3 Steps to Cloud Enable Legacy Desktop Applications

Step 1 – Identify the Hurdles

Corporations everywhere are facing the same challenges. Mission critical, custom built applications are trapped on the corporate desktop. Modern, cloud based application designs have set a new standard for usability and governance that are leaving legacy desktop applications trapped in the past.

Many IT groups have active initiatives to rewrite their legacy desktop applications to address this challenge. However, these initiatives are resource and time intensive, and it may take years to successfully implement, test, and deploy the upgraded version. Unfortunately, these efforts often carry a high risk of failure and may encounter several setbacks along the way.

What may come as a surprise is that there are simple and cost effective solutions available to break free of the desktop and enable access to legacy applications through a web browser. These solutions can be quickly implemented and will provide major benefits ahead of completing a complete rewrite of your application. This may open doors for an interim solution, while long-term redesign efforts are underway.

Step 2 – Evaluate the Advantages

By migrating desktop based applications to a cloud accessible interface, you can immediately gain the following benefits for your organization.

• Centralized Control – By centralizing your application’s installation, on servers hosted in a public or private cloud, you now have complete control over the configuration of the server hosting the application. Users can no longer install conflicting programs and the hosted service will provide increased protection against viruses and malware.

• Web Based Interface – Your desktop application will be transformed into a website interface. This means that the legacy application will be accessible from any type of computer, tablet, or phone that has access to the internet.

• Simplified Deployment – Since each hosting server can support many remote users, you also have fewer computers to maintain, patch, and deploy software changes to.

• Simplified Security – Access to your legacy application will become centralized over a secure channel, HTTPS. This increases your control over who has rights to access your software at any given time, and rights can be revoked without needing physical access to a user’s computer or tablet.

• Simplified Disaster Recovery – By hosting your application in the Cloud, disaster recovery is greatly simplified. Your application servers can be replicated and co-located, providing an easy path for recovery from disasters. Since users only need a web browser and their credentials to access the application, they can use any computer, tablet, or phone with web access to reach your application. This provides tremendous flexibility for dealing with office power outages and emergencies.

Step 3 – Plan the Path Forward

There are many viable options to migrate legacy applications to a cloud based solution. They range in features, price, and ease of implementation. Start by laying out all the options on the table, to determine what makes the most sense for your situation, budget, and organizational goals. A detailed cost-benefit analysis will inform your path forward, whether that includes the full rewrite of an application or an intermediary solution for cloud hosting. A staged approach may provide some easy wins, while still providing space for long term initiatives.

It can be challenging to reallocate resources for the effort required to successfully initiate change. In order to take action, detailed cost and feature assessments will be needed by management. If this the case for your organization, there are outside resources that can help get the ball rolling. It may only take a small nudge to send your team in the right direction, enabling your legacy applications to break free to the Cloud.

Vestridge Technology is a professional services company specializing in software consulting services for Financial Technology solutions.

At Vestridge Technology, we have the experience to provide a complete assessment and custom solution for your unique situation. We are experts at working with business and IT teams to build a road map for success. For Cloud migrations, our solutions cover a range of desktop client technologies, including Visual Studio, Visual Basic 6, Delphi, PowerBuilder, and more. Contact us today for more information at [email protected].