Verification System for Legacy to Cloud Migration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Upgrading from a legacy computer system to a cloud-based system is challenging and often results in customer-service related problems, leading companies to delay replacements to avoid these issues.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a verification system that uses the same API calls to forward communications from a front-end platform to both legacy and cloud-based systems, allowing for 'production environment' testing, ensuring output meets error and throughput thresholds, and providing an option to automatically switch back to the legacy system if issues arise, with parallel 'off-line' testing to ensure the cloud-based system operates properly before handling live communications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a company upgrades from a legacy computer system to a new cloud-based system, then the system can process customer communications more efficiently and with better capabilities, but the changeover creates customer-service related problems and operational risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements parallel testing of the new cloud-based system alongside the legacy system before full transition. The new system is tested in a 'shadow mode' where it processes copies of incoming communications without actually responding to customers, allowing verification of its performance and reliability before it takes over live operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a verification system as an intermediary component that sits between the communication sources and both the legacy and new systems. This verification system monitors and compares outputs from both systems, ensuring that the new system meets performance thresholds before it begins handling live customer communications.
2Device complexity
If a company completely replaces the legacy system with a new cloud-based system, then operational costs can be reduced and modern capabilities adopted, but the transition becomes very difficult to implement and creates service disruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary validation by running the new cloud-based system in parallel with the legacy system during a testing period. The new system processes duplicate communications in a shadow mode, allowing thorough verification of its performance, accuracy, and reliability before it is activated for live customer service.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the verification system continuously monitors the new system's performance against predefined thresholds for error rates, response times, and other service quality metrics. This feedback loop allows operators to verify the new system's readiness and make informed decisions about the transition timing.
3Reliability
If a company delays replacing the legacy system to avoid transition problems, then service stability is maintained, but the legacy system continues to operate with outdated capabilities and higher costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables advance validation of the new cloud-based system through parallel shadow testing before full deployment. By verifying the new system's performance in advance using real incoming communications during the testing period, companies can ensure readiness and minimize disruption when transitioning goes live.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the transition process into distinct phases: a shadow testing phase where the new system operates in parallel without handling live traffic, a verification phase where performance is monitored against thresholds, and a gradual cutover phase. This segmentation allows thorough validation while maintaining legacy system operations during testing.
Data Source
AI summary
A method may include receiving a communication from a user device, determining whether to forward the communication to a first computer system or a second computer system and forwarding the communication to the first computer system based on the determining. The method may also include generating, by the first computer system, a first response to the communication, determining whether an error occurred when processing the communication at the first computer system and forwarding the communication to the second computer system, in response to determining that an error occurred. The method may further include generating, by the second computer system, a second response to the communication and comparing the first response from the first computer system to the second response from the second computer system.