The rapid rise of GenAI is transforming the way we approach legacy code and modernization. Recent breakthroughs prove that AI coding assistants can now refactor utilities, add mainframe screens, and implement logic in COBOL environments, tasks once thought immune to automation. Yet, as companies face heightened pressure to close the COBOL skills gap and accelerate transformation, an essential question emerges: How can organizations leverage AI to modernize critical workloads—without introducing risk?
We believe modernization should be about more than speed; it should also be about trust, transparency, and business continuity. While Product Manager Guy Sofer's recent experiment using AI tools to update and extend a classic COBOL banking application was impressively productive—delivering in hours what once took days—it also exposed the limitations and blind spots of generic large language models. Automated code generation can overlook critical architectural layers or introduce subtle errors, especially in complex, decades-old mission-critical applications.
This is where Rocket Software delivers real value. Our approach combines deterministic, compiler-grade analysis with responsible, explainable AI—bringing precision and reliability to every modernization project. We interpret every dependency, copybook, data flow, and control path in your applications, never relying on probabilistic guesses alone. This ensures that business logic is preserved and operational risk is minimized, making modernization repeatable, safe, and predictable.
Building on this trusted foundation, Rocket’s AI-enhanced tooling further accelerates projects by providing deep application understanding, automated insights, and intelligently tailored modernization roadmaps. Customers can replatform thousands of applications to cloud-ready, DevOps-enabled runtimes without the need for wholesale rewriting or risking business disruption.
Banco Guayaquil, a leading banking and financial services corporation, successfully replatformed 13,000 applications with zero service interruptions, achieving an 80% reduction in infrastructure costs. Their experience shows that by preserving existing business logic and intent during modernization, organizations can ensure reliability and scalability.
AI is a powerful enabler but only when thoughtfully applied. True modernization leverages AI to illuminate and streamline the journey, not to take reckless leaps. With Rocket Software, modernizing with confidence isn’t just possible; it’s the standard. We deliver modernization you can trust, combining advanced analytics, AI-driven productivity, and expert partnership at every stage.
