At some point, every company will face the need to adapt and modernize their existing applications. Some may struggle with security issues or meeting compliance requirements. Others may need to resolve challenges with reliability and performance. Or perhaps a company has to scale rapidly to respond to market demand.
While each use case requires a different approach, application modernization services can provide the expertise to overcome those business challenges and build a path for future innovation.
Key Takeaways
- App modernization needs vary by business challenge — security/compliance, reliability/performance, or rapid scaling — and each requires a different technical approach.
- About Time Tours used a serverless SaaS build on the AWS SaaS Enablement Framework to scale a real-estate touring platform from concept to production-ready launch.
- Warm Welcome addressed reliability and security gaps via an AWS Well-Architected Framework Review, adding a CI/CD pipeline with parallel environments and a more secure EC2/Elastic Beanstalk/Auto Scaling environment.
- MAK Grills stabilized a performance-degraded legacy environment by refactoring onto Amazon RDS for SQL Server, Jenkins, and Auto Scaling groups, and moved logging to Amazon CloudWatch Logs.
- All three case studies show modernization as tailored problem-solving, not a one-size-fits-all migration.
Here’s a look at four unique company experiences with app modernization, and how adopting modern cloud solutions had a positive impact on each business.
Scaling SaaS-based Solutions
If you’ve tried to buy a house in the past decade, you know it’s a fast-moving process. You’re looking at a home at the same time as several other people, and effective communication with your realtor or real estate agent is a must.
About Time Tours, a Pacific Northwest startup, seeks to redefine the way the real estate industry plans, organizes, and coordinates those home tours. The company saw ways they could streamline scheduling and communication while effectively capturing feedback from homebuyers and agents. With home prices at an all-time high, the company realized it was about time to get to market as quickly as possible to capitalize on strong demand.
Though they had solid market expertise, About Time Tours only had a general idea for their business and a basic app concept. They turned to us for guidance in developing a SaaS-based solution that could scale to a production-ready launch. After analyzing customer pain points to enhance the user experience, we defined a Multiple Virtual Storage (MVS) using the AWS SaaS Enablement Framework, which evaluates both security compliance and cost models.
The app was also built 100% on serverless, which can handle increases in web traffic. Now, as About Time Tours scales, they know they’ll meet their business objectives and deliver a high-quality customer experience—and with their new pay-as-you-go model, the business is set for sustainability and growth.
Refactoring for increased security and reliability
After spending nine months gathering user feedback, Warm Welcome, a SaaS based startup delivering highly personalized email video messages to support customer onboarding and retention, knew the features it wanted. It had developed a concise pricing model and fleshed out its go-to-market strategy. However, the Proof Of Concept (POC) phase introduced a few challenges, particularly around reliability and security. For the solution to be production-ready, the company needed to address those challenges.
AWS Well-Architected allows cloud architects to build secure, high-performing, and efficient infrastructure for their applications and workloads. For companies in the startup phase, like Warm Welcome, strong knowledge of the Well-Architected Framework can be a major differentiator when implementing customer feedback.
We worked with Warm Welcome to conduct a Well-Architected Framework Review and better refactor the company’s POC. The end result was two-fold. First, we set up a continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline with parallel environments to increase agility and lower risks. Second, we built a more secure environment that can easily scale using EC2, Elastic Beanstalk, and Auto Scaling groups.
By becoming more comfortable with the Well-Architected Framework, Warm Welcome can better implement feedback and provide a boost for companies onboarding and retaining new hires—now in more secure and reliable environments.
Automatically scale your production environment
MAK Grills manufactures precision BBQ and smokers and offers owners full operational control of their grills through remote devices. No more standing by the grill during a gathering at your home — you can get into a back-and-forth discussion about the latest show you’ve binge watched or how crummy (or great) the nearest pro sports team is while still ensuring delicious meals for everyone.
The initial launch of the app ran successfully, but thanks to an outsourced firmware provider, the app began experiencing performance issues as MAK Grills grew and started serving more customers.
These types of growing pains are common for companies on legacy systems, so the first step was to stabilize the production environment. We analyzed MAK Grills’ Microsoft server to identify what was causing the performance issues. From there, we refactored the architecture based on new performance requirements using Amazon RDS for SQL Server, Jenkins build server, and Amazon Auto Scaling groups.
Additionally, we moved logs from their IIS server to Amazon CloudWatch Logs, which enables MAK to review logs for issues quickly and effectively at no extra cost.
With these changes in place, MAK Grills can now more easily handle its expanding customer base. The production environment is built for streamlining operations, so the company can focus on delivering tasty results for customers.
App modernization looks different for every company. Find out how we can help you design and develop new solutions using today’s most advanced cloud services.
Frequently Asked Questions
What business challenges drive companies to pursue app modernization?
Common drivers include security and compliance gaps, reliability and performance issues, and the need to scale rapidly to meet market demand.
How did About Time Tours modernize its app?
Effectual helped the startup build a serverless SaaS solution using the AWS SaaS Enablement Framework, evaluating security compliance and cost models to support a scalable, production-ready launch.
What modernization approach did Warm Welcome take?
Effectual conducted an AWS Well-Architected Framework Review, then set up a CI/CD pipeline with parallel environments and rebuilt the environment for better security and scalability using EC2, Elastic Beanstalk, and Auto Scaling groups.
How was MAK Grills' performance issue resolved?
Effectual analyzed MAK Grills' Microsoft server to find the root cause, then refactored the architecture using Amazon RDS for SQL Server, a Jenkins build server, and Amazon Auto Scaling groups, and moved logs to Amazon CloudWatch Logs.
Is there a single "right way" to modernize an application?
No — app modernization looks different for every company, and the right approach depends on the specific business challenge being solved, as shown by the three different case studies in this article.