During re:Invent, AWS today announced updates for AWS Transform. This is a service it has built to tackle so-called tech debt within organizations. AWS claims that the new (agentic) additions make it even faster and easier to modernize and migrate outdated environments.
AWS Transform is not new. The company announced the service earlier this year. The idea is simple: many organizations are stuck with outdated applications and stacks. These need to be brought up to date. However, that is easier said than done. In practice, it takes a lot of time and human effort, for example because the documentation is very limited or non-existent, but also because transferring code from one framework to another is not a straightforward process.
According to AWS, the first version of AWS Transform (made generally available earlier this year) has already yielded considerable results. AWS claims that it has already analyzed some 1.1 billion lines of code. That is the equivalent of more than 810,000 hours of manual work.
New agentic capabilities
AWS Transform is designed to help organizations. With Transform, AWS focuses specifically on .NET environments, complete Microsoft stacks, VMware environments, and mainframes. These are the most obvious outdated environments. The idea is that they need to be modernized and migrated.
The new AWS Transform custom extension should make it possible to scale much better. In addition to the ready-made transformations in AWS Transform, which are used to perform common patterns for Java, Node.js, and Python upgrades, among other things, there are now also custom transformations. According to Dr. Asa Kalavade, the VP responsible for migration and modernization, this means that organizations can now modernize all their custom code and custom applications much more easily: “All you have to do is tell the agent what you want it to look like.”
According to her, this can also be scaled up very effectively. This is largely because it can also be made available via a CLI. This means that it can be easily integrated into other components, which may be spread across the entire organization. The agents “parallelize” the efforts.
Modernizing complete Windows stacks
A second update to AWS Transform has to do with modernizing Windows environments. The first version of the service already made it possible to tackle .NET. AWS is now adding agents that focus on complete Windows environments.
AWS promises that modernizing Windows stacks (in addition to .NET, this also includes things like SQL Server and UI frameworks) can be up to five times faster with the latest updates for Transform. It does this via agents that analyze the entire stack and then make proposals to modernize the various layers. An employee must then approve this. The agent then rebuilds the application, framework, database, and OS toward open-source cloud-based alternatives. According to AWS, it also provides all relevant updates and summaries of what it has done.
Agents for VMware and mainframe modernization
A final area where Transform can make a difference, according to AWS, is in the field of VMware and mainframe migrations. These are, of course, two environments that are ideally suited to AWS Transform. This is due to the age of such environments, but also to other factors such as a desire to migrate away from VMware after the Broadcom acquisition.
For mainframes, three agents will be added to AWS Transform. These agents must convert all the knowledge and data already present in Transform into actions that organizations can take. This includes providing advice on which environments to tackle first, setting up blueprints, and mapping out the specific domains that need to be modernized. An additional task agent helps with testing and validation.
For VMware, AWS has also added the necessary agentic updates to Transform. These include agents that tailor the entire modernization process to the specific environment and ultimately orchestrate it. An on-prem discovery tool has also been added. A new planning agent is designed to put everything in the right context. Finally, there is an agent that ensures that the network is also configured in a secure manner.
A final update to AWS Transform relates to how AWS Partners can get started with the service. With the so-called composability initiative, they can link their own tools, agents, and knowledge to Transform. This enables partners to build their own offerings on top of Transform.