AI-Driven Application Modernization in Regulated Industries: Compliance, Security, and Risk Management

Modernizing legacy systems is a critical imperative for organizations in highly regulated sectors such as financial services, healthcare, and energy. Yet, the path to modernization is fraught with unique challenges—stringent compliance requirements, heightened security expectations, and the need for robust risk management. Publicis Sapient’s AI-powered solutions, including Sapient AI and Sapient Slingshot, are purpose-built to address these complexities, enabling safe, efficient, and auditable transformation for the world’s most risk-averse industries.

Legacy technology often anchors organizations to outdated processes, high operational costs, and inflexible architectures. In regulated industries, these challenges are compounded by:

• Strict regulatory mandates for data privacy, auditability, and traceability
• Complex compliance landscapes that evolve rapidly
• Heightened risk of breaches and non-compliance penalties
• Shortage of talent with expertise in both legacy and modern systems

Traditional modernization approaches are slow, costly, and often fail to deliver the agility and transparency regulators demand. This is where AI-driven modernization, guided by Publicis Sapient’s expertise, makes a transformative difference.

Sapient AI and Sapient Slingshot are engineered to ensure every step of the software development lifecycle (SDLC) is transparent and auditable. By integrating with leading project management tools and leveraging proprietary AI agents, these platforms:

• Automatically generate comprehensive documentation at every stage, from requirements to deployment
• Create functional specifications and program flow diagrams that clarify logic and support regulatory review
• Enable traceability from legacy code to modern architecture, ensuring every change is mapped, reviewed, and signed off by stakeholders
• Produce dynamic reports and audit trails for all automated and manual interventions, supporting compliance with industry standards

Security and privacy are foundational to Sapient AI’s approach. The platforms:

• Utilize private, enterprise-ready large language models (LLMs) to analyze and transform code, ensuring sensitive data never leaves secure environments
• Automate code reviews and static analysis to detect vulnerabilities and enforce secure coding practices
• Integrate seamlessly with cloud and on-premises security controls, supporting compliance with frameworks such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GDPR
• Support role-based access and approval workflows, ensuring only authorized personnel can make or approve changes

AI-driven modernization with Sapient AI and Sapient Slingshot reduces risk at every phase:

• Automated test case generation and execution provide expanded coverage, reducing the risk of defects and regressions
• Behavior-driven development (BDD) formats make requirements clear and testable, minimizing ambiguity and human error
• Continuous monitoring and reporting allow for real-time risk assessment and rapid remediation
• Human-in-the-loop oversight ensures that AI-accelerated processes are always subject to expert review and intervention

Publicis Sapient’s approach leverages a combination of advanced AI, contextual knowledge, and industry-specific prompt libraries to:

• Comprehend and deconstruct legacy code (e.g., COBOL to Java migrations), translating business logic into modern, maintainable architectures
• Generate and validate documentation, test cases, and automation scripts at scale, dramatically reducing manual effort
• Deliver measurable outcomes, including up to 3x faster migration, over 50% reduction in modernization costs, and 50% fewer defects—all while expanding coverage of requirements and test cases

A leading benefits provider, for example, leveraged Sapient AI to accelerate the modernization of mainframe applications. By using private LLMs to deconstruct legacy programs and iteratively develop in secure sprints, the organization achieved:

• Three times faster migration
• Improved traceability and quality through functional specifications
• Easier maintenance and enhancement in a modern tech stack

These results are not isolated. Across financial services, healthcare, and energy, organizations are realizing the benefits of AI-driven modernization—without compromising on compliance, security, or risk management.

Publicis Sapient brings decades of digital transformation and application modernization expertise, deep industry knowledge, and a proven track record of delivering enterprise-scale AI solutions. Our approach is distinguished by:

• End-to-end capabilities: From strategy and compliance planning to implementation and ongoing support
• Human-centered, AI-powered methodology: Ensuring technology augments, not replaces, expert judgment
• Partnerships with leading cloud and security providers: Enabling secure, scalable modernization
• Commitment to ethical and sustainable AI: Placing transparency, fairness, and trust at the core of every solution

For regulated industries, the stakes of modernization are high—but so are the rewards. With Sapient AI and Sapient Slingshot, Publicis Sapient empowers organizations to modernize legacy systems with speed, security, and full regulatory confidence.

Connect with our experts to see how AI-driven modernization can unlock agility, compliance, and innovation for your organization.

Relevant Links

• Revolutionizing Software Development with Sapient AI: The Publicis Sapient Advantage
• Transformación Digital con IA: Modernización de Aplicaciones para Empresas en América Latina (LATAM)
• Human-Centered AI-Driven Experience Transformation: Elevating Employee Productivity and Engagement
• L’IA Générative : Un Accélérateur de Transformation Digitale pour les Entreprises Européennes (Europe)
• Transformando el Desarrollo de Software en América Latina con IA: Oportunidades y Desafíos para Ejecutivos (LATAM)
• Transformación de la Experiencia con IA: El Futuro de Clientes y Empleados en América Latina (LATAM)
• L’IA Générative : Un Accélérateur de Modernisation Applicative pour les Entreprises Européennes (Europe)
• Revolutionizing Software Development with Sapient AI: The Publicis Sapient Advantage