iterative process and takes place in three steps: Application Code Extraction o If the option is available, the source code of the reusable elements from the previous solution are extracted and checked for its conformity to the modern usage and standards. Technology Specific Development o Modules of code are written and developed for the solutions that were not there before and/or that need to be reworked. Database Design o Database for the new setup is created following and depending upon the specifications of the architecture design (as figured out in the previous stages as the part of the data migration process) to accommodate the client s records. Unit Testing o Modules developed by our programmers are subjected to continuous and iterative unit testing. Unit testing authenticates the correct working of every single module that will be integrated to form a single service. White Paper on Application Modernization 9

11 3.3.2 User Experience (UX) User Experience is the philosophy of designing user interfaces that we have come to follow here at Zigron and it has now become the nucleus of Zigron's technology strategy. We believe in simplicity and creativity for our products and solutions. Zigron is a design driven firm that utilizes the latest techniques in the field of UX to generate the best technology experience across its products and solutions. For any project related to Application Modernization at Zigron, development of design takes place iteratively by following Rational Unified Process. Our design development process having relevance to RUP is mentioned underneath: Inception o The user interface designer sets up meetings with the authorized personnel of the client to understand the requirements of their organization, their users and personnel and their perception level for software applications. Elaboration o Based on his observations gathered from previous step, the designer creates mock ups of the new design and makes sure that all the requirements that were understood in the inception phase are portrayed in the initial designs. o The mock ups are referred to the client and if it disagrees with the initial design, the inception phase starts again and what was not inferred earlier is attempted to be understood again with the help of client. One the other hand, if the client asks for certain additions or deductions, the mock ups are modified and sent to the client for approval. o If the design is approved, the designer converts the designs to the formats cited by the software architect and are forwarded to the development team. Construction o Implementation The developers implement the user interface by connecting the designer s work with the back end code. o Testing The QA engineers test the interface for numerous cases to test its functionality for maximum possible scenarios. The user interface is presented to the client as a part of user acceptance testing to achieve its final approval of the overall work and the design. If the client wants certain changes, the designer goes back to the relevant step of the whole process and implements the changes. Transition o Our UX procedure is shown in Figure 2. The design is deployed as a part of the whole application in the Migration step of our Application Modernization process (as discussed in section 3.5). White Paper on Application Modernization 10

12 Figure 2: Zigron's User Experience Process for Application Modernization Integration Every module after the successful sets of unit testing is then integrated to the new architecture iteratively. Thus an assemblage is created that has to be tested for its functionality as discussed in section Testing Testing is an essential stage of the whole Application Modernization procedure as every developed solution is examined through various standards to verify that it delivers all of those features that are required from it. At Zigron, we pass any solution through four stages of testing to assert its proper functionality Integration Testing This is the first stage of testing where individual software modules are combined and tested in a group. It takes as an input those modules that have passed through the unit testing, groups them in larger aggregates, applies to them the tests defined in an integration test plan and delivers as its output the integrated system ready for the next stage of testing. White Paper on Application Modernization 11

13 Zigron s Approach towards Integration Testing: We follow the Top down and Bottom up approaches instead of the Big Bang approach that also help as far as the Application Modernization is concerned. Depending upon the nature of a project and the course of development, we acquire Bottom up 2, Topdown 3 or Sandwich 4 approaches during our integration testing System Testing System testing is the next step of formal testing procedure that comes after the integration testing. It is conducted on a complete, integrated system to evaluate the system s compliance with its specified requirements. It takes as its input all of the integrated software components come forward from the integration testing and reports any inconsistencies between the integrated software units. System testing is our investigatory testing phase where we test everything from design and behavior of the application to the believed expectations of the client Regression Testing We use regression testing to uncover software errors by partially retesting a modified program. The purpose is to provide a general assurance that no additional errors were introduced in the process of fixing other problems. This way we cover the problem on the part of the developers to keep check on the fact that changing/modification of code to rectify an error in one area may introduce an error in another area. Regression testing gives the developers the necessary knowledge to keep every software unit at a working and compatible status Load Testing Through load testing, we test the strength of the developed system for handling as much maximum number of requests at a given instance as stated in the requirements specification. We use tools like JProfiler and JMeter for verifying the load bearing capacity of the developed system Database Test Migration Database migration is done at a small scale for testing purposes to authenticate the developed database system. Later, complete migration takes place during the migration stage following the same procedures. There are two steps involved: Database Schema Migration o Extraction of metadata and structure of source database o Conversion of database objects from source database to those in destination database o Conversion of queries Database Schema Migration o Analysis of data 2 The lowest level components are tested first and are used to facilitate the testing of higher level components; efficient for locating and fixing bugs. 3 The top integrated modules are tested and the branch of the module is tested step by step until the end of the related module; efficient for locating a missing branch link. 4 It is used to garner the advantages of both of the above mentioned schemes. White Paper on Application Modernization 12

14 o o Cleaning up of the redundant data Preparation of conversion tools User Acceptance Testing User Acceptance Testing is the final stage of testing where the developed application is put in front of the client s authorized SME (Subject Matter Expert) to review that a system meets all of the mutually agreed upon requirements. The next stage in the project of Application Modernization is subject to the success of user acceptance testing. If the client approves the developed solution, we move forward to the migration of the developed solution to our client s environment. 3.5 Migration After the client s approval of the functionalities of all the services, we formulate the product delivery and deployment routine. Application migration takes place in four steps: Production Environment Setup o All of the applications and supporting systems architecture that the client s personnel or its customers will need to execute their business processes and operations are formally set up. Database Live Migration and Migration Validation o Database migration, which was carried out in the testing environment in the testing phase is carried out on the full scale to completely migrate the client s data to the new database setup. o Reports like data sanity report, target system usage report and complete data migration report are generated to validate the data migration process. Code Deployment o The developed and tested application and services are deployed at the client s end in accordance with all the environment variables of the client. It is verified and made sure that client s personnel or customers (while at their own work areas e.g. office or home) will be able to experience all of the applications and services in the exact same fashion in which they were developed and tested. Documentation o All of the standard or agreed upon documentation is finalized and made ready to be delivered to the client. Ready for Production o The complete product is handed over to the client and it can shift its operations to the new set of solutions without any down time, complexity or hassle due to Zigron s methodology and practices. White Paper on Application Modernization 13

15 4 Summary Solutions based on Application Modernization is one of the most popular and in demand software in the market these days because it is a possible alternative for organizations to avoid the heavy disbursals for their legacy systems and in return get the services that actually demand less or almost no maintenance and also provide the additional and updated functionalities to cater to the new and present day requirements of the organizations business strategies. Zigron has gained much valuable expertise in Application Modernization over the past by helping out various organizations migrate from their older setups to new, up to date and modern solutions that helped their business grow rapidly. We offer our services in a way that our client s operations running on its current system are not affected in any way and when the system is developed by acquiring a proper methodology, every operation is migrated to the new scheme without any halt or complexity on the client s part. White Paper on Application Modernization 14