As enterprises slowly get out of the shock and awe of the effects of COVID19 on it’s IT operations, they are and will start exploring how to reduce CapEx and OpEx. Most enterprises are not going to let go of existing cash especially if it is a capital expenditure. Any new hardware or software purchase or refresh is out of the window (including Windows licenses ?).

At the same time, they will also start looking for ways to reduce OpEx. For e.g. Windows license cost for Java + Tomcat applications to Linux OR AIX + WebSphere from on-premise to cloud… and many more. Also, reduction in OpEx needs to be addressed quickly or else it defeats the purpose.

During a recent survey by IDG, 61% of IT and business experts are accelerating their digital transformation efforts. The top most agenda on their mind is how to automate application modernization and make them independent/portable of the underlying host (VM or Bare-metal) and move to the cloud (private or public). Hiring additional experts/resources for modernizing applications or automating infra operations is one way to address the need, however, it will be at an extra cost.

Is there a way to automate the modernization of applications that will make the app near cloud-native? If existing apps (legacy and/or greenfield) can leverage features of cloud (e.g. scale a process instead of an entire app OR scale an app instead of the entire server), it will significantly save OpEx.

Automation is the Key!

Assess the Readiness of Apps for Cloud in Days: Method, mostly used, to assess applications is either by interviewing app and business owners or checking out the latest CMDB. Both methods require manual intervention which may lead to errors. Use a tool that will assess applications down to the processes and their interdependencies with the host and other processes (internal or external). It should also roll out a recommendation on the next steps (is an app ready for cloud or not). If ready for the cloud, what should be the next steps (re-invest, retire, retain)? Check out the tool which does all of the above and much more: CloudHedge Discover. Modernize a Cloud-Ready App, in a Day: To ensure the application is leveraging benefits of cloud (not just hosting), containerize the app’s process with few clicks. Containers are perceived to be complex and understandably so, most of the developers or people in IT haven’t worked on it. However, if a tool simplifies the conversion of an application into containers, then existing resources can make it happen! No need to hire expensive resources and start saving OpEx. Check out the tool: CloudHedge Transform. 

Automate the Deployment of Modernized Application: Automation needs to simplify multiple steps for developers to deploy and enable process (containerized) or application level auto-scaling. It should also address security, integration with the existing DevOps pipeline, and create Kubernetes clusters amongst many other required steps. Also, ensure multiple versions of the application can be configured for multiple clouds and their environments – making it cloud independent! Check out the tool: CloudHedge Cruize.

There are ways applications can be modernized without touching the source code and yet cool features of cloud can be leveraged to reduce OpEx cost on an ongoing basis. The additional benefits that tag along – applications being more agile and portable. Multiple case studies are listed – CloudHedge Projects. Happy to discuss if there are any questions or queries!