Top 10 Applications Modernization Companies

Discover the Top 10 Applications Modernization Companies

Outdated systems don't ask permission before slowing your operation down. They just do it. In 2026, moving off legacy infrastructure is a real budget line not a future roadmap item. Here are ten companies actually doing this work well and what separates each one.

What Makes Legacy Modernization Hard

The problem runs deeper than most teams expect

Core banking on COBOL. ERPs built before microservices were a thing. Custom middleware nobody currently on the team wrote and nobody wants to touch. The average enterprise runs 500–1,500 distinct applications. A meaningful share of those were built before 2010. Connecting them to modern SaaS tools via REST APIs? Painful. Cloud migration? Often blocked by dependencies nobody mapped in years.

Three things come up constantly:

• Integration gaps — legacy apps weren't designed for modern API consumption

• Security debt — old codebases can't always receive patches without risking a breakage

• Talent shortage — try hiring developers who want to maintain a 1998 Java monolith

How to Pick the Right Partner

A few things worth checking before committing to any vendor:

• Industry experience — regulated sectors like healthcare and finance have compliance requirements many generalists underestimate

• Migration approaches — does the vendor support rehosting, refactoring, rearchitecting, and replacement, or just one path?

• Automated tooling — manual migration at scale is too slow; ask about code discovery and analysis tools

• Delivery model — onshore, nearshore, offshore; check if the team structure fits your timezone

• Cloud certifications — verified expertise on AWS, Azure, or GCP matters for real workload migrations

• Reference clients — in your industry, with comparable complexity

Companies Worth Knowing

DXC Technology

DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC) transforms over 65,000 workloads annually with a bench of 86,000+ professionals carrying application skills. That scale matters when you're running a multi-year enterprise program

vendor capacity constraints have a way of becoming your delivery problem.

Enterprises working with DXC access legacy application modernization services that cover mainframe migration, rearchitecting, database modernization, and replacement with SaaS alternatives. Real client work includes United Airlines (aviation infrastructure) and DreamWorks Animation (content creation workflows). Cloud partners include AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and Dynatrace.

Key services:

• Mainframe and legacy migration to cloud

• Modernization advisory and proof-of-concept programs

• Application transformation factory services

• Database and middleware modernization

EPAM Systems

EPAM Systems (NASDAQ: EPAM) is a Pennsylvania-based engineering company with delivery across Eastern Europe and Asia and a client list that includes Google, NVIDIA, and Siemens. They specialize in custom application portfolios the complex codebases that off-the-shelf migration tools don't handle cleanly.

Over 50,000 engineers with real vertical depth in fintech and healthcare. Not cheap, but for systems that need genuine rearchitecting rather than a lift-and-shift, they're a consistently reliable option in the mid-to-large enterprise market.

Key services:

• Legacy code analysis and replatforming

• Microservices transformation and API modernization

• Cloud-native engineering (AWS, Azure, GCP)

• Data and integration layer upgrades

Endava

Endava (NYSE: DAVA) is a UK-based digital engineering firm with delivery centers across Romania, Moldova, Colombia, and Argentina around 11,000 people. Founded in 2000, their specialty is financial services and payments. Unlike typical IT services shops, Endava approaches modernization with a product engineering mindset.

That means rethinking data flows and user journeys alongside the infrastructure work. Strong on monolith-to-microservices migration, API redesign, and DevSecOps. Good choice when technical transformation needs to land alongside a real product improvement, not just a code rewrite.

Key services:

• Monolith-to-microservices migration

• Cloud migration and containerization

• API layer redesign and integration

• DevSecOps and CI/CD enablement

Devoteam

Devoteam is a French IT consulting firm (Euronext-listed) active across 25+ European countries. Their multi-cloud positioning is genuinely strong: Google Cloud Premier Partner, AWS Advanced Partner, and Microsoft Solutions Partner simultaneously rare for a mid-sized player.

Dedicated practices for Google Cloud (the "G Cloud" track) and Azure, with teams active in France, Germany, Netherlands, and the Nordics. Strong regional option for European mid-market companies that need a local partner with verifiable cloud credentials and delivery capacity.

Key services:

• Google Cloud and Azure application migration

• Application refactoring and containerization

• FinOps and cloud governance

• DevOps and agile transformation

SoftServe

SoftServe is a Ukrainian-American tech company based in Austin, Texas, with 12,000+ engineers. Clients include Adobe, Veritas, and UCHealth. The modernization practice has a genuine healthcare IT specialization HIPAA compliance, EHR integrations, HL7/FHIR standards rare at this price point among mid-market vendors.

Outside healthcare: cloud readiness assessments, legacy rearchitecting, and data platform modernization with solid Azure and AWS delivery. US leadership with Eastern European engineering keeps quality consistent while controlling project costs.

Key services:

• Legacy system cloud readiness assessment

• Healthcare IT modernization (Epic, HL7, FHIR)

• Data platform and middleware upgrades

• Microservices and containerization

Globant

Globant (NYSE: GLOB) is an Argentine tech company with over 27,000 engineers across the Americas and Europe. Clients include Electronic Arts, Walt Disney, Google, and Santander. Not a typical legacy modernization shop Globant sits at the intersection of product reinvention and technical migration.

Their "Studios" model organizes delivery around specific domains like Gaming and Financial Services, adding vertical expertise to the engineering work. Right pick when consumer-facing applications need architectural overhaul and UX redesign at the same time.

Key services:

• Application rearchitecting and cloud migration

• UX modernization alongside technical work

• AI integration into modernized platforms

• Commerce and media platform rebuilds

Hexaware Technologies

Hexaware is an India-based IT services firm backed by Carlyle Group, with delivery centers in Chennai, Pune, US, UK, and Germany. Their "RapidX" methodology accelerates portfolio discovery and migration scoping useful for large organizations where cataloguing what they have already takes months before any migration work starts.

Core strength is in BFSI and healthcare. Modernization centers of excellence in India with teams specialized in mainframe migration, ERP modernization, and cloud-native re-engineering.

Key services:

• Portfolio discovery and rationalization

• Mainframe and mid-tier system modernization

• ERP modernization (SAP, Oracle)

• Cloud-native development post-migration

Xebia

Xebia is a Dutch consultancy founded in 2001, present in Netherlands, France, UK, and India. Clients include KLM, Philips, ABN AMRO, and ING. More consulting-forward than delivery-focused which is actually the right profile when strategic clarity is needed before committing to execution.

Strong at the assessment and architecture design phase: helping enterprises understand what to modernize, in what order, and at what realistic cost. If the internal debate is still "rehost vs. refactor vs. replace," starting here is a reasonable first move.

Key services:

• Modernization assessment and roadmapping

• Cloud-native transformation and Kubernetes engineering

• DevOps and CI/CD pipeline design

• Architecture consulting for cloud migrations

Ciklum

Ciklum is a UK-headquartered digital solutions company with engineering in Ukraine, Poland, India, and Portugal over 4,000 engineers. Clients include Lebara, Carrefour, and several European financial institutions. Since 2022, Polish and Indian delivery capacity has expanded significantly.

The nearshore model keeps quality high while offering pricing that works for European mid-market companies that can't justify enterprise-scale vendor fees. Solid fit for fintech, retail, and media companies with complex but not enormous application estates.

Key services:

• Application modernization and re-engineering

• Cloud migration (AWS, Azure, GCP)

• Data platform modernization

• Quality engineering and test automation

Valtech

Valtech is a French digital transformation consultancy with offices across Europe, North America, and APAC. Clients include Volkswagen, PepsiCo, LEGO, and Sephora. Modernization work focuses on commerce and digital experience platforms not mainframe migration.

Specifically: moving organizations off monolithic CMS and e-commerce platforms (SAP Commerce Cloud, Salesforce Commerce Cloud) to headless and composable architectures. A narrow specialization, but it's a real and growing need. If the modernization challenge is the commerce or marketing tech stack, Valtech is one of the strongest choices.

Key services:

• Headless and composable architecture migration

• E-commerce modernization (SAP CC, SFCC, Shopify Plus)

• CMS and marketing stack transformation

• API-first integration design

Quick Comparison

Company	HQ	Best For	Notable Clients
DXC Technology	USA	Large enterprise, mainframe	United Airlines, DreamWorks
EPAM Systems	USA/Global	Complex custom portfolios	Google, NVIDIA, Siemens
Endava	UK/Europe	Fintech, product engineering	Banking, retail, payments
Devoteam	France/EU	European multi-cloud	EU mid-market enterprises
SoftServe	USA/Ukraine	Healthcare IT, cloud	Adobe, Veritas, UCHealth
Globant	Argentina	Consumer apps, UX + tech	Disney, EA, Santander
Hexaware	India	BFSI, portfolio discovery	Banking, insurance
Xebia	Netherlands	Pre-execution architecture	KLM, Philips, ABN AMRO
Ciklum	UK/EU	Nearshore mid-market	Lebara, Carrefour
Valtech	France	Commerce and CMS stacks	Volkswagen, PepsiCo, LEGO

Final Thoughts

No universal right answer. DXC for large enterprise programs with mainframe complexity. Endava or Ciklum for European mid-market budgets. Globant when product experience matters as much as the code itself.

Hexaware or Xebia when the first real need is understanding what you have before deciding what to do with it. Most offer initial assessments reasonable first step before committing to anything multi-year.

FAQ

What exactly is application modernization? Updating legacy software (changing its architecture, code, or platform) to meet current technical and business requirements. This includes cloud migration, refactoring monoliths into microservices, and upgrading databases and middleware.

How long does a modernization project typically take? A single application migration usually takes 3–6 months. A full enterprise portfolio modernization can run 2–5 years, typically broken into phases with defined milestones.

What's the difference between rehosting and rearchitecting? Rehosting (lift-and-shift) moves an application without changing the code. Rearchitecting changes the underlying structure to take advantage of cloud capabilities like auto-scaling. More expensive upfront, but significantly more valuable over time.

How much does application modernization cost? Smaller scoped projects start in the six-figure range. Enterprise programs regularly run $10M–$50M+ over multiple years. Any credible vendor should provide a discovery phase with realistic cost estimates before you commit.

Where should a project manager start when scope isn't clear yet? Portfolio assessment either internally or through a vendor like Xebia or Hexaware. Understand what's in the estate, what's business-critical, and what's a replacement candidate rather than a migration target. Trying to modernize everything at once is a reliable way to blow both the budget and the timeline.