AWS Launches AI-Powered Service to Speed Up Workload Modernization
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has made its AI-driven workload modernization service, Transform, generally available. This tool targets legacy enterprise systems such as VMware, mainframe, and .NET workloads, aiming to drastically cut migration and modernization timelines.
By automating complex migration tasks with specialized AI agents, AWS Transform can reduce project durations by an average of four times. In some cases, such as VMware migrations, it speeds up the process by up to 80 times compared to manual approaches.
Why AWS Transform Matters
Many enterprises still rely heavily on on-premises data centers. According to Synergy Research Group, 37% of data center capacity remains on-site. Additionally, 70% of Fortune 500 companies use software that’s more than 20 years old. These factors contribute to slow cloud adoption and modernization efforts.
“Some applications span hundreds of thousands of lines of code,” said Sriram Devanathan, general manager of Amazon Q Apps and AWS App Studio. “The challenge is not just moving code but reimagining it.”
How AWS Transform Works
The service focuses on three main workload types:
- .NET applications: Transform helps migrate Windows-based .NET apps to Linux, cutting operating costs by up to 40% by eliminating Windows Server licensing fees. AI agents assist with code analysis, planning, automated transformation, and testing to ensure Linux readiness.
- Mainframe workloads: It breaks down monolithic COBOL programs into modular components. Using graph neural networks, it documents dependencies, refactors code into Java, and migrates databases to open-source PostgreSQL—all within months instead of years.
- VMware environments: Automates discovery, dependency mapping, migration planning, and network configuration. This replicates on-prem VMware setups to AWS EC2 instances, including virtual private clouds and routing configurations, reducing network setup from two weeks to one hour.
AI-Driven Automation and Testing
AWS Transform includes built-in testing workflows. For mainframes, it generates documentation and test cases automatically—even when no prior documentation exists—by analyzing COBOL code and augmenting it with expert input. This helps verify migration accuracy and reliability.
Technical Approach
The service uses a multi-agent, multi-model system powered by AWS Bedrock foundational models combined with graph neural networks. Each AI agent handles specific tasks such as analysis, planning, and reasoning, working toward clear migration goals.
Currently, AWS offers Transform for free to encourage adoption and integrates it with its Migration Acceleration Program and Experience-Based Acceleration programs, making it easier for organizations to move workloads to the cloud.
This new service simplifies complex migration projects and offers a practical path for enterprises to modernize legacy applications efficiently.
For those interested in enhancing AI skills related to automation and cloud services, training resources are available at Complete AI Training.
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