Every organization has an innovation agenda. Whether it’s building AI-native applications, creating more engaging customer experiences, or unlocking new efficiencies—ambition is never the problem. But for many teams, it’s their technical debt that stands in the way. Legacy systems, outdated codebases, and fragmented infrastructure slow progress and drain resources. In fact, over 37% of application portfolios require modernization today—and that number will remain high over the next three years.1 Developers want the freedom to innovate, but migration and modernization is often slow, complex, and hard to start. These delays translate into lost opportunities and stalled transformation.
Generative AI changes the game. Teams are using it to tackle migration and modernization faster and with less friction. At today’s Migrate and Modernize Summit, we’re sharing agentic AI tools built to drive real progress—quickly. From GitHub Copilot’s app modernization for Java and .NET, to new AI-powered features in Microsoft Azure Migrate that simplify migration across teams, to Microsoft Azure Accelerate—a new offering that pairs expert guidance with investment support—these tools help organizations move forward with confidence.
GitHub Copilot app modernization for Java and .NET
Modernizing legacy apps used to take months. With GitHub Copilot’s autonomous AI agents, it can now take days.
Over 150 million developers—including engineering teams at 90% of the Fortune 100—use GitHub to build and collaborate. Now, with new capabilities in GitHub Copilot for application modernization across Java and .NET, those organizations can accelerate their modernization efforts significantly.
Get started with modernizing your Java and .NET apps today.
What’s new:
- General availability of automated .NET and Java upgrades—Upgrading to the latest versions of .NET and Java unlocks performance, security, and feature enhancements, but managing breaking changes and dependency updates can be time-consuming. GitHub Copilot now automates this process with AI agents that analyze your codebase, detect breaking changes, suggest safe migration paths, and apply build fixes (including dependency updates and security vulnerability checks.) The Microsoft Teams organization used this capability to upgrade multiple projects to .NET 8—cutting months of effort down to just hours.
- App modernization for Java is now generally available, with .NET in public preview. Running modernized applications on Microsoft Azure unlocks a scalable, secure, and cost-efficient foundation. With built-in high availability, global reach, integrated monitoring, and enterprise-grade security—Azure makes it easier for teams to deploy, operate, and scale with confidence. The modernization process is streamlined: it analyzes your app, identifies dependencies, resolves platform-specific issues, containerizes the code, generates deployment artifacts, and launches into dev/test environments—all while aligning with your organization’s security and compliance standards. Ford China used this approach to modernize middleware apps, cutting time and effort by 70%.
With GitHub Copilot app modernization, developers can stay focused on building what’s next—while AI handles the tedious, time-consuming work of updating legacy code. The results are already showing up: customers are cutting timelines, reducing effort, and unlocking faster paths to innovation.
What’s new in Azure Migrate: Streamlining migration and modernization across apps and teams
Migration and modernization often stall when IT, developers, data, and security teams aren’t aligned. Azure Migrate is introducing new agentic AI features to close those gaps, simplify complexity, and expand support—so teams can move faster, together:
- AI-powered guidance (Preview): Agentic capabilities in Azure Migrate now offer a guided experience that automates key tasks and builds on what your teams already know. This helps you move faster and smarter—without retraining or retooling.
- Connected workflows with GitHub Copilot (Preview): IT and developers can now collaborate seamlessly. Azure Migrate links directly to GitHub Copilot’s app modernization tools, so both teams can plan and execute modernization in sync.
- Application-awareness by default (Preview): Get broad visibility across your portfolio and deep insights into each app. Understand dependencies, keep resources aligned, and make smarter, data-driven decisions throughout your migration.
- Expanded support for databases and infrastructure (Preview): Azure Migrate now supports more scenarios—including PostgreSQL and popular Linux distributions—so no app gets left behind.
Migrate and modernize your databases in Azure
At the heart of every digital transformation is data. This year’s Migrate and Modernize Summit was more than a showcase of new features—it was a demonstration of how Microsoft Azure is reimagining the migration and modernization journey for organizations of every size, including for their databases.
Azure’s commitment to open source shines through in our latest PostgreSQL innovations. The journey to using PostgreSQL in Azure begins with the recently announced public preview of Azure Migrate Discovery and Assessment for PostgreSQL, a new capability that streamlines planning and accelerates migrations from on-premises, AWS, or GCP to Azure Database for PostgreSQL. This tool provides comprehensive discovery and assessment, helping organizations confidently map their migration path.
This and other Azure databases migration innovations are not just features—they are part of a unified approach to data modernization that reduces migration complexity and ultimately empower you to create the next generation of AI apps. Whether you’re migrating SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, or Sybase workloads, Azure’s latest tooling and services provide a streamlined, intelligent path to the cloud.
Accelerate transformation with Microsoft expertise and support
Transformation isn’t just about adopting new technology—it’s about empowering your teams and refining processes to meet business goals. Microsoft provides a range of resources to help you build skills, reduce risk, and move faster with confidence. That includes expert help through Microsoft Unified, free role-based training and certifications with Microsoft Learn, and curated technical guidance and best practices through Azure Essentials.
Now, with Azure Accelerate, we’re going further. This program connects you directly with trusted experts, unlocks funding for eligible projects, and supports every stage of your cloud and AI journey—from migration and modernization to data platforms and intelligent agents. One standout feature is the Cloud Accelerate Factory, where Microsoft engineers work alongside your team or partners to provide zero-cost deployment support for over 30 Azure services. That means faster delivery, fewer roadblocks, and more time for your teams to focus on high-impact work. Customers like Thomson Reuters have already used Azure Accelerator to migrate over 500TB of data and modernize mission-critical systems.
Move forward with confidence
Modernization shouldn’t be a guessing game. Tools like GitHub Copilot and Azure Migrate are designed to bring every app—legacy or new—into the software development lifecycle. With agentic AI and end-to-end support, it’s easier than ever to start strong and scale fast.
Whether you’re kicking off your cloud journey or expanding AI across your organization, Azure gives you the clarity, speed, and support to move forward with confidence.
- Explore GitHub Copilot for App Modernization.
- Learn about the latest Azure Migrate capabilities.
- Unlock the full value of cloud and AI with expert help with Azure Accelerate.
1 IDC, Top Application Types for Modernization: Worldwide, doc #US53053825, January 2025