The article discusses how legacy technology, once a persistent but often neglected issue for companies, is now being re-evaluated in light of rising customer expectations and the transformative potential of AI in software development. Bupa’s modernization of its My Bupa mobile application serves as a case study, illustrating the benefits of treating legacy migration as a business transformation rather than merely a technical overhaul. By migrating from Xamarin to native Swift and Kotlin, Bupa improved its app rating from 3.7 to 4.7 and significantly reduced user-perceived crash rates, enhancing customer experience during critical moments.
AI is highlighted as a key factor in altering the economics of legacy modernization, according to Sanjeev Tripathi of Infosys. AI-assisted reverse engineering and forward engineering enabled Bupa to complete its transformation in roughly 60% less time than would have been possible without AI. Both Asifa Sherazi of Bupa and Tripathi emphasize the human aspects of modernization, including preserving institutional knowledge and fostering an environment where employees can identify issues early. Looking forward, they envision modernized platforms as foundational for delivering more personalized, predictive, and AI-driven customer experiences, shifting the focus from merely replacing outdated technology to building flexible systems capable of adapting to future innovations.