From Legacy to SaaS: Achieving Sustainable Cloud Migrations

Replacing traditional on-premises systems with SaaS platforms is a profound intervention in existing IT and business structures. The challenge goes far beyond migrating data and applications – it requires a fundamental reorientation of architecture, governance, and financial models. IT leaders must establish cloud-native structures, comply with regulatory requirements such as the Swiss DPA aswell as GDPR or ISO 27001, and manage the transition from CAPEX to OPEX. At the same time, expectations for SaaS are evolving: AI-driven features, automation, and outcome-based operating models are shifting the focus from software delivery to dynamic services.

Cloud Architecture & Scaling: From Monolithic to Composable

Migrating to SaaS requires a scalable, cloud-native architecture. Instead of monolithic systems, multi-tenant platforms dominate, offering tenancy, elastic scalability, and API accessibility. The choice between single- and multi-tenant approaches is not only an infrastructure decision, but also one of governance, performance, and compliance.

Modern SaaS providers increasingly rely on composable architectures, where applications are modular and orchestrated. Microservices, containers, and APIs enable flexible integration of functionalities and rapid response to business needs – without vendor lock-in. In practice, Kubernetes manages container landscapes, while API gateways control access to interfaces. According to Gartner, companies using composable structures will generate, on average, 30% more revenue by 2025 than competitors relying on monolithic systems.

However, growing modularity also expands the attack surface. Security, compliance, and governance therefore become critical success factors.

Security, Privacy & Compliance: Managing the Shared Model

SaaS migrations are data-sensitive. Companies must ensure that providers are not only ISO 27001 certified, but also prove data residency, encryption, and access control. Especially for personal data, the Swiss DPA and GDPR applies strict requirements for storage location, purpose limitation, and consent.

The shared responsibility model is essential here: while the provider secures the infrastructure, the customer remains accountable for governance, compliance, and data protection processes. This includes defined roles, regular audits, penetration tests, and strong IAM aligned with the company’s architecture. For enterprise environments, zero-trust models, SIEM/SOC integration, and key management are becoming increasingly relevant.

From CAPEX to OPEX: Financial Models in SaaS

SaaS transforms not only systems but also financial logic. Investments in servers and licenses (CAPEX) give way to ongoing operating expenses (OPEX). Subscription models create predictable budgets but require new KPIs: total cost of ownership over multiple years, process-level ROI, and continuous cost control – including variable factors such as API usage, data volumes, or add-on modules.

Without transparency, shadow costs emerge – for example through unused subscriptions or dynamic per-call billing. This makes close collaboration between finance and IT essential. Forecasting, benchmarking, and strict license management are key to making SaaS economically viable.

From Software to Service-as-a-Service: AI Redefines SaaS

Beyond the financial shift, technology is driving SaaS evolution. Platforms are moving from software delivery toward service-as-a-service. AI, machine learning, and automated workflows enable platforms to deliver not just features, but outcomes. Adaptive platforms analyze data in real time, optimize processes, and dynamically adapt to user behavior.

IDC predicts that adaptive SaaS solutions with modular AI components will be among the fastest-growing segments in the coming years. For decision-makers, this means evaluating providers not only by traditional SLAs but also by outcome KPIs such as throughput, process quality, or user efficiency. Use cases range from fraud detection in financial systems to automated document classification in HR to predictive maintenance in IoT.

Migration by Design: Cloud Adoption Frameworks & Automation

A structured approach is crucial for a successful SaaS migration. Cloud adoption frameworks (e.g., CONVOTIS Private & Sovereign Cloud, AWS, Azure) provide best practices for strategy, architecture, migration, and governance. They align business goals, technical roadmaps, and compliance requirements in a clear plan.

Cloud automation is a central success factor. Manual migrations quickly hit limits in legacy environments. With automation, migration paths can be standardized, infrastructures provisioned reproducibly, and governance requirements consistently enforced.

Structured Migration with Cloud Automation

This is where CONVOTIS comes in: outdated systems are not compatible with the requirements of modern SaaS platforms – especially when migration and operations are handled manually. Through cloud automation and orchestration, we enable standardized, transparent, and controllable migration paths.

Our approach focuses not on application development, but on automated provisioning and adaptation of infrastructure components. This reduces platform dependencies, enables targeted scaling, and ensures systematic governance. With centralized orchestration, lifecycle management, and scalable operating models, we lay the foundation for hybrid, multi-cloud, and SaaS architectures.

Governance after Migration: Balanced Scorecard for Success

The real work begins after migration: SaaS landscapes must be continuously monitored, managed, and optimized. A KPI framework helps balance strategic, financial, operational, and compliance aspects:

• Strategic: User satisfaction, process coverage, innovation capacity
• Financial: Budget adherence, TCO, license cost per user
• Operational: Uptime, SLA compliance, API latency, MTTR
• Compliance: Audit results, training rates, Swiss DPA and GDPR violations

A regular review board involving IT, finance, and compliance ensures that profitability, governance, and performance remain in balance.

Managing SaaS, Not Just Migrating

SaaS changes the operational logic of IT: from scheduled releases to continuously evolving platforms. What matters is not a one-time migration, but the ability to permanently manage distributed, autonomous systems. Organizations that treat SaaS as an ongoing governance process – technically, regulatory, and financially – will not only migrate but strategically harness SaaS for business value.