Are the guides free to use?

Yes. Link to them, share them, use the checklists internally.

With the guide that matches your next decision. If you do not know which decision comes first, start with the modernization assessment.

Guides

Modernization guides written by the engineers who do the work.

Patterns, comparisons and cost math for teams planning a move off legacy Java, app servers and databases.

Book a Fixed-Price Assessment See the 8 principles

principles on every project: 8
AceMQ support after go-live: 24/7
price assessment first: Fixed
AceMQ engineering since: 2016

The short answer

These guides explain the decisions behind a modernization project: which Java version to target, whether to leave an app server, how AI-assisted refactoring compares with recipes, when to split a monolith, and what a database exit costs. Each guide ends with the service page that turns the decision into a plan.

Customers

Partners

01Strategy

Plan the modernization

What is application modernization?

The definition, the benefits and how it differs from migration.

Rehost, replatform, refactor or rewrite

Decision rules for each of the Rs.

Application portfolio rationalization

Score every app and decide what to keep, move or retire.

Strangler fig pattern

Replace a legacy system piece by piece behind a facade.

Technical debt examples

Common debt in Java estates and how to measure it.

Legacy code refactoring

Tests first, then small, reversible changes.

02AI-assisted

Use AI tools without losing control

AI code refactoring

Where LLMs help, where recipes win, and the review gates.

AI readiness checklist

Check data, platform, code and governance before an AI project.

AWS Transform pricing

How the tool is billed and what the rest of the project costs.

OpenRewrite with Maven and Gradle

Plugin setup, recipes and reviewing the diff.

Want this mapped for your applications? Get a fixed scope and price before anything moves.

Book an assessment Talk to an engineer

03Java and app servers

Upgrade Java and leave the app server

Java 25 LTS

What changed and who should target it.

Java 21 features

Virtual threads, pattern matching and what they mean for an upgrade.

Java 8 vs 17 vs 21

Side by side, and what breaks on the way up.

App-server license cost

The formula behind WebLogic, WebSphere and JBoss EAP costs.

Tomcat vs JBoss

Servlet container or full Jakarta EE server.

Tomcat vs WebLogic

What you replace when you leave WebLogic.

04Architecture

Decide how to split, or not

Microservices vs monolith

A decision rule, not a fashion.

Modular monolith

Clear module boundaries without a network in between.

Saga pattern

Keep data consistent once a transaction spans services.

05Data

Move off legacy databases

ora2pg

Assess and convert an Oracle schema for PostgreSQL.

Oracle license cost and alternatives

How Oracle licensing is counted and what replaces it.

Teradata vs Snowflake

Architecture, pricing model and migration effort.

06Next step

Turn a guide into a plan

Ace8 is the AI-assisted application modernization practice of AceMQ. The modernization assessment inventories your applications, measures test coverage and risk, and returns a phased roadmap.

FAQ

Frequently asked.

Something else on your mind? Ask an engineer.

The AceMQ engineering team, from the tools and patterns used on modernization projects. Each guide lists what still needs a first-party test.

Start here

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 Assessment How we work

Get in touch

Talk to a modernization engineer

Tell us what you run today. An engineer, not a sales script, replies within one business day.

305-204-2607 info@ace8.io

66 W. Flagler St. 9th Floor
Miami, FL 33130