IT Modernization

Grid Square Holdings delivers IT modernization support at the program office level. We identify budget and schedule risks before procurement commitments finalize, prevent scope creep by surfacing technical debt vendors overlook, deliver migrations within original timeline and budget, and assess legacy system dependencies that determine modernization feasibility. 

Grid Square assesses which workloads genuinely benefit from cloud migration versus which create cost and complexity without operational improvement. We identify application dependencies that vendors don't discover until mid-migration, evaluate data egress costs that aren't apparent in initial cloud pricing, and determine whether cloud economics actually improve total cost of ownership for your specific workload profile. Our analysis examines hidden costs before contract signature.

The result: Cloud migrations are scoped based on workload analysis rather than vendor migration roadmaps. Programs avoid mid-migration discoveries that trigger contract modifications and budget overruns. Leadership receives cost projections that account for operational reality rather than vendor calculator estimates.

Expert Tip: Cloud cost calculators from vendors assume optimized workload placement and reserved instance pricing - but migrations typically run on-demand instances for 12-18 months while teams learn the platform. Budget cloud migration at on-demand rates for the first two years, then model reserved instance savings for year three onward. Otherwise your actual costs will exceed projections by 40-60%.

Grid Square evaluates legacy system dependencies before committing to infrastructure replacement. We identify which applications require the legacy platform versus which can migrate to modern infrastructure, assess middleware and integration dependencies that determine replacement feasibility, and quantify the cost difference between clean replacement and maintaining legacy systems in parallel during extended transition periods.

The result: Infrastructure replacement decisions account for application dependencies rather than hardware lifecycle alone. Programs avoid scenarios where new infrastructure sits idle because applications can't migrate as planned. Budget planning includes parallel operation costs when clean cutover isn't feasible.

Expert Tip: Most infrastructure replacement projects discover critical application dependencies 6-9 months into implementation. Before approving replacement procurement, inventory every application on the legacy platform and validate migration compatibility with application owners - not infrastructure teams. The application team knows whether their code will run on new infrastructure. The infrastructure team guesses.

Grid Square surfaces technical debt that affects modernization feasibility before vendors commit to fixed-price contracts. We identify undocumented customizations, deprecated dependencies, and integration points that aren't visible in architecture diagrams but will block modernization progress. Our analysis determines what must be remediated before modernization versus what can be addressed during transition.

The result: Modernization scope accounts for technical debt remediation rather than assuming clean migration paths. Vendors bid on accurate scope rather than ideal-state assumptions. Programs avoid change orders when hidden dependencies emerge during implementation.

Expert Tip: Vendors scoping modernization work from architecture diagrams will miss 30-40% of actual dependencies. Require vendors to interview the people who actually operate and maintain systems - not just review documentation - before accepting fixed-price proposals. The gap between documented architecture and operational reality is where scope creep lives.

Grid Square develops modernization roadmaps that align with POM cycles and available funding rather than ideal timelines unconstrained by budget reality. We phase modernization work to match fiscal year funding profiles, identify which components deliver operational value early versus which are infrastructure prerequisites, and structure contracts to prevent scenarios where partial modernization consumes budget without delivering capability.

The result: Modernization timelines align with budget availability across multiple fiscal years. Programs deliver operational capability incrementally rather than waiting for complete transformation. Contract structures allow programs to pause or adjust scope based on funding without abandoning completed work.

Expert Tip: Structure modernization contracts with defined phase gates and deliverables at fiscal year boundaries. If budget gets cut in year two, you should have operational capability from year one work - not 40% of an incomplete system that requires full funding to deliver any value. Incremental delivery beats comprehensive transformation when budget certainty doesn't exist.