5. Performance issues
Sometimes introducing applications into the cloud can reveal latency issues that weren’t a problem in on-premise systems, making the application difficult to work with.
Additionally, Christopherson says if the cloud-based legacy application is integrated with on-premise infrastructure, this may create potential for failure.
6. The need to create a clear roadmap
Moving legacy applications to the cloud can be complex and businesses need a clear roadmap to ensure they don’t get lost.
“They need to de-couple systems and build a bridge into the cloud deployment platform, move workloads onto the cloud, and consider whether moving middleware will break existing integrations and dependencies,” Christopherson adds.
7. Security
The cloud is not necessarily less secure than on-premise solutions but it does require a slightly different approach due to the different threats.
“If you’ve never moved legacy applications into the cloud before then you’ll probably come across things you didn’t expect,” Christopherson adds.
“It’s important to move to production early and as often as possible so you don’t get to the end of the process and find a major roadblock.
“Don’t forget that it is possible and sometimes highly recommended to move the function of the legacy application to a new, cloud-based application, removing the legacy application from your architecture altogether.”
For Christopherson, legacy applications can’t stay around forever.
“By maintaining them you are introducing risk into the organisation, so you will need to address them at some point,” he adds.
“Moving into the cloud can reduce the risks from hardware failure, security, and authentication, potentially making the legacy application more useful.
“It can also be the first step in transitioning from the legacy application to a new solution for the future.”