Overcoming the Challenges of App Modernization with EPAM & AWS 

Digital transformation is essential for organizations as they seek to improve decision-making and create new functionality to drive growth and efficiency. However, updating legacy applications and migrating from on premise to a cloud service provider — like AWS — can be daunting, particularly for businesses struggling with a lack of technical skills and looking to cut operational costs.

EPAM’s Jamie Allen and Krishna Challa explain how EPAM’s partnership with AWS enables organizations to overcome these hurdles to realize the full benefit of cloud migration. 

Why is app modernization so crucial for organizations looking to thrive in today’s digital world?

Jamie Allen: Organizations can’t create the new features that they want because they would have to build new and leverage some capability that they don’t have right now. They can leverage AWS to do that much easier than setting that up on premise.

Krishna Challa: To help improve decision-making, there is a necessity to modernize applications. It is extremely important for organizations to remain relevant to current industry trends and to scale up their business.

What are the biggest challenges that businesses looking to modernize their applications face?

JA: People think the cloud is going to save them money, and they only think in terms of operational expenses. You are paying more for services from AWS than if you were running them yourself, but you also don’t have your own maintenance schedules and your own engineers running stuff. You’re paying for not having to do that, and there’s value in that.

KC: The main challenge, from my experience, is a lack of technical expertise — whether it be in terms of handling architectural changes or the complexity that has been built in over time into existing systems.

How does EPAM work with AWS customers to help them on their app modernization journey?

JA: We have to step back and understand the cloud strategy of the organization. Having a deep understanding of what the organization is looking to derive from the cloud has to drive the success factors of modernizing.

KC: At EPAM, we assist AWS customers in their application modernization journey by leveraging our premier tier partnership and service delivery competencies. We have a talented pool of engineers who are skilled in solving issues and that stay up to date with industry trends. Additionally, we work closely with AWS to enhance their services and provide solutions to ensure customer success.

What are typical scenarios when enterprises approach you with application modernization use cases?

KC: The type of customers that we see are all over the map. We come across customers that have already begun the journey on their own, and others that are halfway through and are facing certain challenges. If they come to us at the beginning of their journey, we would be able to advise right through from strategy and engineering to implementation and operations. 

JA: Another typical scenario is an acquisition, where an organization has bought another company. When this happens, they tend to need help streamlining at scale.

What structures or cultures do enterprises need to have in place for successful cloud modernization and migration?   

JA: They have to know what success looks like. If they're just going to the cloud because somebody says they’re going to save money, they may be surprised.

KC: Another critical point is having a mindset where everybody in the team is encouraged to experiment and has the ability to impress.

Can EPAM help organizations and business leaders with total cost of ownership (TCO) concerns? 

KC: We’ve built our own frameworks in terms of best practices for cost optimization, and we have used this with various customers across the globe. On average, we are seeing a 30 to 40% cost saving for these customers.

JA: We have worked with a very large media and entertainment company with a nine-figure cloud spend in AWS, and we have helped them — from June until March — save more than 40%.

How does EPAM help to build the confidence of users that are new to AWS?

KC: We have a lot of expertise in this area through our own experimentation and our own learning. For new users, EPAM has its own education teams that design courses for organizations, and this is where you can take a holistic journey with EPAM.

How does EPAM’s cloud migration methodology differ from that of its rivals?

JA: A lot of companies will come in and say this is the only way you can build software. EPAM has a tendency to find out how organizations build software and how we can help them do it better.

KC: EPAM’s philosophy is modernize before you migrate. If you do a lift and shift, you carry a lot of legacy into the cloud, and we see a lot of customers struggling with that.