Legacy modernization

Read the COBOL.
Refactor it. Retire it.

Mainframe COBOL, IBM i RPG, Oracle Forms, .NET Framework, and Java monoliths carry decades of undocumented business logic. Multi agent orchestration reads, explains, refactors, tests, and migrates at machine speed. Human review at every material step.

Scope a modernization pilot → See the mainframe playbook →
Mainframe stack supported · Dual run parity
COBOLPL/IRPGJCLCICSDB2VSAMNatural
LEGACY SOURCE / COBOL 
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. CLAIM-CALC.
DATA DIVISION.
01 WS-CLAIM-AMT PIC 9(9)V99.
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
  IF WS-CLAIM-AMT > 50000
    MOVE 'ESCALATE' TO WS-STATUS
  PERFORM VALIDATE-COVERAGE.
TARGET SERVICE / API 
@router.post("/claims/triage")
async def triage(claim: Claim) -> TriageResult:
    if claim.amount > 50000:
        return escalate(claim)
    return await validate_coverage(claim)
Behavioural parity verified Tests generated Audit trail retained Dual run ready
Why modernize now

Legacy pressure shows up as operational noise.

The estate does not fail as a neat diagram. It leaks through cost spikes, audit gaps, brittle integrations, missing expertise, and change windows that keep shrinking.

SOURCE ESTATE z/OS · IBM i · Oracle Forms · Java monolith CALL CLAIM-POSTING THRU CLAIM-POSTING-EXIT MOVE WS-POLICY-STATE TO AUDIT-REGION-CODE EXEC SQL UPDATE CUSTOMER_LEDGER SET STATUS = :WS-STATUS
TALENT Talent scarcity

Knowledge is trapped in retirees, runbooks, and comments that no one fully trusts.

critical
COST Runaway MIPS cost

Compute spend climbs while teams avoid touching the programs that drive it.

high
INTG Integration friction

Modern channels wait on batch files, adapters, and brittle point-to-point bridges.

high
AUDIT Regulatory audit pressure

Business rules exist in code paths instead of explainable, reviewable evidence.

critical
AGILITY Agility gap

Small market changes become release trains, freezes, and cross-system regression risk.

high
RISK Silent resilience risk

Undocumented dependencies become incident paths only after something breaks.

critical
The speed unlock

Months of work compressed into a governed migration rail.

Traditional modernization is sequential. AlinePage runs discovery, rule extraction, data mapping, test synthesis, refactor, and reconciliation as parallel agent lanes with human review gates.

DISC

Discovery

Dependency graphs, call trees, dead-code maps.

8-12 weeks -> 3-5 days
RULE

Business rules

COBOL paragraphs and PL/SQL packages become SME-ready specs.

3-6 months -> 1-2 weeks
DATA

Data mapping

Copybooks, DDL, VSAM layouts, and target schema mapping.

6-10 weeks -> days
TEST

Test synthesis

Golden records, edge cases, and regression suites.

months -> hours/module
CODE

Refactor

Target-language PRs generated module by module.

12-24 months -> PR stream
DUAL

Cutover

Record-level reconciliation in dual-run mode.

weeks -> real time
What we handle

A modernization topology across code, data, tests, and cutover.

Instead of capability cards, the work is drawn as a connected topology: every modernization play has an input, an agent lane, and an auditable output.

Source estate

COBOL, PL/I, RPG, JCL, CICS, DB2, VSAM, Natural, Oracle Forms, Java monoliths.

Agent lanes

Code intelligence, rule extraction, schema mapping, refactor generation, test synthesis, reconciliation.

Target estate

APIs, event streams, cloud-native services, extracted rule catalogs, test suites, and parity evidence.

WRAP

Semantic inventory

Programs, copybooks, JCL, PROCs, control decks, and dependencies become a searchable system graph.

EXTRACT

Business-rule extraction

Paragraph-level logic is translated into explainable rules that SMEs can approve or correct.

REFORM

API strangler path

High-value functions are wrapped, dual-run, then progressively replaced without a dangerous big bang.

RETIRE

Parity evidence

Legacy and target outputs are reconciled record by record until production confidence is defensible.

Four phases

Clear exit gates, no mystery migration.

MAP

Map

Inventory, dependency graph, risk heatmap.

Exit: signed system graph
EXTRACT

Extract

Business rules, schemas, test fixtures.

Exit: SME-approved rulebook
TRANSFORM

Transform

API wrappers, refactor PRs, generated tests.

Exit: dual-run candidate
RETIRE

Retire

Cutover, archive, decommission, portfolio plan.

Exit: retired runtime
Why AlinePage

Not a generic rewrite shop. A governed migration system.

Agents read the whole estate. A single developer sees one module; the agent graph sees cross-program coupling, shared copybooks, scheduler jobs, and downstream data consumers.

Humans approve the meaning. SMEs validate extracted business rules before refactor work begins, so speed does not erase institutional knowledge.

Parity is the product. Every migrated function ships with tests, golden records, and reconciliation evidence.

Retirement funds the next wave. MIPS savings and license reductions are captured as modernization capital, not left as an abstract benefit.

MODERNIZATION PILOT

Pick one workload. Prove the speed.

Start with a single COBOL program, RPG module, or Oracle Forms screen. In two to four weeks you get extracted rules, target implementation, equivalence tests, and live reconciliation evidence.

Scope modernization → See lifecycle services →