Keeping Legacy Business Applications Running on Modern Infrastructure
Managed infrastructure for Genie that keeps legacy business applications secure, backed up and operational while gradually modernizing the environment underneath them.
Description
Not every business application needs to be replaced simply because the technology behind it is getting older. For established organizations, legacy software can continue to support important processes long after the infrastructure it was originally built for has become outdated.
For Genie, part of Terex Corporation, Wizzou manages and maintains the virtual server infrastructure supporting two legacy applications. This includes infrastructure management, backups, SSL certificates, ongoing maintenance and technical recommendations to keep the applications available and sustainable.
Client
Technologies
Where the Challenge Began
Critical Software on an Aging Foundation
Legacy applications often create a difficult infrastructure challenge. The applications may still perform their intended role reliably, while the operating environments and technologies they depend on become increasingly difficult to maintain.
Replacing such applications can require significant development work, process changes and migration effort that may not be justified when the existing software continues to meet the needs of the business.
At the same time, simply leaving the original environment untouched introduces its own risks. Aging infrastructure, expiring dependencies, certificates, backups and compatibility requirements all need continued attention.
Genie needed a way to preserve the applications they continued to rely on while reducing the operational risk associated with running older software.
From Challenge to Solution
Modernizing the Infrastructure, Not the Application
Wizzou operates and maintains two dedicated virtual servers that provide the environments required by Genie's legacy applications.
Rather than forcing an immediate application replacement, the infrastructure around the software is actively managed. Wizzou handles server maintenance, backup processes, commercial SSL certificate management and the technical operations required to keep the environments functioning reliably.
As the previous infrastructure aged, Wizzou also migrated the applications to a more modern environment while preserving the compatibility required by the existing software. This allowed the underlying infrastructure to move forward without requiring the applications themselves to be rebuilt.
Ongoing monitoring and maintenance are complemented by technical recommendations when components, configurations or infrastructure decisions should be reconsidered. This gives Genie a partner responsible not only for keeping the servers online, but also for identifying risks before they become larger operational problems.
The result is a pragmatic infrastructure strategy: preserve software that still provides value while continuously improving the environment responsible for running it.
What Our Approach Delivered
Legacy Applications Without Legacy Infrastructure
Genie can continue using established applications that remain valuable to the business without maintaining the underlying infrastructure internally or undertaking an unnecessary software replacement project.
The migration extended the usable lifetime of the applications by moving them onto a more modern infrastructure foundation while maintaining the compatibility they require.
With Wizzou responsible for server operations, backups, certificates, maintenance and technical guidance, the applications remain supported as their surrounding technology continues to evolve.
It demonstrates that modernization does not always mean rebuilding everything. Sometimes the right engineering decision is to modernize the infrastructure around a proven application and keep it operating reliably for as long as it continues to serve the business.