From legacy to agility
IT systems that form the heart of a company but are increasingly becoming a burden. This was precisely the initial situation: The outdated infrastructure and software not only slowed innovation but also raised the question: How can we prepare for the future while maintaining our customers' trust?
Together with us, they embarked on the journey to the cloud, modernized processes, and laid the foundation for an IT landscape that is as flexible and future-proof as the company's visions.
8 min read - 13. June 2025
Improved maintainability
Higher scalability
Increased efficiency
Increased efficiency
Challenge
The company faced the challenge of modernizing its IT infrastructure. The legacy COBOL codebase was difficult to maintain, and the existing software architecture limited scalability and agility. In addition, the company needed to transition from an on-premises infrastructure to the cloud to meet the demands of modern customers and markets.
Related services
“With AlloyDB and Posedio, we were able to onboard over 20 services, improving the productivity of more than 40 developers and providing a better, faster and more satisfying experience to our customers in Central and Eastern Europe.” – Markus Mayr-Lechner (Cluster Lead eCommerce)
"There were two major problems we faced. The first one comes from the nature of big projects – getting multiple teams to work together effectively. The second is at the root of all retail operations; we need to support two fundamentally different workflows. We need to quickly respond to transactions while running intensive analytical queries to get more insights into the inventory and customer preferences. AlloyDB is the solution to both of those problems!" – Günter Schwabe (CPO eCommerce Platform)
“We were already working with Postgres on Google Cloud SQL to implement transactional workflows. Once Google launched AlloyDB we quickly noticed it bridges the gap between transactional and analytics behavior in ecommerce processes.” – Markus Mayr-Lechner (Cluster Lead eCommerce)
Solution
To tackle these challenges, we relied on a combination of cutting-edge technology and proven methods. Our goal was not only to solve the technical problems but also to lay the foundation for future innovations.
Implementation
1. Modernization of the code base
By switching from COBOL and mainframe technology to a modern Java-based code base, the system's maintainability was significantly improved and a future-proof foundation for further development was created. The migration was carried out gradually, ensuring ongoing operations at all times.
Technologies used
2. Introduction of a microservice architecture
The transition to a microservice architecture enabled better scaling of components and their independent development. This allows new features to be implemented more quickly and changes to be rolled out more risk-free , significantly increasing the agility and maintainability of the overall system.
3. Cloud migration with OpenShift
The migration to OpenShift ideally complemented the microservice architecture, providing a containerized and orchestrated environment for running the individual services. Using OpenShift automates deployments, manages resources efficiently, and increases resilience.
4. GitOps with GiHub Actions
GitHub Actions implements GitOps principles to automate build, test, and deployment processes directly from the repository. This version-controlled and controlled infrastructure and application deployment enables secure and consistent delivery of microservices. This shortens development cycles while minimizing sources of error .
5. Integration of Kafka
The introduction of Kafka enabled asynchronous request processing . This significantly improved both the fault tolerance and performance of the overall system. Kafka also served as a buffer for batch jobs, which were processed in a time-controlled and controlled manner.
Results
The transformation brought with it a series of significant benefits. By modernizing the codebase, the system's maintainability was significantly improved, which was reflected in shortened development cycles.
The introduction of a microservice architecture increased scalability and optimally prepared the system for future requirements.
Furthermore, automated CI/CD processes led to a noticeable increase in efficiency by enabling continuous quality assurance and accelerating the delivery of new features.
The system's reliability was also enhanced: the use of Kafka improved both fault tolerance and the integrity of data streams. Last but not least, the migration from host systems to the cloud contributed to long-term sustainability by enabling significant cost savings.
Behind these technical achievements lies a clear vision: the modernization of the IT infrastructure served not only technological advancement but also the optimization of the customer experience. Fast response times, reliable services, and innovative solutions form the foundation of this transformation.
This project not only made IT future-proof but also laid the groundwork for continuous innovations. It's a success story that combines change, collaboration, and technological excellence – proof of how strategic digitalization can not only promote internal processes and customer satisfaction but also reduce costs at the same time.
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