Displaying items by tag: IT strategy
Checklist: Preparing for Cloud Modernization
Is modernizing your software applications to the cloud a topic of discussion in your organization? Though a move to the cloud may not be the immediate next step in your organization’s IT strategy, it is likely that such a migration will eventually be critical to long-term success. If you’re contemplating (or already planning on) a move to the cloud and need to modernize your applications, then you need to be prepared.
With hundreds of large-scale modernizations under our belt, the TSRI team has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. While no modernization effort is without its bumps, there are things you can do to pave an easier path. We’ve developed a checklist to give you a head start on your modernization journey to ensure success from the beginning!
Technical
Discovery on your existing mainframe
Conduct a technical assessment to help understand your existing systems to set a baseline for a transformation.
CODEBASE
Existing languages (primary sub-languages)
Lines of code and comments
Readability and completeness of application documentation
Blackbox libraries
DATABASES
Database platform(s) & versions(s)
Database Metrics (Size, Tables, Columns, etc.)
Database type(s), e.g., flat file, relational, mid-range, etc.
Connection nodes to application codebase & other services
SCREEN (user interface)
Types (graphical or text-based)
Interoperability between applications
Usability
Feature assessment
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SERVICES
Licensing agreements
Tool feasibility
Assessment of needs
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OTHER METRICS
MIPS consumption
Transactions & transaction volumes
Third-party tools & services
Customized tools
Undocumented tools (may be discoverable via an application blueprint process)
Physical Mainframe Review
Examines system architecture, technical services in use, and analysis of both internal and external services/applications. We can use this information to map your system to your desired target services and architecture.
Existing architecture survey
Architecture diagram evaluation
External applications assessment
Utilities and services assessment
Services overlap within the full application portfolio
Performance, quality, and security baselines and metrics
SMEs/Personnel
While the technical review is important, it’s also useful to have an understanding of who on the team is able to maintain and develop on your existing systems. The logic and technical requirements may be different once you’ve established your target architecture.
Survey of staffing (existing and future)
Assessment of team’s working knowledge of applications
Talent assessment within market
As you gather this information, TSRI uses its tools to assess the code, find any code modules/segments within applications that are no longer in use, and generate code-level documentation through a blueprint preview of the current codebase and what a future, modernized codebase might look like. We will then work with you to establish business requirements. Note that while many of these tasks individually take a short time, depending upon the number of applications and the size of your application portfolio, an end-to-end engagement can range anywhere from 1-2 years if your systems have fewer than 10 million lines of code to transform to 4-5 years for much larger portfolios and codebases.
Business
Business case development and financial discovery
Once you have completed a technical analysis and your IT leaders understand your existing systems, it is time to establish your organization’s business cases to modernize your applications and support a modern environment.
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NEEDS ASSESSMENT
Timeframe for project phases and project completion
Market and internal demands
Then vs. now: evolution of your customer and business needs
Modern workflows and accessibility
Security posture
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CURRENT FINANCIAL STATE
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Total cost of mainframe and application ownership
Mainframe operating expenses
Capital expenditures
Amortized costs
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INTANGIBLE COSTS BEYOND PRICE
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Market agility
Business requirements agility
Availability of developers that support legacy systems
Download and print your own modernization checklist
While most businesses that rely upon mainframes will need to modernize in one way or another, every organization’s needs will be different. Base your organization’s decisions not just on the flashiest current technologies, but on the methodologies and technologies that will work best for your company today and into the future. TSRI can work with you to complete this checklist assessment to start you on the path of a fully automated mainframe modernization. Contact us now to begin!
TSRI is Here for You
As a leading provider of software modernization services, TSRI enables technology readiness for the cloud and other modern architecture environments. We bring software applications into the future quickly, accurately, and efficiently with low risk and minimal business disruption, accomplishing in months what would otherwise take years.
Get started on your modernization journey today!
