Emulation vs Virtualization: Best Suited for Legacy Systems Modernization in the Era of Cloud Computing

Articles

Legacy systems have been the backbone of several organizations, from manufacturing to banking, defense to aerospace; a wide range of industry sectors have relied on them for running their critical operations. Reports have suggested that, on average, 31% of organizations’ infrastructure is built on legacy hardware.

Maintaining these aging systems can be very expensive as they take up most of the business’s resources, up to 60-80% of their IT budget. According to Deloitte’s survey report, an average business spends 57% of its IT budget on managing its operations, while only 16% is spent on innovation.

However, to meet the market’s growing demands, businesses are adapting to modern technologies like cloud computing, AI, and more. However, legacy hardware acts as a roadblock to modernization as it is unable to leverage the cloud’s scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency. It is where emulation virtualization in cloud computing steps in.

In this blog, we will explore how to leverage cloud benefits if you are still relying on legacy hardware and looking to modernize it. We will also compare emulation vs virtualization to determine which is best suited for your business’s IT infrastructure.

Before diving deep into the intricacies of emulation vs virtualization, here is a brief comparison between them:

Understanding the Growing Importance of Cloud Computing Environment

Cloud computing is a game-changing innovation for all business sizes, streamlining operations and minimizing expenses. It has several advantages, such as scalability, enhanced security measures, cost-effectiveness, enhanced collaborative efficiency, and on-demand access to resources. This helps businesses deploy applications, manage data seamlessly, and scale up operations without any hardware limitations.

52,974 cybercrime cases were reported in 2021, while 50,035 cases were reported in 2020 in India. These numbers indicate the state of businesses’ poor security infrastructure, with one of the major factors being outdated systems that lack advanced security measures. Will migrating businesses to the cloud secure their infrastructure and improve their overall efficiency and productivity?

However, migrating legacy systems to the cloud may not be as easy as it sounds. As these legacy systems are deeply integrated into business operations and may not be compatible with modern platforms, advanced technologies like emulation and virtualization are essential to bridge this gap.

What Are the Challenges of Legacy Systems?

Despite its reliability, the legacy systems are failing in terms of efficiency and performance. Also, the rising cost of maintaining these aging systems is becoming a challenge. Here are some of the issues that businesses face who are still relying on legacy hardware for their operations:

Compatibility with Modern Technology

The outdated systems are difficult to integrate with modern technologies, which results in data silos and operational inefficiencies. This compatibility challenge impacts the business performance by preventing it from meeting customers’ growing demands.

Astronomical Maintenance Costs

Aging hardware is difficult to maintain, as it is more prone to wear and tear or failure with time. Maintaining it is very expensive and troublesome, as it is harder to find and even costlier to repair.

Downtime Risks

Managing legacy systems is difficult as they age. They are more prone to hardware failures, which can result in unplanned downtime. This unplanned downtime impacts not only the business’s productivity and data loss but also the brand reputation and ROI.

Security and Non-Compliance

The outdated systems have poor infrastructure and lack proper security measures, making them vulnerable and more susceptible to cyber threats. Also, old systems may not comply with the latest industry regulations and guidelines.

Hardware Obsolesce & Lack of Vendor Support

With time, manufacturers stop producing outdated systems without patches and updates. This not only renders these systems obsolete but also makes them vulnerable to cyber threats.

What is Emulation Virtualization in Cloud Computing?

Here is a brief description of the emulation and virtualization in cloud computing:

Emulation in the Cloud Computing

Emulation is a technique used by the host system to imitate the characteristics of the guest system. Through this technology, software designed to run on outdated hardware can seamlessly operate on a new, modern platform without the need for the original legacy hardware.

Emulations are mostly used in businesses that rely on legacy hardware for their mission-critical operations. Due to various legacy challenges, these businesses need to modernize their infrastructure yet preserve the legacy applications without replacing them. So, with emulation solutions, they migrate their legacy systems to a modern platform, such as a cloud environment, where they can seamlessly run their legacy applications and operating systems.

Virtualization in the Cloud Computing

Virtualization is a method of creating a virtual version of the physical server. It helps the business run multiple operating systems and applications on a single system simultaneously, increasing flexibility and maximizing hardware utilization.

Cloud service providers consider virtualization a minimal hardware utilization and cost-effective solution. Virtualization enables users to share a single physical server that can be used by a number of customers at one time. It involves host machines, which host the virtual machine, and guest machines, where the virtual instance is created. This not only enables the seamless operation of applications in a virtual ecosystem but also maintains memory, storage, and networks.

It is mainly referred to as hardware virtualization, which is necessary for IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) in cloud computing. Virtualization ensures portability, as guest machines are easily packaged as visual images and removed when they are no longer required.

There are six different types of virtualizations in cloud computing:

• Application Virtualization
• Data Virtualization
• Desktop Virtualization
• Network Virtualization
• Server Virtualization
• Storage Virtualization

What are the Similarities in Emulation Virtualization in Cloud Computing?

Here are some similarities between emulation and virtualization in cloud computing:

• Both emulation & virtualization enable the creation of virtual devices and virtual environments that are separate from the host system.
• Both emulation and virtualization help recreate and manipulate the system infrastructure.
• Both allow systems to be seamlessly tested and deployed before they are released to the market.

Comparative Analysis: Emulation vs Virtualization in Cloud Computing

Here is a comparison between emulation vs virtualization:

Stromasys: Leader in Legacy Systems Emulation Virtualization in Cloud Computing

Stromasys is a global leader in legacy systems emulation & virtualization in cloud, along with other modern platforms like x86. Stromasys Charon on the Cloud solution emulates legacy systems like DEC Alpha, Sun Solaris SPARC, PA-RISC, and more on a cloud platform. By doing so, businesses can not only extend the life of the legacy hardware but also improve the scalability, security, and efficiency. With Charon on the Cloud solutions, a business can emulate its aging legacy infrastructure by choosing cloud service providers like Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, or more, depending on the requirements.

To know more about legacy cloud migration, you can contact Stromasys expert.

Talk to an Expert

Conclusion

Emulation & virtualization are revolutionary solutions to modernize the legacy infrastructure. By adopting these modern technologies, businesses can ensure operations continuity in the cloud environment. In this blog, you can explore how emulation virtualization in cloud computing can cost-effectively enhance the performance and efficiency of legacy systems. The detailed comparison of emulation vs virtualization will help you choose which legacy migration solution best suits your business requirements.