Turn to No Code for Legacy App Data Migration

Research indicates that by 2022, 90% of new applications will be cloud native.

Increasing demands for business agility are prompting companies worldwide to migrate legacy app data to the cloud. This technological shift to the cloud supports greater agility, faster innovation and lower IT costs. Ideas can move concept to execution quickly, to seize new opportunities and respond to market demands.

Challenges of Legacy App Data Migration

The challenge is a big one – how to migrate hundreds or even thousands of legacy applications to new cloud platforms and their associated data. This migration can serve to revitalize the apps and in turn the business. Lower operational costs, greater scope for automation and enhanced capabilities are some of the factors that can breathe new life into legacy apps.

Performing this migration manually is hardly feasible both in terms of person hours and cost. Low code and no code platforms are essential for making this transition. While low code platforms have been around for a while, no code platforms raise exciting possibilities.

No Code & Low Code Solutions

No code platforms make development into a process of configuration, eliminating coding and making testing and deployment even easier than low code platforms. The nature of migration plays a role in deciding which platform is suitable for the task at hand.

If a legacy data migration project is simply a ‘lift and shift,’ merely moving an app data from one platform to another is moderately complex. In this case, low code can be a good choice. However, the complexity increases when apps’ data needs to be remodeled and restructured to add new capabilities and extend existing capabilities for further use. In the latter case, remodeling a legacy data platform is typically a gradual process with a new data modeling design for the app followed by breaking the SQL scripts into services. The speed of this process depends on the goals and current code base of the app. No code is particularly useful when a legacy app needs to be refactored and restructured as it simplifies data migration tremendously.

Restructuring the back end of storage requires a schema redesign. So the legacy app data has to be migrated to this new database structure, typically JSON which is better suited to microservices.

A lot of database calls are typical processes in the apps everyday functionality. As the database structure is being changed to JSON, these SQL calls will not work. So all these DB calls must be re-created to support the new database structure and microservices. These DB functions are also configurable to support modifications.

The impetus behind low code and no code platforms is that they move key layers of existing legacy apps to a new platform, saving money and allowing development to move forward with the app on the cloud.

Let’s consider the differences between low code and no code platforms for this task.

Low code can be used to:

• Provide conversation logic through the interface of a data services layer.
• Create new services that leverage current services.
• Create new possibilities – new services and logic used to be integrated with other services or apps.

On the other hand, no code development can be used to:

• Entirely replace the data services layer.
• Provide a convenient, consistent option for data processing and validation.
• Invoke services that will operate based on the data.

Typically the majority of app data has a large amount of code that processes its UI elements, handling CRUD (Create, Read, Update and Delete)operations.

A no code platform has capabilities that simplify the process by making both the SQL Queries and API a function of configuration. This massively streamlines and simplifies tasks – users can configure a whole application and data services spanning myriad aspects such as data inputs, business rules, the database it uses, reports, workflows, generation of documents and so on.

Explore the platforms on the market to identify which capabilities fit your project best. No code platforms allow you to use their interface to configure a range of application data elements:

• Rules for data services
• Data API creation
• Data API invocation
• Data modeling methods(3NF, document, key value pair)
• Database or Knowledge base store
• Invocation of external services
• Charts, reports and document generation
• Workflows and business rules

A no code platform is very powerful as it can allow a much larger group of users to play a role in legacy app data migration if required. The platform’s new data services layer would be easily maintainable and could evolve faster with less testing. The advantage is that with a no code platform, legacy app data migration is completed in a few months, much faster than typical timelines for such projects.

Here’s how a no code platform simplifies legacy app data migration with clear roles:

• The data services and knowledge base is created by low code or no code developers.
• Then the team of full stack developers adapt the services.
• Evolution can occur with no code methods.
• If evolution requires full stack work, then one of the developers works on it.

No code will not fit every type of legacy app data migration, but it can accelerate the majority of such projects. Considering the huge numbers of legacy migration projects worldwide, it’s advantageous to opt for a cost-effective solution that eases manual effort such as a no code or low code platform.

You can count on DataSwitch for cost-effective, accelerated solutions for digital data transformation, migration and modernization through MongoDB. Our no code and low code solutions along with enhanced automation, cloud data expertise and unique schema generation accelerates time to market.

DataSwitch provides Intuitive, Predictive and Self-Serviceable Schema redesign from 3NF to Document Model,  as well as fully automated data migration & transformation based on redesigned schema and no-touch code conversion from legacy data scripts to modern, MongoDB APIs.

Get your enterprise’s cloud-driven data modernization journey and legacy app migration running at light speed with business continuity ensured. Book a demo to know more.