The modernization moment: Why now?
Modernizing enterprise applications has historically been slow, manual, and costly. For many IT leaders and developers, it’s meant wrestling with aging frameworks, complex dependencies, and the constant tug-of-war between maintaining legacy systems and driving innovation. The stakes are high: every dollar spent on maintenance is a dollar not invested in the future.
But the game is changing. Today, agentic AI is transforming modernization from a months-long slog into a days – or even hours – long process. With GitHub Copilot and Azure, teams can finally break through the three constraints that have held them back:
- 69% of CIOs are using new-project spend to resolve technical debt. This is due to the fact that upgrades, migrations, and containerization are slow, repetitive, and error-prone.[1]
- 78% of enterprises cite lack of cloud expertise or resources as a major obstacle for modernization. These legacy estates span uneven documentation and rare skills, making it tough to scale modernization across teams.[2]
- 40% of development resources are spent on maintaining existing systems. This leads to siloed tools and limited portfolio insights that slow down planning and cross-team execution.[3]
The result? Projects stall, costs climb, and innovation takes a back seat. Organizations need a new approach—one that combines technical depth, automation, and collaboration to turn legacy estates into engines for growth.
What’s new at Ignite
This year at Microsoft Ignite, we’re adding to what we announced earlier this year to make a new generation of agentic AI capabilities in GitHub Copilot and Azure—purpose-built to address the modernization challenges facing IT and dev teams today. Here’s what’s new:
- Expanded Language and Framework Support:
- Modernizing legacy apps is no longer a manual slog. With the expanded language support, more teams can benefit from these innovations.
- For Java applications, we now support J2EE to JakartaEE transformation, IntelliJ integration, General Availability of deployment to Azure, and upgrades to Java 25, delivering better performance, security, and language features. (GA)
- For .NET workloads, we’re launching migration and deployment to Azure, including Managed Instance on Azure App Service for modernizing legacy Windows apps without code rewrites, and AI assisted upgrade paths from .NET Framework to .NET (GA)
- For Python, customers can now migrate from semantic kernel to agent framework (Public Preview)
- Containerization made simple with Containerization Assist Integration (GA):
Containerization is often a bottleneck, but not anymore. With containerization assist integration, GitHub Copilot can now automatically update application code and generate Dockerfiles and related artifacts for containerizing and deploying to Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), AKS Automatic, or Azure Container Apps (ACA), simplifying containerization for legacy apps. - Database modernization:
Upgrading databases is now faster and less risky. with the latest PostgreSQL extension for seamless PostgreSQL modernization and SQL Server migrations remain supported through the existing Azure Database Migration Service, enabling developers to modernize databases quickly and accurately. For Oracle-to-PostgreSQL migrations, Copilot tracks schema changes and applies informed code updates at the application level for Java apps. (Public Preview) - Customization for enterprise-grade modernization:
Modernization isn’t one-size-fits-all. With custom tasks, GitHub Copilot app modernization lets organizations define their own logic, enforcing security guardrails, coding standards, or industry-specific frameworks. Tasks can be created from diffs, markdown files, or URLs and shared across teams. Copilot learns from these customizations to apply them consistently, ensuring compliance while accelerating delivery (GA) - Portfolio Assessment Integration (Public Preview):
Visibility is key to planning, get a unified, actionable view of your entire app landscape with integrations to Azure Migrate, Dr. Migrate, and CAST Highlight, empowering smarter planning and prioritization, all surfaced through GitHub Issues. - Autonomous Workflows (Public Preview):
With Coding Agent integration and Copilot CLI, you can enable semi- autonomous modernization, freeing up your teams for higher-value work. Run modernization tasks directly from the CLI, or let agents analyze projects, generate plans, and execute upgrades end-to-end.
How does this change the game for modernization
These new capabilities are designed to directly address the three core blockers of modernization:
- Eliminating manual toil by automating upgrades, migrations, and containerization.
- Bridging expertise gaps by embedding AI-powered guidance and custom tasks, so teams can modernize confidently—even without deep legacy skills.
- Breaking down silos by providing unified visibility and integrated workflows, making it easier for IT and developers to plan, coordinate, and execute together.
And beyond solving these pain points, they help your business achieve more.
- Accelerating time-to-value: Automate repetitive work so teams can focus on innovation, not maintenance.
- Reducing risk: Standardize modernization with AI-driven guidance, custom tasks, and integrated compliance.
- Maximizing ROI: Free up budget and talent by reducing manual effort and accelerating cloud adoption.
- Empowering collaboration: Give IT and developers a unified toolkit and shared visibility, breaking down silos and speeding up delivery.
Take a look at how it comes to life!
See GitHub Copilot app modernization in action—automating code upgrades, containerization, and database migration, and enabling seamless collaboration across roles.
Customer momentum
Organizations large and small, including startups, are benefiting from app modernization with GitHub Copilot. Here are just some of the amazing results that we are seeing:
Ignite sessions: learn, connect, and build
Ready to see these innovations in action? Join us at Ignite for live demos, customer stories, and expert guidance:
- BRK103: Modernize your apps in days with AI agents in GitHub Copilot
- BRK100: Best practices to modernize your apps and databases at scale
- BRK150: From legacy to modern .NET on Azure faster than ever
- BRK102: Technical Deep Dive on Managed Instance on Azure App Service
- BRK115: Inside Microsoft’s AI transformation across the software lifecycle
- BRK1704: Scale Smarter: Infrastructure for the Agentic Era
- THR700: Modernizing apps for Kubernetes with new agents in GitHub Copilot
- PBRK151: Agentic AI Tools for Partner-Led Migration and Modernization Success
- PBRK152: Unlocking Next Wave of Partner Growth
- LAB502: Migrate to AKS Automatic with GitHub Copilot for App Modernization
- LAB501: Modernize ASP.NET apps using Managed Instance on Azure App Service
Get started today
- Explore the latest features with GitHub Copilot app modernization: http://aka.ms/GHCP-appmod
- Download Visual Studio 2026 and try GitHub Copilot app modernization for your .NET apps today https://aka.ms/vs
Modernize with confidence, innovate without compromise
With GitHub Copilot and Azure, you can maximize ROI, bridge expertise gaps, and give developers time back—turning legacy into a launchpad for AI-powered experiences. The future of app modernization is here. Let’s build it together.
[1] McKinsey, Tech debt, Reclaiming tech equity
[2] Flexera, Flexera 2023 State of the Cloud
[3] McKinsey, Tech debt, Reclaiming tech equity
Microsoft