AI-Driven Application Modernization: Industry-Specific Success Stories

Modernizing legacy applications is a critical challenge for organizations across industries. Outdated systems—often built on mainframes or aging codebases—can stifle innovation, increase costs, and slow time-to-market. Yet, the path to modernization is rarely straightforward. Each industry faces unique regulatory, operational, and customer experience hurdles. At Publicis Sapient, we address these challenges head-on with Sapient Slingshot, our proprietary AI-powered platform that accelerates legacy modernization, reduces technical debt, and delivers measurable business outcomes.

Why AI-Driven Modernization Matters

Legacy systems, such as those built on COBOL or other mainframe technologies, are notoriously complex and tightly coupled. Traditional modernization efforts can drag on for years, consuming resources and introducing risk. Sapient Slingshot leverages advanced AI to automate and streamline every phase of the modernization journey—from code analysis and migration to testing and deployment—enabling organizations to:

Achieve up to 3x faster migration speeds
Reduce modernization costs by over 50%
Cut defects by half while improving code quality and maintainability
Accelerate time-to-market and free up teams for innovation

Below, we showcase how Sapient Slingshot has delivered industry-specific success for financial services, retail, and healthcare organizations.

Financial Services: Secure, Compliant, and Scalable Modernization

Challenge: Financial institutions must modernize legacy platforms to meet evolving customer expectations, regulatory requirements, and the need for robust security. Migrating from mainframe systems (e.g., COBOL) to modern architectures like Java is often hampered by the complexity of legacy code and the criticality of compliance.

Solution: Sapient Slingshot’s AI framework analyzes and deconstructs millions of lines of legacy code, translating program logic into clear, tech-neutral specifications. These are reviewed and enhanced by product owners, then converted into modular, production-ready Java code. The platform generates comprehensive documentation, architecture diagrams, and automated test cases, ensuring traceability and regulatory alignment.

Outcome:

A leading benefits provider achieved 3x faster migration and significantly reduced effort through AI-driven automation.
Functional specifications improved traceability and code quality, making the new system easier to maintain and enhance.
Automated security and compliance checks ensured the new platform met stringent industry standards.

Example: For a commercial bank, Sapient Slingshot enabled the rapid development of a secure mobile onboarding app. The platform generated epics, stories, and acceptance criteria aligned with industry best practices, produced interactive wireframes, and wrote clean, secure code ready for integration—all in a fraction of the traditional timeline.

Retail: Accelerating Omnichannel Innovation and Personalization

Challenge: Retailers must modernize their MarTech and commerce platforms to deliver seamless, personalized customer experiences across channels. Legacy systems and manual processes often lead to delays, overspending, and inconsistent customer journeys.

Solution: Sapient Slingshot automates the migration and setup of marketing technology platforms, such as Adobe Experience Manager (AEM). The platform analyzes existing code, applies AI-driven refactoring, and generates new, cloud-ready components. It can even convert Figma designs or image files directly into reusable web components, drastically reducing manual effort.

Outcome:

Retailers have migrated MarTech platforms to the cloud in up to half the time, with no compromise on quality or security.
Automated documentation and testing ensure smooth, accurate migrations and faster releases.
Teams can focus on innovation and customer engagement, rather than routine maintenance.

Example: A global restaurant chain leveraged AI/ML and analytics to automate campaign segmentation and testing, resulting in 5x faster testing, 50% fewer resources required, and a 75% reduction in reporting time. This enabled highly personalized marketing and measurable increases in guest engagement and revenue.

Healthcare: Enabling Agility and Lowering Costs

Challenge: Healthcare organizations face mounting pressure to modernize legacy applications for greater agility, cost efficiency, and regulatory compliance. The complexity of healthcare data and the need for secure, reliable systems make modernization especially daunting.

Solution: Sapient Slingshot supports cloud developers in deconstructing legacy healthcare programs using private AI models. The platform generates functional specifications, architecture diagrams, and automated test scripts, all tailored to the unique requirements of healthcare applications.

Outcome:

Healthcare providers have achieved 3x faster migration speeds and reduced modernization costs by over 50%.
AI-generated documentation and test coverage have improved code quality and maintainability.
Modernized systems are easier to enhance, supporting ongoing innovation and compliance.

The Sapient Slingshot Advantage

Sapient Slingshot is more than a tool—it’s a comprehensive platform built on decades of industry expertise and advanced AI. Key features include:

Extensive Code Library: Over 20 years of domain knowledge, reusable models, and accelerators
Proprietary AI Agents: Automate complex processes across the software development lifecycle
End-to-End Engineering: From code generation and logic simplification to automated testing and documentation
Seamless Integration: Works with leading project management and cloud platforms, ensuring security and privacy

Measurable Results:

50–70% increase in migration speed
Over 50% reduction in modernization costs
50% fewer defects and expanded test coverage
Up to 99% code-to-spec accuracy

Transform Your Legacy Systems—Faster, Smarter, and with Confidence

Publicis Sapient’s proven approach to AI-driven application modernization empowers organizations to overcome industry-specific challenges and realize tangible business value. Whether you’re in financial services, retail, healthcare, or another sector, Sapient Slingshot accelerates your journey to modern, agile, and future-ready systems.

Ready to see how Sapient Slingshot can transform your business? Request a live demo and start your modernization journey today.