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Microsoft Platform Modernization

Modernize legacy applications. Build an AI-ready future.

Reduce licensing costs, accelerate software delivery, and unlock innovation by transforming .NET, Windows, and SQL Server workloads into cloud-native architectures built on AWS.

Evolve Cloud Services brings senior application developers, database architects, and AWS specialists together across the full modernization journey, from business alignment and assessment through production delivery.

45%
.NET on Linux + Graviton arm64
Up to 45% cost savings for .NET applications moved to Linux on AWS Graviton arm64 processors — per AWS prescriptive guidance.
70%
SQL Server → Aurora PostgreSQL
Up to 70% database cost savings by moving from SQL Server to Amazon Aurora for PostgreSQL — eliminating licensing entirely.
85%
Windows file servers → Amazon S3
Up to 85% savings moving from Windows file servers or FSx for Windows to Amazon S3 object storage.
The Modernization Journey

One journey from business goals to production

Successful modernization requires more than new technology. Business priorities, application architecture, delivery practices, and team capabilities must move forward together.
Evolve follows a four-stage modernization journey aligned with AWS methodology.
01

Align

Connect modernization decisions to measurable business goals.
02

Assess

Determine what to modernize and define the best technical path forward.
03

Mobilize

Build the delivery plan, validate the approach, and prepare teams to execute.
04

Modernize

Deliver the first iteration, prove value, and scale the approach.
01
Align

Align modernization to business value

Before making technology decisions, Evolve brings application owners, IT sponsors, engineering teams, and operational stakeholders together to define what modernization must accomplish.
  • Identify application owners, executive sponsors, and key stakeholders
  • Establish business goals such as cost reduction, faster delivery, resilience, scalability, and AI readiness
  • Define value metrics, KPIs, and success criteria for each application
  • Document business constraints, dependencies, risks, and investment priorities
  • Create a shared decision framework for evaluating modernization options
Outcome: A modernization charter that connects business goals to technical decisions and gives stakeholders a shared definition of success.
02
Assess

Determine what to modernize and how

Evolve offers two complementary assessments. The Application Modernization Assessment evaluates a portfolio and identifies the strongest candidates. The Modernization Viability Assessment provides a technical deep dive into a selected application or workload.
AMA

Application Modernization Assessment

What should we modernize?
The Application Modernization Assessment, or AMA, is a lightweight portfolio discovery and directional assessment designed to identify and prioritize the best modernization candidates.
The AMA includes
  • Portfolio source-code scan — identifies solution and project structures, languages, frameworks, dependencies, and potential compatibility issues
  • Portfolio database assessment — reviews schemas, data types, advanced feature usage, and estimated modernization effort
  • Modernization scoring — evaluates business criticality, potential ROI, and ease of modernization
  • Licensing assessment — provides a high-level TCO comparison between the current licensed environment and a modern, license-free target state
Outcome: A ranked portfolio of modernization candidates supported by business value, technical feasibility, and cost analysis.
★ No-cost assessment funded through AWS. Typically completed in 2–3 weeks. Deliverable: ranked modernization candidate list with ROI scoring.
MVA

Modernization Viability Assessment

How should we modernize it?
The Modernization Viability Assessment, or MVA, is a technical deep dive into a single application or workload. It defines the best-fit target architecture, technology stack, infrastructure, and execution approach.
The MVA includes
  • Application and database deep dive — reviews architecture, source code, dependencies, database schemas, usage patterns, blockers, and mitigations
  • Target architecture and infrastructure — defines the proposed application stack, database platform, AWS services, and deployment architecture
  • Detailed TCO analysis — compares projected AWS and licensing costs with the current environment
  • Modernization execution plan — provides a detailed scope, level-of-effort estimate, delivery approach, and recommended next steps
Outcome: A decision-ready target architecture and modernization plan with clearly understood cost, effort, risks, and expected value.
★ No-cost assessment funded through AWS. Covers a single application or workload. Deliverable: complete project plan with funding estimate, ready for delivery sign-off.
03
Mobilize

Turn the strategy into a repeatable delivery motion

Evolve converts the assessment findings into an iterative implementation strategy. We prepare the technology, people, processes, and delivery framework required to execute modernization successfully.

Iterative modernization plan

Translate the target architecture into a prioritized backlog and detailed delivery plan. Define iteration goals, responsibilities, environments, security requirements, testing strategy, deployment processes, milestones, and success metrics.

Modernization EBA, or ModAx

ModAx is an immersive, Evolve-led Experience-Based Acceleration engagement that uses a learn-by-doing approach. Application, platform, security, database, and operations teams work together on a real modernization backlog.
The engagement helps teams
  • Validate modernization patterns through hands-on implementation
  • Remove technical and organizational blockers
  • Establish repeatable architecture and delivery practices
  • Build practical skills within internal engineering teams
  • Prepare the organization to scale modernization across additional applications
Outcome: An enabled team, a validated modernization pattern, and a practical framework that can be repeated across the application portfolio.

Modernization proof of concept

A focused proof of concept validates a representative, high-value portion of the proposed modernization before full-scale delivery.
Depending on the application, the PoC may validate
  • Conversion from .NET Framework to cross-platform .NET
  • Migration from SQL Server to PostgreSQL
  • Deployment to containers, serverless, or managed AWS services
  • Integration, performance, security, and operational requirements
  • AI-assisted code transformation and database conversion
  • Build, test, and deployment automation
Outcome: Working evidence that the proposed approach is technically viable, along with refined architecture, effort, risk, and delivery assumptions.

Team enablement and continuous modernization

Evolve provides targeted technical enablement, pairing, runbooks, engineering standards, and reusable automation. We also help establish the CI/CD, testing, observability, security, and governance foundations needed to make modernization an ongoing capability.
Outcome: Teams that are prepared to operate the modernized stack and continue improving it after the initial engagement.
★ Select assessment and mobilization activities may be eligible for support through AWS programs.
04
Modernize

Prove value, then scale

The modernization project transforms an existing application or workload into the target state defined during the earlier phases.
Evolve’s senior developers and database architects work alongside your technical teams to execute iteration one, modernizing the application, database, infrastructure, and build, test, and deployment processes.

Execute the first iteration

Deliver a carefully scoped production outcome that addresses the highest-value modernization objectives while establishing patterns that can be reused in later iterations.

Accelerate engineering with generative AI

Evolve uses tools such as AWS Transform, Anthropic Claude Code, and specialist partner technologies to accelerate:

aws transformclaude code (anthropic)isv partner ai tools

  • .NET Framework analysis and conversion to cross-platform .NET
  • SQL Server schema and stored procedure conversion to PostgreSQL
  • Dependency analysis and application documentation
  • Test generation and validation
  • Code refactoring and remediation
Experienced engineers review, test, and validate AI-generated changes to ensure that speed does not come at the expense of reliability, security, or maintainability.

Measure and reinvest

Measure the first iteration against the KPIs established during Align. Apply the delivery efficiencies, infrastructure savings, and licensing savings to subsequent iterations, allowing modernization to scale through demonstrated value.
Outcome: A production-proven modernization pattern, measurable business results, and a repeatable path for modernizing the remaining application portfolio.
Modernization Outcomes

Leave the constraints of the legacy stack behind

01

Reduce licensing and infrastructure costs

Move from Windows and SQL Server dependencies to cross-platform .NET, Linux, containers, serverless services, and open-source databases such as Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL.
Up to 45%
savings for .NET applications on Linux + Graviton arm64
Up to 70%
savings moving SQL Server to Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL
Up to 85%
savings from Windows file servers to Amazon S3
02

Make applications and data AI-ready

Expose data and business capabilities through modern APIs, event-driven architectures, and accessible data services that can support generative AI and agentic solutions.
  • Data siloed in legacy applications exposed via clean APIs
  • Modern event-driven architectures ready for AI agents
  • Structured, queryable data surfaces for LLM integration
03

Deliver software faster

Decompose tightly coupled applications, automate testing and deployment, and enable teams to release features independently with less downtime and risk.
  • Independent service deployments — no full-stack releases
  • Higher feature-release velocity from decoupled services
  • Less downtime per deployment — isolated failure domains
04

Scale efficiently and improve resilience

Use containers, serverless services, and managed AWS platforms to provide elastic scaling, built-in high availability, and more efficient resource utilization.
  • Built-in high availability across Availability Zones
  • Elastic scaling — pay only for what you consume
  • More efficient resource utilization versus EC2 Windows

Start with an assessment

Learn more about AWS funded assessments. 

get started