Disposition strategies for a seamless OpenVMS migration
Blog //19-05-2023

Disposition strategies for a seamless OpenVMS migration

by Tim Jones, Managing Director - Application Modernisation

OpenVMS, once a ground-breaking ecosystem, has now hit the end of its life. With the digital landscape rapidly changing, organisations with mission-critical systems relying on OpenVMS now face a daunting challenge: Finding a sustainable, long-term solution. Fortunately, there are two common modernisation pathways that organisations often consider when planning for the future of their OpenVMS applications – rehosting and hybrid migration.

Rehosting: Finding a New Home for OpenVMS

Rehosting involves moving applications from the OpenVMS environment to another operating system without modifying the code. This approach provides a quick and cost-effective solution for organisations, with minimal disruption to their current operations. Rehosting also allows companies to move on from legacy systems and reap the benefits of modern technology.

Hybrid Migration: Gradual Migration, Targeted Benefits

Hybrid migration combines the best of both worlds, balancing the advantages of rehosting and modernisation. This approach leverages the strengths of OpenVMS whilst adopting new technology platforms, such as the cloud or virtualisation solutions. Hybrid migration benefits include accessibility, scalability, flexibility, and improved security.

Critical Phases for a Successful Migration Project

No matter which pathway an organisation chooses, detailed discovery, meticulous planning, and comprehensive testing led by domain experts are critical phases required for a successful OpenVMS migration project.

In the discovery phase, it's essential to understand an organisation's current IT infrastructure, identify potential pain points, and map out precisely what needs to be done. This step helps establish a clear picture of project scope, timeline, and cost.

The planning phase involves designing the project and creating a roadmap for implementation. This step includes defining the migration approach, project team roles and responsibilities, and selecting the migration tools and methodologies.

Comprehensive testing, often overlooked, is a critical phase in the migration process. Robust testing identifies potential system errors, unexpected downtime, or data loss that could negatively impact business operations. Testing provides organisations with the confidence to migrate, and it helps identify and troubleshoot problems in advance.

Conclusion

OpenVMS migration is a challenging process, but it can also provide organisations with an opportunity to modernise legacy systems, improve efficiency, and reduce costs. Both rehosting and hybrid migration pathways offer their unique advantages, depending on the organisation's goals and technology requirements. To achieve a successful migration, it's vital to undertake detailed discovery, develop a meticulous plan, and conduct comprehensive testing.

If you’re interested in learning more, our ebook further details the available options for migrating and modernising applications currently running on OpenVMS and highlights the benefits that your organisation can achieve through modernisation. Discover Advanced’s modernisation process for OpenVMS.

Ready to take the next step?

No matter what kind of modernisation plans you’re considering, Advanced can help you meet your objectives and drastically reduce project risk by harnessing the power of unmatched modernisation expertise and powerful proprietary tools. Get in touch today.

Blog Application Modernisation Application Modernisation and Migration Application Modernisation Strategy Application Re-architected and Reintegration Application Understanding OpenVMS
Tim Jones

Tim Jones

PUBLISHED BY

Managing Director - Application Modernisation

Tim has a track record of success in mission-critical Application Modernisation projects. He is renowned for helping organisations maximise their investment in critical legacy applications.

Read published articles