Think “inside the box” when modernizing your applications

As technology advances and more organizations move their IT infrastructure to the cloud, there's a growing need for flexible and modern development platforms.

These new platforms need not only to support existing applications but also allow developers to quickly create new ones. For those looking to modernize applications but are unsure where to start, containerization can be an excellent starting point.

Gartner predicts that 75% of large enterprises in mature economies will be using containers in production by 2024, up from less than 35% presently. The reason for this acceleration is simple: containerization makes it possible to build and deploy applications faster, with fewer resources and at a lower cost.

Here's why you should consider using this approach and how to pick suitable applications for containerization.

Why containerization is crucial for modernizing your stack

Containerization is considered the least intrusive method of modernization because it doesn't require significant changes to application code. It is also straightforward to operate, leading to cost savings and better availability.

The importance of containerization lies in its ability to provide a flexible and efficient way to modernize applications. It allows you to package your applications and dependencies into a containerized unit. This container can then be easily moved from one environment to another, making it an excellent solution for modernizing applications.

Here are a few key reasons why containerization is crucial for companies looking to modernize their technology stack:

• Agility: Containerization empowers companies to quickly adapt and respond to changing business needs. With minimal changes to application code and effortless implementation, containerization enables companies to achieve greater agility in their modernization journey.
• Reliability: Containerization improves the reliability of applications by ensuring that they run consistently across different environments, leading to better availability for users.
• Portability: Containers provide a consistent environment for an application to run in, regardless of the underlying infrastructure. This makes it easier to move applications from one environment to another, such as from a local development machine to a production environment.
• Scalability: Containers can be scaled up or down to meet changing demands, handle sudden traffic spikes and accommodate new users.
• Security: Containers provide an isolated environment for applications, making it more difficult for malicious actors to access sensitive data or exploit vulnerabilities in the underlying infrastructure.
• Cost-effectiveness: By using containers, companies can reduce infrastructure costs and avoid vendor lock-in. Containers can also make it easier to manage resources, as they allow you to allocate resources more efficiently to different applications.

Five factors to consider when evaluating applications for containerization

Identifying suitable applications for containerization requires a thorough assessment of the application's architecture and dependencies. Here are some factors to consider when assessing applications for containerization:

• Statelessness: Applications that are stateless, meaning they don’t save client data from one session to the next, and that don't rely on local storage are typically good candidates for containerization, as they can be easily moved between containers and environments.
• Dependencies: Applications with well-defined dependencies that can run with limited resources are ideal for containerization. Applications that require a lot of resources or have complex dependencies may be more challenging to containerize.
• Scalability: Applications that are expected to scale up or down frequently are good candidates for containerization, as containers can be easily scaled to meet changing demands.
• Portability: Applications that need to run in different environments, such as those moved from a local development machine to a production environment, are good candidates for containerization.
• Security: Applications that require a high level of security, such as those that handle sensitive data, are good candidates for containerization, as containers provide an isolated environment for applications to run in.

Add containerization to your application modernization plan

Containerization provides a flexible, scalable and cost-effective approach for modernizing applications, making it a crucial step for companies modernizing their technology stack. Consider adding it to your application modernization plan to gain:

• Minimal intrusion into existing applications, with minimal changes required to application code
• Easy identification of suitable applications
• Improved scalability, reliability, and availability
• Cost savings through improved resource utilization

Explore how Unisys can help you add containerization and other low-risk, low-effort approaches to your application modernization journey.

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