Modernisation is no longer a one-time event in a rapidly changing technology landscape. As systems, applications, and infrastructure evolve rapidly, organisations must embrace a more dynamic approach to stay competitive and resilient. Enter continuous modernisation — a sustainable, long-term strategy that enables ongoing updates, upgrades, and optimisation across your company’s IT ecosystem.
In our previous articles, we explored how a multi-strategy approach minimises modernisation risks and how the 5Rs of Legacy Modernisation – Rehost, Refactor, Rearchitect, Rebuild, and Replace – help organisations choose the right strategy.
However, one critical question remains: Should modernisation be a one-time transformation or an ongoing, continuous process?
In this article, we explore why continuous modernisation is emerging as the most sustainable approach for future-proofing legacy systems, and how Merit’s DevSecOps frameworks and AI-driven automation tools enable this transformation.
What is Continuous Modernisation and Why Does it Matter?
Continuous modernisation refers to the practice of incrementally updating and improving IT systems and applications in a structured, ongoing manner. Unlike traditional modernisation projects, which are often large-scale and disruptive, continuous modernisation allows organisations to:
- Adapt swiftly to changing market conditions and customer demands.
- Minimise technical debt by regularly addressing outdated code and infrastructure.
- Maintain operational stability while integrating emerging technologies.
Why Continuous Modernisation is Gaining Momentum Among IT Leaders
Recent data, published by IBM, underscores the growing relevance of continuous modernisation:
- 70% of IT executives believe it is essential for keeping mainframe-based applications relevant.
- 88% of organisations see continuous modernisation as a means to stay ahead of technological advancements and reduce technical debt.
- Over 50% of companies with legacy IT system view “step-by-step, incremental modernisation” as key to enabling AI transformation and productivity.
5 Key Benefits of Continuous Modernisation
- Staying Competitive in a Fast-Changing Market
Continuous updates allow businesses to quickly respond to new regulations, customer demands, and technology trends, keeping them ahead of the curve.
- Reducing Risk and Operational Disruption
By breaking down modernisation into smaller, manageable sprints, organisations can reduce downtime, avoid costly failures, and maintain business continuity.
- Lowering Maintenance Costs and Technical Debt
Standardising processes and automating updates through LLM-powered code conversion reduces the need for manual support, freeing up IT teams to focus on innovation.
- Enabling Seamless AI and Cloud Integration
Continuous modernisation ensures legacy systems can adapt to emerging technologies, such as AI and cloud-native platforms, without major rework.
- Enhancing Security and Compliance
Frequent updates help businesses stay ahead of evolving security threats and regulatory changes, ensuring compliance and data protection.
How Merit Enables Continuous Modernisation
Merit supports organisations on their continuous modernisation journey through a blend of automation, modular frameworks, and AI-powered tools. Key enablers include:
- DevSecOps Frameworks: Merit integrates development, security, and operations into a seamless pipeline. This ensures that modernisation efforts are secure, automated, and aligned with compliance requirements from day one.
- Test Automation Utilities: Automated testing accelerates validation cycles, reduces human error, and ensures that incremental changes maintain system integrity and performance. This includes:
- Functional, performance, and security testing automation.
- Support for continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines.
- AI-driven test automation tools that detect and resolve defects early.
- Modular Code Conversion Tools: Merit’s LLM-enabled utilities allow for incremental code transformation, enabling teams to modernise specific components without disrupting entire systems.
- Prompt Engineering Libraries: Ready-to-use prompts ensure standardised, efficient code generation and refactoring, improving development speed and code quality.
- Cloud-Native Architecture Frameworks: Designed for scalability and flexibility, Merit’s frameworks support microservices, containerisation, and real-time data processing, making continuous updates smoother and more sustainable.
Case Study: How Continuous Modernisation Helped an AgTech Firm Reduce Costs by 60% and Boost Report Usage by 40%
A global AgTech enterprise providing data, analytics, and supply chain solutions faced major challenges with outdated legacy systems:
- Scattered data across 40+ applications
- High maintenance costs and lack of scalability
- Slow reporting and limited self-service analytics
- Inability to scale as data volumes grew
Merit’s Continuous Modernisation Approach included:
- Phased Migration & Cloud Adoption: Gradually integrated 40+ data sources into an AWS-based data lake with minimal disruption.
- Automated Data Processing: Used AWS Glue and Spark to automate data pipelines, reducing manual effort and speeding up transformation.
- Self-Service Analytics & Reporting: Delivered real-time dashboards and intuitive BI tools for 900+ users to access insights on demand.
- Scalable and AI-Ready Infrastructure: Designed the system to handle both structured and unstructured data, enabling future AI integration.
Business Impact:
- 65% reduction in data quality issues, leading to more accurate insights
- 40% increase in report usage, improving data-driven decision-making
- 60% lower data storage costs, making the system more cost-efficient
- 70% faster onboarding of new data sources, boosting agility
Build a Sustainable Modernisation Pipeline with Merit
Merit’s solutions provide the foundation for continuous modernisation, combining AI-powered automation, secure development practices, and scalable architecture. With our expertise, organisations can:
- Continuously evolve their legacy systems
- Minimise technical debt and reduce costs
- Seamlessly integrate AI and emerging technologies
- Maintain security and compliance with every update
- Accelerate innovation while keeping systems stable
Ready to future-proof your IT systems? Connect with Merit’s experts to explore how continuous modernisation can power your organisation’s success.