Legacy Application Modernization

IBM System i application modernization products from LANSA

Legacy application modernization is a broad term covering many different interpretations, methodologies and implementations. The modernization method you choose depends on your situation which will be driven by factors such as business initiatives, application architecture, time, cost and skills. LANSA is aware that one size will not fit all IBM System i (AS400, iSeries) application modernization projects and offers a range of products:

RAMP meets high priority modernization needs as well as implementing a strategic modernization solution for both rich-client and rich Internet applications.
aXes Web-enables 5250 applications automatically without change to the source code.
LANSA Open for .NET provides Windows rich-client or Web applications with access to features from the IBM System i operating system, applications and database tables.

These legacy application modernization products are not mutually exclusive. You can combine them to create a modernization solution that will extend the life of your existing applications whilst meeting today’s business requirements.

What does legacy application modernization mean?

Legacy application modernization means taking an application built in the past and changing it to be more appropriate for today’s business opportunities. Modernization means changing a legacy application to become a modern application.

Comparing the characteristics of legacy and modern applications provides insight into what must change in the legacy application during the modernization process.

Legacy Applications	Modern Applications
• Text-based user interface – users need to learn (not readily understandable)	• Graphical user interface that is intuitive and familiar
• Concealed tree-like hierarchy • Navigation through fixed structures	• Menus and tree-like hierarchies are visible • Point-and-click navigation
• Standalone applications make integration difficult	• Simplified integration with other applications including office tools like Microsoft Word and Excel
• Large applications – often with a single code base – where any change is a change to the whole application	• Application architecture is tiered – applications built from reusable components – change occurs at the component level rather than the whole application
• Constrained by device type (such as a 5250 terminal)	• Available on multiple devices with a browser – personal computers (Windows and Web) and mobile devices (smart cell phones and portable devices).
• Decreasing skills and vendor support	• Readily available skills and universally supported
• Requires specific IT expertise to make changes	• Development languages and tools widely known
• Tied to server and database technology	• Multiple platforms and database independent

Flexible options to meet your legacy application modernization needs

The modernization process retains the existing application and allows you to move components of the application into new environments – by Web-enabling the user interface or opening up parts of the application as a Web service. A benefit of legacy application modernization is keeping what you already have, you know how it works and it supports your specific business requirements. Modernization will improve the ROI on the investment already made in the application.

LANSA offers IBM System i (AS400, iSeries) application modernization products that enable you to modernise as much or as little of your legacy application as you need, all the way through to full application replacement.

Renovate: Add Web GUI to existing application

Legacy application modernization through renovation converts the 5250 application into a Web application. The 5250 application remains intact and the outcome from the renovation is a Web application with a graphical user interface. Both RAMP and aXes are suitable for renovation projects.

Reuse: Enhance existing application, new functions and a GUI

Reuse takes the existing 5250 application as its base and extends the application with new functions and a graphical user interface. RAMP provides the framework for modernising a 5250 application with a graphical user interface and extending its functionality. LANSA Open for .NET is appropriate when you want to include functions from the 5250 application in a Windows application.

Replace: New application, new functionality and a GUI

Replacing a 5250 application provides a new application with a graphical user interface but it can be an expensive project. Gradual replacement is a safer approach. You begin by reusing the whole 5250 application, and then gradually introduce new functions while retiring the equivalent functions in the original application. RAMP is the ideal modernisation tool for gradual replacement.

LANSA offers legacy application modernization products that enable you to modernise as much or as little of your legacy application as you need, all the way through to full application replacement.

RAMP – a staged approach to legacy application modernization

RAMP from LANSA RAMP is a legacy application modernization solution that addresses both your immediate tactical needs and strategic modernization requirements. A legacy application modernized using RAMP will feature a graphical user interface (for rich-client or Web) with simplified navigation over the existing functionality. You can further extend your application by delivering high-priority enhancements. Then you can gradually reengineer part or all of the application.

RAMP also lets you rapidly consolidate multiple legacy applications into one graphical application framework and replace your existing programs with new components in a timeframe that makes sense to your organization.

This modernization method is advantageous for a staged approach to a complete application replacement or partial legacy application modernization.

With RAMP you do not need the source code.

aXes – Web-enabling legacy applications quickly

aXes is a native Web-enablement solution for the IBM System i platform that assists your company to run its business applications over the Internet. It reduces the cost and complexity of modernizing the user interface by immediately transforming your legacy applications. You can Web-enable the application automatically and then progressively transform appropriate parts of the application into a rich Internet application.

This modernization method is suitable for situations where you need to be "on the Web" quickly and then take time to extend and enhance the application.

With aXes you do not need the source code.

LANSA Open for .NET – access IBM System i from modern Windows applications

LANSA Open for .NET allows developers to write new .NET applications that take advantage of resources on the IBM System i without leaving Visual Studio. It is a class library which exposes services (including data and programs) that .NET developers incorporate into Windows rich-client and Web applications. The developer building the .NET application sees the data and processes from the IBM System i as resources in Visual Studio.

The .NET applications use the same set of business rules already in place for the legacy applications. Applying the same business rules to both applications from a central point is particularly advantageous. The .NET developer does not need to code the business rules in the .NET application. Therefore, when the rules change you do not need to redeploy the .NET components.

One modernization strategy is to write Windows applications as front-ends for your legacy systems. This modernization method is suitable when you want to take advantage of the capabilities of the Windows platform but retain the functionality of your legacy applications.

With LANSA Open for .NET you do not need the source code.

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We chose RAMP from LANSA over other modernization tools because, clearly, the LANSA user interface is superior in its presentation layer and includes a feature-rich development environment. Now with the new, more intuitive RAMPed application we’ve seen the significant productivity improvements. RAMP from LANSA is simply the right choice in leveraging our extensive legacy applications.

André Dubé, IT Manager, CHS Grain & Oilseed

We picked RAMP from LANSA because of our urgent time-to-market requirements. No other solution could have done the job. The benefit of RAMP is clear when you consider what users would have to do if they had 16 green-screen sessions. Just logging in and navigating through the menus would be impossibly time-consuming. The drop-down selections, improved screen layouts and automated screen navigation have been crucial in reducing call time, which is a major part of this project's ROI.

Peter Olsen, Manager, Genesys Development, Gannett Co., Inc.

Our METHOS application is a leading product for plant and facility maintenance but it has a 5250 interface. The market demands more than just screen scraping and a rewrite was not a good answer because of time, money and risk of losing capabilities in the process. With RAMP from LANSA we can now deliver Web or client/server capabilities for METHOS without risk. In addition to the very rapid delivery model, we have a dramatic improvement in application navigation, simplification and expansion of our business into the ASP model.

Thom Davidson, President at Rippe & Kingston Systems