Introduction

A large Transportation and Logistics Customer based out of Europe reached out to us with a challenge to convert 400+  Legacy forms to new Technology. They had their Product built on Silverlight which reached end-of-life in 2021, with support limited to only Internet Explorer 11.

As modern browsers evolved, Silverlight became obsolete due to its incompatibility with security features, lack of multi-browser support, and growing maintenance costs. Many businesses relying on Silverlight-based applications faced urgent modernization challenges.

Problem Statement

• Silverlight Deprecation: Microsoft officially ended Silverlight support in 2021, leaving applications vulnerable and outdated.
• Browser Dependency: Silverlight applications only worked on Internet Explorer 11, which itself was phased out, making access to applications extremely limited.
• Security Risks: Silverlight could not leverage modern browser security features, making applications prone to security vulnerabilities.
• Scalability Issues: Businesses found it increasingly difficult to maintain and expand their applications due to outdated technology.

QloudX Solution Approach

QloudX was tasked with converting 400+ Silverlight forms into a modern, scalable, and secure technology stack. Our approach included:

• Discovery : Conducting a ~6 week Discovery phase to understand the Customer Business, Functional and Technical goals based on their existing legacy application.
• Structure : Divide the application into various Modules to define the scope, complexity and inter-dependencies across each Module.
• Sample Forms : Agree with Customer on 3 forms based on complexity- Simple, Medium and Complex forms which should be taken for conversion as POC.
• POC : Conducted a proof-of-concept (POC) to analyze the feasibility of manual conversion with multiple technologies. We converted the same Silverlight forms to various technologies and provided a comparison including various parameters like Performance, Security etc.
• Technology : Based on evaluation of multiple technologies, we identified the best Integration with UI-UX replacement for Silverlight in agreement with Customer.
• Integration with UI-UX : We integrated the Sample forms with custom Brand Guide and Component library to deliver ‘Production Pilot’ forms as an outcome of Discovery Phase.

QloudX Value Addition

• Technology Assessment: Evaluated various modern technologies suitable for Silverlight replacement and suggested the best alternate for the Customer based on their application discovery
• Security & Compliance: Ensured that the new platform met modern security standards and compliance regulations.
• Project Estimate : Based on experience of converting 3 sample forms, we categorized all 400+ forms into 3 categories based on complexity- Simple, Medium, Complex.
• Automation Framework: We proposed to develop a proprietary tool to automate the conversion process and saving 20-30% of the total cost of the project.
• Production Deployment : We suggest an approach to divide the application into various modules so that we can deliver to Production in a periodic manner with 1 module as scope for a release. This helped to get initial feedback from their customers and avoided big band approach with full application roll-out in one go.

Architecture Diagram : Considering Customers with Legacy applications are usually have on-premise Architecture, we proposed both types of (initial) Architecture for their journey.

Cloud Architecture

On Premise Architecture

Implementation :

To ensure a seamless migration with minimal disruption, we followed a phased modernization strategy, enabling the system to function in parallel during the transition. We divided the scope into six categories:

1. DevOps

1. Ensured CI/CD pipelines for automated deployments.
2. Established containerization using Docker and Kubernetes for scalable and consistent environments.
3. Developed a hybrid deployment model supporting both on-premise and cloud environments.
4. UI-UX Upgrade
   • Replaced the outdated Silverlight UI with Blazor, ensuring a modern, responsive, and cross-browser-compatible experience.
   • We built custom Brand Guide and component library which completely transformed their Brand identity and product image.
   • Enhanced user experience with intuitive navigation and improved accessibility.
5. API-First Mentality
   • Designed an API based architecture to decouple frontend and backend.
   • Enabled seamless integration with third-party services and future technology upgrades.
6. Upgrade Tech Stack to .NET 6
   • Migrated the backend to .NET Core 6 for better performance, maintainability, and cloud-readiness. When project started in 2022, .Net 6 was the latest version and we upgraded to latest version later.
   • Implemented asynchronous processing for high-performance computing needs.
7. Build Automation Framework
   • Developed an automation tool to accelerate form and logic migration, reducing manual effort.
   • Enabled bulk conversion of legacy Silverlight components to Blazor.
   • This proprietary tool reduced overall efforts by 20-30% saving costs and time to convert the forms.
8. Large-Scale Form Conversion
   • Successfully converted approximately 400 forms from Silverlight to Blazor using automated scripts.
   • Ensured proper validation, testing, and end-user acceptance before deployment.

With our implementation, we also started the Cloud Journey for the Customer.

Conclusion

With Silverlight’s end-of-life, businesses faced urgent modernization challenges. By leveraging automation driven transformation, QloudX converted Silverlight application into modern, scalable, and secure technology, ensuring business continuity and long-term success.

Next Blog: Introducing QloudX Proprietary Legacy Form Conversion Automation Tool

Question : Do you have applications with Legacy forms and need a quote to convert them to Latest Technology? Contact the Author :

Mohit Patel leads the Full Stack & Cloud Native SaaS Development Practice at QloudX. Since joining QloudX in 2020, he has specialized in Supply Chain solutions and Cloud Native technologies, driving customer modernization initiatives.

With over 17 years of experience in software development, Mohit has a strong background in product strategy, roadmap planning, and solution architecture across various industries. He holds an AWS Solution Architect certification, along with multiple credentials in process and project management.

Currently, Mohit is focused on leveraging AI-powered tools to develop innovative products, helping customers achieve their business transformation goals.