Phased IBM MQ to RabbitMQ migration with legacy code refactoring
Delivered for American National, an insurer, in phases with no big-bang cutover. Closest regulated-sector reference.
American NationalDelivered by the AceMQ engineering team
Financial services
Modernize financial applications with an evidence trail.
Banks and lenders need change they can audit. We work in small, tested, reversible steps and keep a record of every change.
The short answer
Legacy modernization in banking and financial services moves core and channel applications off unsupported runtimes and servers while keeping a clear audit trail. Ace8 changes code in small tested slices, with AI-assisted tools for the repetitive edits and a senior engineer signing each one. Every step is reversible, and results are recorded for review.
Context
What pushes financial institutions to modernize?
- Application server and database licence renewals that rise faster than budgets.
- Java versions and frameworks that no longer receive free security fixes.
- Vulnerability findings that cannot be closed without an upgrade.
- Integration with new channels and partners through APIs the old system cannot expose.
- Preparing data and services for AI use cases that need clean interfaces.
Constraints
What makes the sector different?
The technology is the same Java estate found elsewhere. The constraints are different.
- Change control. Releases go through formal approval, so small, well-documented changes move faster than large ones.
- Evidence. Internal audit and regulators expect to see what changed, who approved it and how it was tested.
- Availability. Payment and account services have little tolerance for outages, so cutovers are staged.
- Data handling. Test environments must not expose real customer data, which shapes how tests are built.
Method
How does Ace8 approach a financial services estate?
The principles are on the method page.
- 1
Assess
Inventory applications, runtimes, licence dates, open vulnerabilities and test coverage. Rank by risk and cost.
- 2
Test first
Add characterization tests around calculation, posting and reconciliation logic before any change.
- 3
Change in slices
Recipes and AI-assisted tools do the repetitive edits. Engineers review each diff.
- 4
Stage the cutover
Run old and new side by side where the design allows, compare outputs, then move traffic gradually.
- 5
Hand over
Document the change record and arrange support for the new stack.
Scope
Which workloads do we take on?
Scope limits
What do we not do?
Ace8 works on enterprise Java applications and the middleware around them. We do not migrate mainframe COBOL, replace core banking platforms or provide regulatory advice. If an engagement needs those, we say so in the assessment.
Related work
Is there a reference in regulated finance?
The closest delivered work is the insurance project: the AceMQ engineering team moved American National from IBM MQ to RabbitMQ in phases while refactoring dependent legacy code. It shows the phased, reversible approach in a regulated business. We do not yet have a named bank or lender reference to publish, and we will not imply one. Read the American National case study or the insurance page.
Proof
Delivered by the AceMQ engineering team.
Moving banking applications off unsupported runtimes, servers and middleware onto supported platforms, in controlled steps and with an audit trail. It is usually done application by application rather than by replacing the core.
We produce change records, reviewer sign-off, before and after test results and rollback plans. Your audit and risk teams decide whether that meets your obligations.
No. We modernize enterprise Java applications and the messaging around them. Core platform replacement is outside our scope.
By staging cutovers: old and new run side by side where possible, outputs are compared, and traffic moves gradually with a rollback ready.
We have a delivered insurer reference through the AceMQ engineering team. We have no named bank reference to publish yet.
Know the cost before anything moves.
A fixed-price assessment gives you the inventory, the risk score and a phased plan. Scope and cost are fixed before the migration starts.
Book a Fixed-Price AssessmentGet in touch
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