Shareable Summary

Sharing Guidelines for this document

How to Choose the Right As a licensed Gartner user, you may share this

Approach for Application

document with other individuals (both licensed
Gartner users and non-Gartner license holders) in
your organization for the purposes of supporting
you in your job role and supporting your priorities.

Modernization and Cloud You may forward this PowerPoint in its entirety or
include select slides or graphics in your own

Migration presentations to your senior management, Board

of Directors, or key stakeholders within your
organization or your team.

In all instances of sharing, ensure that Gartner

is attributed as the source of this content.

23 January 2023 PLEASE NOTE: This document is intended

strictly for your noncommercial use – it cannot be
posted on your intranet or resold and is not
intended to avoid the purchase of additional user
licenses. For additional information, please refer to
Gartner Usage Policy.
©2023 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Gartner is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and its affiliates. This publication may not be
reproduced or distributed in any form without Gartner's prior written permission. It consists of the opinions of Gartner's research organization, which should
not be construed as statements of fact. While the information contained in this publication has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, Gartner
disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. Although Gartner research may address legal and financial
issues, Gartner does not provide legal or investment advice and its research should not be construed or used as such. Your access and use of this
publication are governed by Gartner’s Usage Policy. Gartner prides itself on its reputation for independence and objectivity. Its research is produced
independently by its research organization without input or influence from any third party. For further information, see "Guiding Principles on Independence
and Objectivity."
RESTRICTED Gartner research may not be used as input into or for the training or development of generative artificial intelligence, machine learning,
DISTRIBUTION
algorithms, software, or related technologies.
© 2023 Gartner Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
 Shareable Summary

Summary
Each of the application modernization and cloud migration approaches varies
substantially in terms of scope and effect. Software engineering leaders should
use Gartner’s evaluation framework to select an approach that will produce the
desired results, with acceptable cost, risk and impact.

View Document
RESTRICTED DISTRIBUTION
1 © 2023 Gartner Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
 Shareable Summary

Key Findings
• There are various application modernization and cloud migration approaches, each of which
varies substantially in terms of scope, effect, risk, cost and impact. Approaches have specific
use cases and differ in which layers and aspects of an application can be improved.
• Software engineering leaders often pursue modernization or cloud migration efforts without
determining why and how an application poses an obstacle to digital business — leading
them to select an approach that does not resolve the underlying problem.
• Without a clear understanding of the root cause of the problem and the effect of different
modernization approaches, software engineering leaders may select an ineffective approach
that wastes time and effort, and will negatively impact business outcomes.

View Document
RESTRICTED DISTRIBUTION
2 © 2023 Gartner Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
 Shareable Summary

Recommendations
Software engineering leaders should:
• Establish a clear understanding of each application modernization and cloud migration
approach by recognizing the differences in scope and effect.
• Determine what functional, architectural and technological issues need to be resolved by
performing a cause-effect analysis using the six drivers of modernization.
• Choose the right approach for each application by using Gartner’s evaluation framework.

View Document
RESTRICTED DISTRIBUTION
3 © 2023 Gartner Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
 Figure 1: Modernization Approaches Differ in Shareable Summary
Their Ability to Change Aspects of the
Application

View Document
RESTRICTED DISTRIBUTION
4 © 2023 Gartner Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
 Shareable Summary
Figure 2: Six Drivers of Application
Modernization

View Document
RESTRICTED DISTRIBUTION
5 © 2023 Gartner Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
 Shareable Summary
Figure 3: Identify Cause of the Issue as Basis
for Selecting Best Modernization Approach

View Document
RESTRICTED DISTRIBUTION
6 © 2023 Gartner Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
 Figure 4: Gartner’s Framework for Selecting the Shareable Summary
Right Application Modernization and Cloud
Migration Approach

View Document
RESTRICTED DISTRIBUTION
7 © 2023 Gartner Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
 Shareable Summary

Recommended by the Authors

Gartner membership required to access the research below.
How to Start and Drive Your Modernization Strategy
Use Continuous Modernization to Optimize Legacy Applications
Avoid Wasting Time and Money by Assessing Your Portfolio Before Migrating Applications to the
Cloud
Quick Answer: How Much of My Application Portfolio Can I Lift and Shift to the Cloud?

View Document
RESTRICTED DISTRIBUTION
8 © 2023 Gartner Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.