Modernization approach
Migration is complex and has many variables. AWS Mainframe Modernization offers an evolutionary approach that provides some short-term wins by improving agility with plenty of opportunities to optimize and innovate later on. In addition, AWS Mainframe Modernization helps simplify the journey and still respects the particulars of your client’s company and business. The two main approaches that AWS Mainframe Modernization supports are automated refactoring or replatforming. Which to choose depends on your client’s situation.
Automated refactoring uses AWS Blu Age tools to automatically convert code, data, and dependencies to modern language, datastore, and frameworks, while at the same time guaranteeing functional equivalence with the same business functions.
Replatforming uses Micro Focus tools to transform mainframe workloads into agile services on AWS.
You can think of the modernization journey in stages. The first stage includes three phases: assess, mobilize, and migrate and modernize. The next stage includes the operate and optimize phase, where you can identify more opportunities for innovation.
Assess phase
At the highest level, the Assess phase looks at whether you are ready to migrate. You define a business case, and then educate your team with workshops and an immersion day (demos and labs) offered by AWS. Workshops and immersion days address different topics. These tasks are conducted outside of AWS Mainframe Modernization.
Mobilize phase
In the Mobilize phase, you start your project with a kickoff, and then run through a discovery process that extracts data from your mainframe applications and ingests it to a migration tool. You identify the applications you want to migrate and select a few applications to pilot. You refine your business case, write your migration plan, and decide how you want to handle security and compliance, account governance, and your operational model. You set up a cloud center of excellence with the right people from your team. You run the pilots and document what you learned. You refine your migration plan and business case. Many of these tasks are conducted outside of AWS Mainframe Modernization.
Migrate and modernize phase
The Migrate and Modernize phase applies to each application and consists of several tasks, including assigning people, running in-depth discovery, figuring out the right application architecture on AWS, setting up application runtime environments, replatforming or refactoring your code, integrating with other systems, and, of course, testing. At the end of the phase, you deploy the replatformed or refactored applications to production and cut over to the new system on AWS. Most or all of these tasks are conducted in AWS Mainframe Modernization, in another AWS service, or in a tool to which AWS Mainframe Modernization provides access.
If you want to use automated refactoring, see Blu Insights
For migrating data from the mainframe to AWS, we recommend the AWS SCT and the AWS Database Migration Service. For more information, see What is the AWS Schema Conversion Tool? in the AWS Schema Conversion Tool User Guide and What is AWS Database Migration Service? in the AWS Database Migration Service User Guide.
Operate and optimize phase
In the Operate and Optimize phase, you focus on monitoring your deployed applications, managing resources, and ensuring that security and compliance are up to date. You also assess opportunities to optimize the migrated workloads.
