Introduction: The Modernisation Challenge
In late 2024, CIO Magazine surveyed 40 CIOs, asking them to predict one critical non-AI IT trend. Nearly all responses revolved around the concept of “Bridging the Expectations Gap.” Today, IT leaders are increasingly focused on deepening the business context of their technology transformations.
There’s no doubt that legacy systems need to be modernised to pave the way for solutions that allow companies to thrive in an AI- and data-powered world. However, if modernisation efforts aren’t well-planned and fail to sync with business value, they risk falling flat.
Legacy systems often serve as the backbone of operations for many organisations. Yet, their limitations can hinder innovation, scalability, and progress. As these systems grow expensive to maintain and become obsolete, companies are often left at a crossroads.
Modernising legacy systems is about more than just upgrading technology—it’s about building a future-ready foundation that aligns with your organisation’s strategic goals. In this context, Merit has become a preferred partner for some of Europe’s and the UK’s fastest-growing corporations, offering not only deep technical expertise but also a business-first approach to making this critical transformation.
5 Questions Every CIO Should Ask Before Embarking on Legacy Modernisation
Before embarking on a legacy modernisation journey, CIOs and Technology Transformation leaders must reflect on these critical questions to ensure success:
- Are Our Modernisation Goals Aligned with Business Strategy?
- Modernisation is not just a technical exercise. Are we ensuring that the updated systems will deliver tangible business value, such as improved scalability, reduced costs, or faster innovation cycles?
- Are there enough metrics defined to continuously measure and optimise the modernisation efforts, so that they are aligned to the objectives?
- Have We Identified and Addressed Potential Barriers to Success?
- From organisational resistance to change, to the complexity of legacy dependencies, have we accounted for all the hurdles that could derail the project?
- Do we have a roadmap to tackle challenges like user training, process integration, and user adoption?
- Do We Have the Right Technology Framework for Our Future Needs?
- Are we adopting AI-ready, scalable and right fit architectures like Lakehouse, Data Mesh, or Fabric to ensure our systems are future-proof and aligned with modern business needs?
- Are we integrating the right-fit solutions for greater agility and performance?
- Are We Balancing Automation with Customisation?
- Are we leveraging automation tools to accelerate code conversion and testing while maintaining flexibility to address unique business needs and target platform requirements?
- Do we have a partner who understands that modernisation is more than automation—it’s about optimisation and scalability?
- How Will We Measure Success?
- Have we defined clear success metrics and defined ways of measurement, such as cost savings, reduced operational overhead, faster time-to-market, or improved user experience?
- Are we incorporating security, compliance, and governance into every stage of the process?
- Are we ensuring that the modernisation effort results in long-term strategic value? Will this transformation drive business benefits for us over the next 5-7 years?
Reflecting on these questions not only highlights the complexities of modernisation but also underscores the importance of a strategic, business-first approach. To address these challenges and maximise ROI, organisations need a trusted partner who brings technical expertise and business alignment to the table. That’s where Merit comes in.
Why Choose Merit for Legacy Modernisation?
1. Proven Methodology for Success
Merit’s modernisation methodology combines:
- Robust code modernisation frameworks with proven LLM-enabled code conversion tools to ensure reliable outcomes.
- Prompt templates, and best practice frameworks to ensure code modernised is optimised for performance, scalability and cost efficiencies.
- Automated testing framework for accelerated testing and deployment.
2. AI-Ready Architecture Framework
Merit accelerates modernisation projects with ready-to-use architecture templates and frameworks, enabling seamless migration to modern data and AI platforms such as lakehouse, fabric, and data mesh. The focus is on adopting the right framework and tools for your unique needs. less migration to modern data and AI platforms such as lakehouse, fabric, and data mesh. The focus is on adopting the right framework and tools for your unique needs.
3. Beyond Simple Code Conversion
Unlike basic migration, Merit optimises legacy code for modern architectures by:
- Adopting best practices in target languages.
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- Delivering scalable, high-quality, and future-ready solutions.
- Ensuring alignment with your organisation’s strategic goals.
4. Industry-Agnostic and Cloud-Native Solutions
Our legacy modernisation accelerators and frameworks are designed to be industry-agnostic while incorporating industry-specific compliance and security guidelines. This ensures seamless adaptability across different sectors without compromising regulatory requirements.
Additionally, our frameworks are inherently cloud-native but remain cloud-agnostic, leveraging technologies like SQL, Python-based code libraries, and open-source LLM-based converters. This approach enables businesses to modernise their legacy systems efficiently while maintaining flexibility across cloud platforms.
5. Integrated DevSecOps Framework
Merit’s DevSecOps framework seamlessly integrates CI/CD processes with built-in security, automating deployment pipelines while proactively addressing vulnerabilities. By default, it incorporates code security scanning and integrates with leading tools like SonarQube to ensure robust code quality and compliance. Additionally, our framework continuously monitors updates on libraries, enabling timely interventions to mitigate security risks. This approach accelerates release cycles while ensuring secure, compliant, and high-quality software delivery.
6. Automated Testing Capabilities
Merit revolutionises testing with:
- Automated test case generation for comprehensive coverage.
- Streamlined system integration and unit testing with automated testing libraries and frameworks.
- Advanced validation processes across data pipelines that maintain continuous validation while reducing manual effort.
Legacy Modernisation: The Merit Edge
- 30-60% automation in code conversion, tailored to complexities of logic and source/target technologies.
- 40-70% effort reduction in testing and deployment, depending on project complexity.
- Enhanced security and compliance through embedded best practices and compliance adoption using automated DevSecOps.
- Proven success in optimising performance using internal tools like cluster performance log analysers and log parsers.
Your Blueprint to Modernisation Success: 6 Key Steps
1. Strategic Consulting: Laying the Foundation
The modernisation journey begins with a comprehensive consulting phase. Merit collaborates with your stakeholders to:
- Understand your organisation’s long-term vision and defining business case.
- Conduct a fitment analysis to identify the best modernisation approach, technology and platform.
- Create a tailored roadmap that aligns with your unique business objectives and ensures seamless integration with existing systems.
Key tools:
- Strategic Consulting Frameworks to assess current and future business requirements, defining business case and mapping technical requirements.
- A tool fitment framework that conducts quantitative and qualitative analysis, mapping tactical and strategic requirements to platform selection while evaluating and quantifying tool and platform options.
- Code and Data Profiling Utilities to evaluate manual versus automated conversion opportunities.
2. Analysis & Design: Crafting the Architecture
In this phase, Merit focuses on designing the modernisation framework with:
- AI-Ready Architecture Templates for future-proof solutions, such as lakehouse and data mesh.
- Platform-specific best practices to optimise compatibility and performance.
- Dependency and integration mapping to identify bottlenecks and mitigations in terms of internal and external integration dependencies.
Key outcomes:
- Reduced risks with pre-tested architecture patterns.
- Strategic alignment with modern data and AI paradigms.
3. Code Conversion: Efficiency Meets Optimisation
Merit’s approach to code conversion goes beyond automation by:
- Leveraging LLM-enabled code conversion tools for accelerated development and cost efficiencies.
- Incorporating prompt libraries and best practice framework to ensure adherence to coding best practices.
- Automating up to 60% of the conversion process while focusing on performance optimisation for complex code and logic.
What sets this phase apart:
- High-quality, scalable code that’s ready for modern architectures.
- Reduced timelines for migration with minimal manual intervention.
4. Optimisation: Achieving Peak Performance
This phase ensures that the modernised systems perform at their best through:
- Performance tuning using cluster performance log analysers and log parsers.
- Adopting data-driven optimisation techniques to enhance efficiency and scalability.
Key benefits:
- Improved speed, accuracy, and reliability of the modernised environment.
- Continuous performance optimisation during development and testing ensures reduced optimisation efforts during deployment.
5. Testing: Automated and Comprehensive
Merit redefines testing with advanced automation tools:
- Automated test case generation ensures extensive coverage.
- Integrated System Integration Testing (SIT) and Unit Testing (UT) workflows streamline validation.
- Early detection and resolution of errors accelerate project timelines aided by continuous data validation, code scanners and integrated documentation.
Efficiency boost:
- 40-70% reduction in testing efforts, depending on the project’s complexity.
- Consistently high-quality deliverables with minimal rework.
6. Deployment: Seamless and Secure Transition
The final phase focuses on implementing the modernised system with:
- Integrated DevSecOps Frameworks to automate CI/CD pipelines.
- Embedding security best practices into every step to ensure compliance and reduce vulnerabilities.
- Smooth handover to operational teams with comprehensive documentation and training.
What you gain:
- Accelerated deployment timelines with reduced manual intervention.
- Scalable and secure systems that are aligned with your organisation’s future vision.
Conclusion: Reimagine Legacy Systems with Merit
Modernising legacy systems can feel daunting, but with the right partner, it becomes an opportunity to unlock innovation and scalability. Merit’s proven blueprint for Legacy Modernisation ensures a seamless journey, delivering future-ready solutions tailored to your organisation’s unique needs.
Partner with Merit and reimagine the possibilities of your technology landscape.