Reflecting on a Year of Momentum: How AI Reshaped Application Modernization in 2025

We've all been feeling it. The pace of change in enterprise software has accelerated dramatically. Legacy applications are now under pressure from evolving security requirements, cloud adoption, and the need for faster innovation. At the same time, advances in AI are fundamentally reshaping how organizations are approaching modernization.

At Growth Acceleration Partners, this convergence has defined the evolution of GAPVelocity AI, our approach to modernizing legacy applications with greater speed, confidence, and efficiency. This has been a monumental year for GAPVelocity AI and for the application modernization space as a whole.

Here's everything we've learned in 2025:

AI & Cloud Native Are the New Normal

In 2025, we have seen tremendous growth in cloud capabilities and integrations, specifically with Azure. Here are some of the biggest highlights we've seen in Azure this year:

1. AI-Native Cloud Operations
   Azure is embedding AI directly into cloud operations through Copilot and agent-based workflows, enabling faster migration discovery, infrastructure setup, and optimization with far less manual effort.
2. Smarter Modernization with AI Agents
   New AI agents can analyze environments, generate infrastructure-as-code, and surface cost and performance insights, dramatically reducing the time and risk associated with large-scale modernization projects.
3. Modern Data Platforms Built for AI
   Azure introduced new cloud-native data services, including enhanced PostgreSQL and NoSQL offerings, designed to support scalability, resilience, and AI-ready workloads such as vector search and embeddings.
4. Unified AI Development with Azure AI Foundry
   Azure AI Foundry provides a centralized framework for building, orchestrating, and governing AI-powered applications, making it easier to embed intelligence into modernized cloud applications.
5. Improved Cost Governance and Performance
   Azure continues to invest in cost management, usage transparency, and high-performance infrastructure, helping organizations modernize confidently while controlling cloud spend.

The Evolving Microsoft Ecosystem with .NET & Blazor

Of course, this wouldn't be a GAPVelocity AI blog post without mentioning highlights of .NET and Blazor. We tend to recommend Blazor as our primary target technology because it is so well integrated in the .NET ecosystem and very software engineer friendly.

Here are some of our favorite highlights from .NET and Blazor this year:

• .NET 10 LTS: A Foundation for Modern, Cloud-Native Applications
  Microsoft released .NET 10, a Long-Term Support (LTS) release delivering major performance, security, and runtime improvements across web, cloud, and desktop workloads, making it a strong foundation for long-term modernization initiatives.
  
  
• AI-First Development Across the .NET Ecosystem
  .NET Conf 2025 emphasized deep AI integration, including enhanced GitHub Copilot support, AI-assisted modernization workflows, and new frameworks for building intelligent and agent-based applications directly within .NET.
  
  
• Stronger Azure Alignment for Modern App Architectures
  New tooling and updates, including .NET Aspire, reinforce Microsoft’s cloud-native vision by simplifying the development, deployment, and management of distributed applications on Azure, accelerating the path from legacy systems to scalable cloud solutions.

Blazor enables organizations to move beyond traditional desktop or client-server applications, delivering modern web experiences using existing .NET skills. Here are some highlights for Blazor in .NET 10:

• Stronger Security and Built In Observability 
  Blazor in .NET 10 introduces native support for passwordless authentication using passkeys, along with enhanced diagnostics and observability. New Blazor-specific metrics, tracing, and monitoring capabilities make it easier to secure applications and troubleshoot issues across both Blazor Server and WebAssembly deployments.
  
  
• Faster Performance and Improved Developer Experience
  Significant performance optimizations deliver up to 20% faster rendering in Blazor WebAssembly, while enhancements like faster Hot Reload, declarative state persistence, and improved form validation streamline development and reduce friction when building complex, data-driven applications.

We learned a lot about .NET updates from .NET Conf, check out our recap of .NET Conf 2025.

Together, these technologies make it possible not just to migrate applications, but to modernize them into cloud-ready, future-proof solutions.

AI in Application Modernization

Historically, modernizing legacy applications required extensive manual effort: analyzing large codebases, rewriting business logic, validating functionality, and managing risk across long timelines. GAPVelocity AI has redefined this process by creating Deterministic AI code migration engines that have been continuously improved for over 30 years. But in the last few years, the addition of Generative AI is changing this model.

One of the most important shifts we’ve seen is the move from simple “lift-and-shift” migrations to intentional modernization. Organizations no longer want modernized applications that are only being hosted on a new platform. Companies now expect that modernized applications can:

• Scale in the cloud
• Integrate with modern services and APIs
• Support evolving user experiences
• Enable long-term innovation

How GAPVelocity AI Fits In

GAPVelocity AI brings AI directly into the modernization lifecycle, combining automated analysis and transformation with our unique combination of decades of engineering expertise with AI innovation.

Our solution to these evolving needs is the integration of Generative AI and AI development tools into our modernization projects. Our engineers are experts at utilizing AI along each part of the modernization process to be more efficient and also modernize applications in a way that optimizes for future capabilities.

Basically, this all means that we now have the ability to modernize applicaitons as a much faster pace at a much lower cost, without sacrificing any of the quality that our software engineers are known for.

Today, GAPVelocity's Hybrid AI Approach with Generative AI can:

• Rapidly analyze legacy codebases to identify structure, dependencies, and risk areas
• Automate large portions of code transformation, preserving business logic while reducing manual rework
• Improve consistency and predictability across migrations
• Augment software engineers to speed up manual coding work
• Accelerate early decision-making by providing data-driven insights before full modernization begins
• Integrate seamlessly into AI & Cloud Native platforms so that your business is ready for innovation

Here's Exactly How GAPVelocity AI Has Evolved to Meet the Needs of the AI Landscape

We don't want to just list out all the things that we have done, we want to show real examples of how our company prioritizes customer needs and evolves to meet them.

Here are some of the major highlights and changes we've gone through in 2025 to become the best partner in the application modernization space:

• Introducing the Blazor AI Migrator
  We launched the Blazor AI Migrator to help customers move beyond desktop and client server applications into modern, cloud-ready web architectures. Based on customer demand, Blazor has proven to be a strong target for modernizing legacy technologies such as VB6, WinForms, Access, and PowerBuilder while preserving existing .NET skill sets.
  
  
• Strengthening Our Microsoft Partnership
  In 2025, we became an official Microsoft Solutions Partner for Digital and App Innovation and Azure. This partnership reflects our commitment to aligning closely with Microsoft’s ecosystem so customers can modernize with confidence on a supported, future-ready platform.

• Rebranding to GAPVelocity AI
  We rebranded from Mobilize.net to GAPVelocity AI to more clearly communicate the value we deliver to customers. The new name emphasizes speed, intelligence, and business outcomes, reinforcing our focus on helping organizations modernize applications efficiently and strategically.

• Standardizing the GAPVelocity Hybrid AI Approach
  We formalized our Hybrid AI approach to combine intelligent automation with expert engineering oversight. This ensures customers benefit from faster modernization timelines while maintaining accuracy, control, and alignment with business requirements.

• Ongoing AI Research and Product Innovation
  Continuous investment in AI research has allowed us to evolve our tooling to better meet customer expectations around speed and cost efficiency. One example is our Agentic AI work built on the Semantic Kernel framework, which introduced self-learning capabilities that significantly reduced conversion time, increased automation rates, and lowered overall migration costs.

By integrating AI with proven modernization tooling and hands-on engineering, GAPVelocity AI enables organizations to move faster without sacrificing quality or control.

Looking Ahead

As AI continues to advance and the Microsoft ecosystem evolves, application modernization is becoming a strategic imperative rather than a technical upgrade. Organizations that adopt AI-assisted modernization approaches are better equipped to reduce technical debt, manage risk, and create the foundation for long-term innovation and growth.

At GAPVelocity AI, we view AI as a core capability that fundamentally changes how legacy applications are modernized for the cloud. GAPVelocity AI is built on this principle, combining intelligent automation with deep engineering expertise to help organizations modernize with speed, precision, and confidence as they prepare for the future.

Want to get started on a migration in 2026?