News & Press Releases Archives

Modernization 2.0: legacy to microservices transformation

Migrating to a cloud-native architecture is one of the most powerful ways to improve business agility. The modern cloud delivers virtually unlimited, on-demand compute power, enabling platforms to scale instantly to meet demand. It’s no surprise that 94% of companies worldwide already use cloud computing in some capacity, and 97% of IT leaders plan to expand their cloud systems in the next few years (source).

Yet many enterprises remain constrained by legacy, monolithic applications. These systems hold critical business logic but act as bottlenecks to digital transformation. Insurance applications, banking platforms, and other unique software systems have been built over the course of decades in languages like PowerBuilder, EGL, and Smalltalk, among others. These types of systems require a flexible, customizable, scalable, and agile modernization process that can be easily jump-started to deliver incremental results.

But how can you untangle a complex monolith without disrupting stable functionality and critical business operations? After all, carving out pieces of a monolithic system is a manual, labor-intensive, and time-consuming process. To move forward in today’s climate, organizations need a controlled, automated approach that ensures critical functions can be safely modernized, tested, and deployed in a timely manner.

Architectural breakthrough: microservices + micro-frontends

The optimal solution lies in a more modern architecture built on microservices and micro-frontends. Microservices are a web of independent, modular components that can be scaled, updated, and reused individually. Micro-frontends are user-facing components that can operate either independently or as a cohesive whole.

Modernizing the front end is just as important as modernizing straight business logic. Forrester Research finds that companies investing in UI/UX design see a $100 return for every $1 spent. Outdated interfaces remain one of the most immediate barriers for legacy applications, and micro-frontends directly address this need.

Synchrony Systems’ Modernization Lifecycle Platform (MLP) comes equipped with end-to-end automation for extracting “subsets” of business logic and user interface, and transforming them into reusable components for microservices and micro-frontends. This enables organizations to modernize their monolithic legacy applications into a hyperscale cloud architecture. By focusing on the high-value business functionality first, Synchrony helps accelerate modernization timelines so enterprises can deploy and test migrated functions and complete features continuously in months instead of years.

The illustration below shows how MLP orchestrates a modernization solution from a PowerBuilder monolithic architecture to a target microarchitecture with a TypedScript/React frontend and a TypedScript/Node.js backend as the target programming languages. (click image to enlarge)

How monoliths become microservices and micro-frontends

Rather than migrating monolithic legacy codebases wholesale or “as-is,” Synchrony offers a technology-assisted reengineering process and workflow that is iterative, incremental, and analysis-driven.

Analytics and application rationalization

First, an exhaustive analytical inspection of your legacy application is performed using modernization technology purpose-built to identify and extract high-value business scenarios and their execution paths. This analysis produces targeted, self-contained components (a.k.a. “subsets”) for every identified business scenario embedded inside each monolithic codebase. This extraction acts as the foundation for exposing the hidden application “component vocabulary” in terms of application layers, subsystems, and business functions. Powered by the newly exposed knowledge of your system, the extracted component architecture becomes the stepping stone that drives continuous and incremental modernization toward the target cloud component architecture.

Target architecture metadata harness

The new application component architecture is the first representation and visualization of the formerly monolithic application’s structural decomposition into a granular micro-frontend/microservice layer. The component model is used for generating the required metadata that drives the execution of every modernization service agent, such as: a) data access generation; b) business objects generation; and c) UI facelift generation into a reactive frontend. This is where client-specific requirements are also incorporated to align with IT’s model target architecture.

Fine-tuning the transformation engine

The breakdown of subsets further undergoes an iterative process that identifies micro-frontends, microservices, and common layers used by both. An interactive process identifies UI/UX requirements and service layer requirements (typically slated for data access) to produce highly granular, reusable, and scalable components on the target. The process results in custom-tailored code refactoring, transformation, and generation, rules knowledgebases (KBs) for target business services, and facelift rules for a modern, reactive target web frontend.

Orchestrating modernization workflows

The analytics, metadata harness, and fine-tuned transformation knowledgebase are all assembled into custom-tailored workflows. When executed end-to-end, they produce the desired target architecture, consisting of hundreds and often thousands of structural (repositories) and microarchitectural (microservices and micro-frontends) components. Workflows can be invoked on demand by users or triggered by specific events, such as commits to newly generated code or updates to the metadata harness or KB. The holistic integration of code, tools, and processes ensures that the modernization project runs efficiently and at scale.

Continuous modernization

All units of execution inside a workflow, known as “autoflows,” can be thought of as pipelines of pipelines that enable continuous execution of the entire modernization lifecycle. The original monolithic application architecture is incrementally decomposed into independent, atomic, and stateless microservices and self-contained, reusable micro-frontends, ready for deployment into IT-specific cloud environments. The result is a transformed application with cloud-native architecture and modern UI/UX, preserving the original business logic and retaining 100% functional equivalence.

The illustration below shows an end-to-end customized MLP modernization workflow for monolithic client/server desktop applications. (click image to enlarge)

Why modernizing to microservices and micro-frontends improves speed and agility

Customers can continuously extract high-value functionality and features from their legacy applications at their own pace and timeframe, until everything is modernized.
Eliminating dead code and breaking the monolithic functionality into a web of independent microarchitecture components eliminates technical debt and fosters technological agility.
Legacy applications get fully transformed into modern target architectures, unlike the like-for-like, “as-is” transformations that preserve the legacy architectural semantics, making it hard to be agile and scalable on modern target platforms.
Microservices and micro-frontends are delivered incrementally as early milestones for customers to test and deploy into production piecemeal, rather than waiting for the entire application to be modernized.
Built for flexibility and adaptation, Synchrony’s modernization platform conforms to the customer’s specific target architecture, tooling, and requirements (e.g., RESTful, Kubernetes, cloud infrastructure, API gateway, widget libraries, data access harnesses, etc.) rather than dictating a standardized solution.

Real-world transformation: from monoliths to microarchitectures

Modernizing monolithic application architectures into microarchitectures enables companies to untangle decades of core domain functionality and extract it into highly reusable components. Synchrony has helped dozens of teams extract and transform critical domain functionality and UI from their legacy client/server or host/mainframe monolithic architectures into reusable target microarchitectures.

PowerBuilder

A PowerBuilder client/server application subset (after removing dead code and selecting the initial set of high-value components) with a traditional monolithic architecture:

Windows → 323
Data Windows → 1,908
Lines of Code (LOC) → 416K

Yields the following cloud microarchitecture:

Micro-frontends → 47
Microservices → 488
Repositories → 1,650

Would you like to learn how this could be applied to your in-house legacy applications?

Contact us to meet with our senior modernization specialists for an in-depth conversation and consultation about the target architecture options your in-house portfolio of legacy applications can take.

Microarchitecture in legacy application modernization FAQ

This FAQ addresses common questions about our technology, drawing from our expertise in modernization. Whether you’re a developer, architect, or CTO, these insights can help you understand how to revitalize your tech stack without disrupting operations.

What is microservices extraction in legacy application modernization?

Synchrony Systems’ Microservices Extraction technology is an automated tool that untangles complex legacy monoliths and converts them into a network of reusable microservices and microfrontends. It focuses on extracting subsets of business logic and user interfaces from languages such as PowerBuilder, EGL, and Smalltalk. This process creates independent, modular components that can be scaled, updated, and deployed individually in a cloud-native environment, such as TypeScript/React for frontends and TypeScript/Node.js for backends.

Why should enterprises modernize legacy applications into microarchitectures?

Legacy applications are, by definition, outdated. They are built on aging infrastructure and rely on a talent pool nearing retirement to keep running. These systems inherently limit scalability, agility, and innovation. By modernizing to microservices and micro-frontends, organizations can leverage the cloud’s on-demand compute power, enabling instant scaling to meet demand. This shift eliminates technical debt, fosters technological agility, and allows for incremental improvements without a full overhaul.

How does Synchrony Systems’ platform differ from traditional modernization approaches?

Traditional methods often involve manual, labor-intensive processes or “as-is” migrations that preserve outdated semantics, making it hard to achieve true agility. Synchrony’s platform uses end-to-end automation for an iterative, incremental, analysis-driven reengineering process. It avoids wholesale migrations by focusing on high-value business scenarios first, delivering functional equivalents in months rather than years. The result is a hyperscale cloud architecture tailored to your specific requirements, including RESTful services, Kubernetes, and custom API gateways.

What are microservices and micro-frontends, and why are they important?

Microservices are independent, modular backend components that handle specific business functions, allowing them to be scaled, updated, or reused without affecting the entire system. Microfrontends are user-facing UI components that can operate standalone or integrate seamlessly. Together, they create a flexible “web” of components that improve speed, reusability, and overall application performance.

What is Synchrony’s step-by-step process for microservices extraction?

The process is built into the Modernization Lifecycle Platform (MLP) and includes several key phases:

Analytics and application rationalization: An exhaustive analysis identifies high-value business scenarios and extracts self-contained components, revealing the application’s hidden “component vocabulary” across layers, subsystems, and functions.
Target architecture metadata harness: This generates metadata to drive modernization agents, incorporating client-specific requirements for data access, business objects, and reactive UI generation.
Fine-tuning the transformation engine: Subsets are broken down into granular micro-frontends and microservices. An interactive process refines UI/UX and service layer needs, creating custom refactoring rules and knowledgebases.
Orchestrating modernization workflows: Analytics, metadata, and transformation rules are assembled into custom workflows that produce structural repositories and microarchitectural components. These can be triggered on demand or by events like code commits.
Continuous modernization: Workflows run as “autoflows” (pipelines of pipelines), incrementally decomposing the monolith into atomic, stateless components ready for cloud deployment. The final output is a fully transformed application that preserves business logic and is 100% functionally equivalent.

If the modernization process is automated, how does it ensure safety?

Synchrony’s MLP emphasizes controlled automation to avoid disrupting stable functionality. It uses purpose-built technology for inspection, extraction, and transformation, ensuring critical functions are modernized, tested, and deployed safely and accurately. Automation handles the heavy lifting, but the process includes iterative fine-tuning and interactive elements to incorporate your team’s input throughout the modernization process, minimizing risks and maintaining operational continuity.

Can modernization be done incrementally without a big-bang approach?

Absolutely. MLP enables continuous extraction of high-value functionality at your own pace. Microservices and microfrontends are delivered as early milestones, enabling testing and piecemeal production deployment. This eliminates the need to wait for the entire application to be modernized, reducing downtime and accelerating timelines from years to months.

What benefits does this technology provide in terms of speed and agility?

Reduced technical debt: Breaks down monoliths into independent components, eliminating dead code and enabling easier updates.
Improved scalability and flexibility: Components conform to your target architecture (e.g., cloud infrastructure, widget libraries), fostering reuse across teams.
Faster time-to-market: Incremental deployments mean quicker value realization from high-priority features.
Improved UI/UX: Transforms outdated interfaces into modern, reactive frontends, enhancing user experience and ROI.
Full transformation: Unlike “as-is” methods, it delivers a truly cloud-native architecture for long-term agility.

Which legacy languages and systems does Synchrony support?

MLP is designed for a variety of legacy systems, including client/server desktop applications written in languages such as PowerBuilder, EGL, Smalltalk, VisualGen, COBOL, and more. It’s flexible and customizable, able to handle unique monolithic architectures across insurance, banking, and other industries.

How can I get started with Synchrony Systems’ Microservices Extraction technology?

New experience report reveals details of modernizing six Smalltalk applications to Java

Company Saves Seven Years by Partnering with Synchrony Systems

Greenwich, CT (October 17, 2023) – Synchrony Systems, Inc., a technology pioneer for the management and execution of complex application modernizations, released an in-depth experience report on the modernization of six Smalltalk applications to Java. It describes the unique three-year collaboration between Synchrony and a German IT services provider for the financial sector.

“This project provided an opportunity to turn the modernization experience on its head,” said Synchrony Systems CEO Slavik Zorin. “We co-developed a true collaborative approach that allowed the company’s engineering team to retain control and have complete visibility into all phases of the modernization process while allowing the application development and modernization to run in parallel. Together, we shrunk an estimated 10-year rewrite of well over two million lines of code down to three years.”

“With Synchrony’s help, their advanced technology stack, and a strong team, we completed migrating all of our Smalltalk applications to the desired target Java architecture and were finally able to retire Smalltalk,” stated the company’s modernization project lead and veteran software developer. “We could not have done it without Synchrony’s technology, modernization expertise, and strong commitment to success.”

The Modernization Experience Report includes details such as:

company and project background
modernization initiative challenges, requirements, and vendor selection
Synchrony Smalltalk Migration Technology (SMT) and modernization platform overview
modernization readiness phase, including work breakdown, team collaboration, and project timeline
modernization implementation phase, including parallel track progress, halfway evaluation, functional testing, and code quality
final deliverable, conclusion, and takeaways
an appendix, including analysis of the codebase, pipelines, operations, deliveries, and more

This in-depth report is available for limited release to companies interested in understanding the details of modernizing large, legacy applications. Request your copy.

Synchrony Systems wins the 2022 Digital Innovator Award from Intellyx

Greenwich, CT (December 12, 2022) – Synchrony Systems, Inc., the leader in complex application modernizations, announced today that it won the 2022 Digital Innovator Award from Intellyx, a research analyst firm dedicated to digital transformation.

According to their press release, Intellyx bestows this award upon vendors who are the most disruptive and innovative firms in their space, putting a “spotlight on vendors worth watching.”

“It’s an honor to be recognized for the second time by Intellyx for our application modernization technology,” said Slavik Zorin, CEO of Synchrony Systems. “Intellyx recognizes the innovation and positive impact that Synchrony is making in modernizing how modernizations are done. We are thankful for our conversations with the Intellyx team and the insights we gain from those interactions.”

Synchrony is the developer of MLP, a platform-as-a-service that helps customers gain control over the management and execution of complex application modernizations, thus reducing company risks, improving team communication and collaboration, and accelerating the entire modernization initiative. MLP orchestrates automated processes end-to-end, tracks all modernization activities, and provides complete transparency of all modernization activities to stakeholders.

Application owners use MLP to accelerate their adoption of cloud, mobile, and new web technologies by fast-tracking and de-risking complex modernizations. Migration tool vendors grow their business by making their migration tools and services consumable by customers and system integrators through the platform. System Integrators increase their profit margins using MLP to orchestrate migration tools from multiple vendors and leverage MLP’s systematic, repeatable, and reliable processes to manage complex application modernization.

For more details on the award and other winning vendors in this group, visit the Fall 2022 Intellyx Digital Innovator awards page.

About Synchrony Systems, Inc.
Customers gain control over the management and execution of complex application modernizations using Synchrony Systems’ Platform-as-a-Service–MLP. MLP is an end-to-end solution that orchestrates automated migration and modernization processes, tracks all modernization activities, and provides complete transparency of all modernization activities to stakeholders. This results in reduced company risks, improved team communication and collaboration, and accelerated modernization initiatives. MLP was named a 2018 SIIA CODiE Awards finalist for Best DevOps Tool and a 2019 SIIA CODiE Award Finalist for Best Emerging Technology. Synchrony Systems has been named a Digital Innovator from Intellyx in 2021 and again in 2022.

Slavik Zorin of Synchrony Systems to present at Camp Smalltalk Supreme

Sessions include static-type inferencing Smalltalk for application code analysis and decoupling Smalltalk applications for GUI migration to popular web frameworks.

Greenwich, CT (May 16, 2022) – Synchrony Systems, Inc., a leading technology provider for managing legacy application migrations and modernizations, announced today that Slavik Zorin is speaking at Camp Smalltalk Supreme, a yearly conference focused on the Smalltalk programming language. The event is June 10-12, 2022, in Toronto, Canada, celebrating the language’s 50th birthday.

“Smalltalk’s versatility, simplicity, and elegance allowed developers to build sophisticated applications to manage and run business-critical processes,” said Slavik Zorin, CEO of Synchrony Systems. “Yet today’s advances in modern web technologies and industry’s demands for more interactive digital experiences have put Smalltalk applications under pressure. I’m looking forward to showcasing how our technology can preserve the value of Smalltalk applications while enabling interoperability with cloud and mobile application development best practices.”

On Friday, June 10, Zorin will present “Static-Type Inferencing Smalltalk for Application Code Analysis,” demonstrating a static type system in Smalltalk along with Synchrony’s type inferencing technology within their Smalltalk Modernization Technology (SMT).

On Sunday, June 12, Zorin will present “De-coupling Smalltalk Applications for GUI Migration to Popular Web Frameworks,” featuring case studies of commercial Smalltalk applications that underwent a Smalltalk GUI migration while preserving the back-end functionality and design.

Camp Smalltalk Supreme will also feature keynote sessions from Adele Goldberg and Dan Ingalls, two of the original Smalltalk creators at Xerox PARC.

For more information about the conference, visit the conference website at Camp Smalltalk Supreme.

About Synchrony Systems, Inc.

We help customers manage and accelerate application migration, modernization, and transformation through automation technology, assisted workflows, and seamless integration into CI/CD processes, enabling an iterative, continuous modernization approach with no halts in application development. Our Modernization Lifecycle Platform (MLP) is a scalable, cloud-based platform for managing and executing end-to-end migrations and modernizations of legacy IT applications to modern software architectures and platforms. MLP was named a 2021 Digital Innovator from Intellyx, 2019 SIIA CODiE Award Finalist for Best Emerging Technology, and 2018 SIIA CODiE Awards finalist for Best DevOps Tool.

Synchrony Systems launches new capabilities to support EGL migrations

Organizations can upgrade to the latest version of EGL technologies or move to alternative platforms with MLP

Greenwich, CT (September 7, 2021) – Synchrony Systems, Inc., a leader in legacy application modernizations, announced today the release of a 4GL EGL migration solution as part of its Modernization Lifecycle Platform (MLP) offering.

“News such as no longer supporting JSF and Jasper reports and IBM moving EGL to HCL puts a question mark in the platform’s future,” said Oleg Arsky, chief product officer at Synchrony Systems. “Pair that with the desire to move applications to Web SPA with Angular/React/Vue, it made sense for us to invest in building a complete EGL migration solution to help our customers approach EGL modernizations in the best way suited for their future-state and business needs.”

Using Synchrony’s automation technology within MLP, applications built in the legacy 4GL EGL platform can be migrated wholesale or incrementally to the target architecture, programming language, and platform of the organization’s choice. This includes upgrading to the latest version of EGL technologies or moving to alternative platforms. The new capabilities for Synchrony’s EGL Modernization solution include:

Report Framework Upgrade — Jasper Reports to BIRT Reports
Web Upgrade — EGL/JSF to EGL/RUI
Web Facelift — EGL/TUI to EGL/RUI
Platform Transformation — EGL to Java/C# on the backend and JavaScript on the frontend

“Companies who work with Synchrony get more than best-of-breed migration tools,” Slavik Zorin, CEO of Synchrony Systems. “Our strength and focus are on migrating large and often complex bodies of legacy code that run critical aspects of the business to modern technology platforms and release them into production without any operational disruptions or development freezes.”

“The real value for organizations is integrating our EGL migration tools inside the entire modernization lifecycle to achieve the kind of an assembly line that is needed to make a complex EGL modernization manageable in terms of process and predictable in terms of time and cost,” added Arsky. “That why we are excited to offer a complete EGL migration solution integrated with MLP.”

For more information, visit the EGL modernization solution page, MLP page, or contact us.

About Synchrony Systems, Inc.

We help enterprises transform legacy in-house applications to modern technologies while preserving business-critical functionality. Synchrony’s Modernization Lifecycle Platform (MLP) is a scalable, cloud-based platform for managing and executing end-to-end migrations and modernizations of legacy IT applications to modern software architectures and platforms. It enables automated code conversion, transformation, remediation, and upgrades of millions of lines of code in minutes, ensuring consistent, reliable, and repeatable results. MLP was named a 2021 Digital Innovator from Intellyx, 2019 SIIA CODiE Award Finalist for Best Emerging Technology, and 2018 SIIA CODiE Awards finalist for Best DevOps Tool.

Synchrony Systems wins 2021 Digital Innovator Award from Intellyx

Greenwich, CT (June 16, 2021) – Synchrony Systems, Inc., a leader in legacy application modernizations, today announced the selection to the inaugural class of the 2021 Digital Innovator Award from Intellyx, the first and only analyst firm dedicated to digital transformation.

“At Intellyx, we get dozens of PR pitches each day from a wide range of vendors,” said Jason Bloomberg, President of Intellyx. “We will only set up briefings with the most disruptive and innovative firms in their space. That’s why it made sense for us to call out the companies that made the cut.”

“It’s an honor to be recognized by Intellyx for our innovation in the IT modernization space,” said Slavik Zorin, CEO of Synchrony Systems. “We’ve spent 25+ years modernizing legacy applications, building and using our proprietary migration tools. When we integrated the source code migration tools into an entire modernization process, our clients saw considerable gains in code quality, efficiency, and affordability.”

Synchrony’s Modernization Lifecycle Platform (MLP) supports the entire modernization lifecycle: from analysis and planning to transformation and remediation, from build and deployment to testing and production release. It applies the same systematic, iterative, and automation-driven modernization processes to produce production-ready, modernized applications.

It is compatible with any translation libraries or rule-sets, no matter the source or target programming language, platform, or framework. By automating the complete modernization process migration tools can be integrated into as part of an entire modernization assembly line.

To see the full list of winners, visit the Intellyx announcement.

About Synchrony Systems, Inc.

We help enterprises transform legacy in-house applications to modern technologies while preserving business-critical functionality. Synchrony’s Modernization Lifecycle Platform (MLP) is a scalable, cloud-based platform for managing and executing end-to-end migrations and modernizations of legacy IT applications to modern software architectures and platforms. It enables automated code conversion, transformation, remediation, and upgrades of millions of lines of code in minutes, ensuring consistent, reliable, and repeatable results. MLP was named a 2019 SIIA CODiE Award Finalist for Best Emerging Technology and 2018 SIIA CODiE Awards finalist for Best DevOps Tool.

Microservices extraction for monolithic app modernization

Many companies have accelerated their modernization plans in order to meet the new demands of conducting business in a digital-only or primarily digital environment. A recent survey released by Maria DB in partnership with Propeller Insights found that 40% of businesses are accelerating cloud adoption plans, and business leaders expect a long-term benefit from the technology agility and new ways of working.

“Since legacy applications are often the bottleneck for such transformations, legacy modernization is now more critical than ever,” writes Jason Bloomberg, president of Intellyx, in his recent article Digital Transformation and Application Modernization in Time of Crisis.

“Modernizing certain functionality is always more urgent than the rest. True, it will eventually be important to modernize most or all of the legacy application functionality, but today the focus is on what’s most important,” Bloomberg continues.

No longer a pipe dream: automated microservices extraction from the monolith

The historical criticism of a microservices approach to modernizing monolithic applications has been driven by the human ability to understand (or not) the architecture and programming of the monolith itself. If the intellectual capital that developed the application left the company and/or the documentation was weak, then trying to develop properly architected microservices to replace functionality was wrought with issues. When trying to wrap a monolith with microservices, the defects of the legacy architecture translated through to the microservices layer. A microservices approach to replacing the monolith was a mere pipe dream.

Thanks to Synchrony Systems’ innovative engineering and deep domain expertise in the migration automation field, new modernization technology is available that can identify and extract full execution paths of critical business functions and automatically migrate them to the desired target platform as microservices. These microservices have a modern architecture which makes them suitable to be deployed immediately to the cloud and to platforms such as Kubernetes. The microservices extraction technology preserves 100% of the functional equivalence of the legacy functionality, ensuring existing operational processes remain intact postmodernization.

Along with the narrow, vertical fully executable functionality, the microservices extraction technology can also accurately identify candidate “dead” code that can be removed altogether. This reduces technical debt and total cost of ownership by deprecating functionality that no longer matters, and therefore, should not be modernized.

No longer is it necessary to modernize the entire application. Automatic microservices extraction technology gives businesses the ability to rapidly modernize only the code that matters and addresses urgent business needs today.

The benefits of microservices can finally be achieved during application modernization

This microservices extraction technology makes it possible to modernize monolithic legacy applications and realize the long-sought benefits of microservices architecture. These benefits include:

Speed—migrate key business functions to the target platform in months, not years.
Agility—deliver incremental, modern microservices aligned with your DevOps practices.
Flexibility—transform business-critical functionality driven by business priorities.
Scalability—deploy truly scalable microservices and without the bottleneck of the legacy monolith.
Savings—reduce technical debt, the total cost of ownership and the upfront spend on the modernization.

Companies will also benefit from the new services model for modernizations, Modernization-as-a-Service (MaaS), that microservices extraction capabilities enable. Modernizations now can be planned, budgeted, and executed incrementally over time instead of an all-or-nothing approach.

Synchrony Systems announces microservices extraction capabilities for rapid migration of in-house legacy application functionality

Greenwich, CT (April 6, 2020) – Synchrony Systems, Inc., a leader in legacy application modernizations, today announced new microservices extraction capabilities of their Modernization Lifecycle Platform (MLP). The underlying source code migration and upgrade technology identifies and extracts full execution paths of critical business functions and automatically migrates them to the desired target platform as microservices suitable to be deployed to the cloud and to platforms such as Kubernetes.

The typical modernization process of monolithic in-house applications is to upgrade the entire application before the smallest bit of functionality can be run on the target platform. Traditionally, application modernizations have been an all-or-nothing proposition.

“Thanks to the ingenuity of our lab, we’ve added a powerful capability to our source code transformation engine that dramatically reduces the cost and time that it takes to produce a working system in order to deliver some of the application’s business-critical functionality,” said Slavik Zorin, CEO of Synchrony Systems. “No longer is it necessary to modernize the entire application. Instead, it is now possible to accurately extract narrow, vertical execution paths of critical business-functions and migrate them to a modern, cloud-ready, target platform. This gives businesses the ability to rapidly modernize only the code that matters and address urgent business needs today.”

Microservices extraction also has the ability to more accurately identify candidate “dead” code that can be removed altogether. This visibility helps IT and software engineering professionals reduce technical debt and total cost of ownership by deprecating functionality that no longer matters, and therefore, should not be modernized.

“CIOs who have managed migration projects know that short-term quick fixes create long-term technical debt,” stated Jason Bloomberg, president of Intellyx, an analyst and advisory firm helping business executives and IT leaders untangle the technologies and practices behind digital transformation. “The microservices extraction capabilities in Synchrony Systems’ Modernization Lifecycle Platform not only shortens the time to value, but they can actually decrease technical debt as well as the long-term total cost of ownership of modernized systems.”

“This is a game-changer for institutional companies like banking or insurance where in-house applications are preventing them from actualizing their digital transformation or engagement initiatives,” added Zorin. “Companies are now able to migrate key business functions to a target platform in only a few months, not years while preserving 100% functional equivalence and delivering in the process a modern target architecture.”

About Synchrony Systems, Inc.

We help enterprises transform legacy in-house applications to modern technologies while preserving business-critical functionality. Synchrony’s Modernization Lifecycle Platform (MLP) is a scalable, cloud-based platform for managing and executing end-to-end migrations and modernizations of legacy IT applications to modern software architectures and platforms. It enables automated code conversion, transformation, remediation, and upgrades of millions of lines of code in minutes, ensuring consistent, reliable, and repeatable results. MLP was named a 2019 SIIA CODiE Award Finalist for Best Emerging Technology and 2018 SIIA CODiE Awards finalist for Best DevOps Tool.

FinovateFall 2019: financial services modernization urgency

FinovateFall in September is always one of the most highly anticipated shows for the FinTech industry. With over 1,600 key influencers, 60+ live demos, and 120+ expert speakers, it’s four intense days of networking, learning, and strategizing for the future.

While this year’s major themes centered around big data, analytics, AI, customer experience (CX), and digital transformation, an underlying buzz said change is in the air. The anticipated change isn’t just about the new tech, which is always exciting, but the shrinking generational digital divide. We are entering unprecedented times where the largest wealth transfer in history will start taking place, and the younger generation is beyond just digitally tuned-in—they don’t know any other way of life.

After reflecting on the show, we’ve distilled what we learned to these four takeaways:

1. Disruption is real and is happening.

We’ve been hearing for some time that the financial services space will be disrupted by the digital economy, but now that time truly seems to be here. Digital-only banks such as Ally are gaining market share, big tech giants like Amazon and Apple have launched digital financial service offerings, and traditional financial institutions such as US Bank are going beyond simple digital strategies to develop highly-personalized, smart mobile banking applications.

“When it comes to financial systems, there are a variety of major threats to the status quo,” wrote Greg Palmer, Vice President of Finovate and Master of Ceremonies for FinovateFall 2019 in his recent blog. “But an alarming number of FIs [financial institutions] are falling into the same trap…they aren’t making the ‘responsible’ or ‘grown up’ decisions right now that will make their lives easier in the future. Instead, they are waiting for the next big shock to force them to.”

The big message from the conference was either innovate and disrupt your financial services company or be disrupted by someone else. Disruption is happening.

2. Company culture can make or break your initiatives.

Although FinovateFall 2019 showcased new tech, many of the session speakers mentioned company culture as a critical factor in transformational initiatives. Cultures must become more agile, innovative, and customer centric to stay competitive. In “Building a Culture of Innovation,” panelists from HSBC, Amazon, and Ondot Systems stressed the role leaders play in a company’s cultural change. It starts at the top with clearly defining and articulating the vision, aligning staff and champions, and proactively managing the process.

They also said to look at examples outside of financial services for inspiration. Companies in other industries have built centers of excellence and innovation labs to help foster creativity, and these lessons can be applied to financial services. If customers are having simple, impactful digital experience with non-financial services industries, they will expect the same from their banking and insurance institutions. Panelists warned not to outright mimic the competition or other industries, however. Take the time to understand what your company’s end customers are seeking, and what makes sense for your company’s team and your company’s brand. Your culture can be a competitive differentiator and driver of transformation.

3. New technology is an enabler of, not a substitute for, sound strategy.

It’s easy to get caught up in the latest and greatest technology as the solution to digital transformation and digital customer experience. But technology is only an enabler of a sound strategy and a thorough understanding of what your current and future customers want and need from your institution.

In the session “Delivering the Next Generation in Customized Customer Experience,” executives from Bank of America, Citi, and Northwestern Mutual discussed the importance of investing in digital experiences that are personalized to the varying needs of customers spanning generations. They recommend mirroring the digital experiences with which customers are already familiar and integrating services into those channels that customers are already using. They also reminded us not to discount the influence of Millennials, as they are promoting change and increasing adoption of digital experiences within older generations.

4. Turn legacy systems from roadblocks to facilitators of innovation

For large, well-established, and decades-old brands, legacy technology is just a fact of life. A few sessions addressed using APIs to extract data from legacy systems to power analytics, dashboards, reports, and even new services. While these API transformation programs can potentially unlock some of the value of the legacy systems, the sessions also included discussions about modernizing legacy systems as part of your overall technology strategy.

The reality is that systems built on aged or legacy technology can be vulnerable to cyberattacks. (Just ask Equifax.) Yet some of these in-house applications still operate core business operations. Rather than bolting on net new technology, develop a plan to modernize these critical legacy applications to help enable the digital experiences that consumers want while reducing security risks.

Thanks to @finovate for a fantastic show. See you next year!

About Synchrony Systems

At Synchrony Systems, we help financial services companies transform legacy, in-house applications to modern technologies while preserving business-critical functionality. Using the world’s only Modernization Lifecycle Platform, Synchrony Systems provides an automated, reliable, and transparent modernization while ensuring 100% functional equivalency with no operational interruptions. And with our continuous upgrades, your in-house applications will never fall behind again.

Synchrony Systems named SIIA Business technology Product CODiE Award finalist for best emerging technology

Modernization Lifecycle Platform (MLP) earns prestigious industry recognition

Greenwich, CT (May 6, 2019) Synchrony Systems, a leader in legacy application modernizations, today announced that MLP was named a 2019 SIIA CODiE Awards finalist in the Best Emerging Technology category. Finalists represent the best products, technologies, and services in software, information and business technology.

MLP is a scaleable, cloud-based platform for managing and executing end-to-end migrations and modernizations of legacy IT applications to modern software architectures and platforms. It enables automated code conversion, transformation, remediation and upgrades of millions of lines of code in minutes, ensuring consistent, reliable, and repeatable results. With MLP, upgrading and modernizing legacy applications is no longer disruptive to the business. There are no code freezes of ongoing development since MLP enables parallel upgrades and modernization to run concurrently and continuously with development.

The SIIA CODiE Awards are the premier awards for the software and information industries and have been recognizing product excellence for over 30 years. The awards offer 76 categories that are organized by industry focus of education technology and business technology. MLP was honored as one of 137 finalists across the 44 business technology categories.

“The 2019 CODiE Award finalists are some of the most innovative, high-impact products in the market. We are thrilled to place a spotlight on these innovations and the power they have to transform the future of how we do business.” said Jeff Joseph, President of SIIA.

“We are excited that MLP is a finalist in the Best Emerging Technology category,” said Slavik Zorin, Founder and CEO of Synchrony Systems. “Battling technical debt is a large challenge for IT departments across all industries and will only continue to grow as today’s leading-edge technology is tomorrow’s legacy. MLP provides a technology-agnostic, systematic approach and a uniform process for migrating and upgrading mission-critical proprietary business applications while maintaining 100% functional equivalence and without disrupting the day-to-day business operations. It’s an honor to be recognized by the CODiE judges for our vision and accomplishments thus far.”

The SIIA CODiE Awards are the industry’s only peer-recognized awards program. Business technology leaders including senior executives, analysts, media, consultants and investors evaluate assigned products during the first-round review which determines the finalists. SIIA members then vote on the finalist products and the scores from both rounds are tabulated to select the winners. Winners will be announced during the Business Technology & Company CODiE Award Winner Announcement Party immediately following TechConText, June 12 in San Francisco.

Details about each finalist are listed at http://www.siia.net/codie/2019-Finalists

About the SIIA CODiE™ Awards

The SIIA CODiE Awards is the only peer-reviewed program to showcase business and education technology’s finest products and services. Since 1986, thousands of products, services and solutions have been recognized for achieving excellence. For more information, visit siia.net/CODiE.

About Synchrony Systems, Inc.

Synchrony Systems has been helping companies modernize their legacy, mission-critical applications for over 20 years. Their extensive experience, deep belief in automation while maintaining agility, and desire to develop a more systematic way to modernize has resulted in the world’s only Modernization Lifecycle Platform (MLP). For more information, visit sync-sys.com/.