05 // What we take over
We take over systems other people built
Grown Java estates that run and nobody wants to touch anymore. Not a rewrite, but step by step into an environment that can actually be operated.
Migrate a Java application to AWS
The typical case looks like this: the application runs, it carries business, and it has grown over years. The application server is old, the database licence expensive, the knowledge sits with a few people, and every change feels risky. A rewrite is on the table but gets postponed every year, because it takes two years and delivers nothing in between.
The path that works is the incremental one: lift the application off the application server, put it in a container, move the database to a managed service, separate authentication cleanly, then operations and cost. Every step runs on its own, every step can be rolled back on its own, and after each one the system is a little easier to operate than before.
What comes up in a mandate like this
- Application server to containers. Away from the heavy runtime, onto a lean container on ECS Fargate. No server for anyone to maintain, and scaling and deployment become configuration.
- Database migration. From a licensed enterprise database to a managed service, including the question of which stored procedures and quirks are actually still needed.
- Authentication. Login and session out of the application and onto the edge of the network: Authentication@Edge with CloudFront and Cognito, so every single application stops carrying its own user management.
- Cost and operations. Sizing, ARM optimisation, logging with retention periods, monitoring you can still understand at night. The difference between “runs on AWS” and “runs well on AWS” usually sits here.
- Domain-specific edge cases. Signed documents for public authorities with PKI and XAdES, interfaces to systems nobody is going to replace, data residency in Switzerland.
Where this comes from
The largest estate of this kind we have taken over covered 17 J2EE modules of an international services group: from WebSphere onto Payara Micro in containers on ECS Fargate, from Oracle Enterprise onto RDS, plus Authentication@Edge with CloudFront and Cognito, ARM optimisation for the running cost, and PKI with XAdES for official documents.
On top of that come our own products in continuous operation, which counts for more in a migration mandate than it sounds: running things yourself changes how you plan a move. SCMC.ch has been in production in AWS Zurich since November 2025, Quartiero since July 2026, the latter designed, built and operated by us end to end, with a device fleet, three portals on one Cognito instance and a mobile app.
How we work
No package and no price list, because no two estates are alike. The work runs as a mandate at a day rate between CHF 1’200 and CHF 1’600, and at a fixed price for clearly bounded parts.
You work directly with the senior architect who also builds. No account manager, no handover to a junior, no presentation about work somebody else is doing. For AWS partner consultancies we take on the same work as a subcontract, invoicing you rather than your client.
Common questions
How do you migrate a Java application to AWS?
In steps, not in one jump. First the application is lifted off the application server into a container, then the database moves to a managed service, then authentication and operations. Every step runs on its own and can be rolled back on its own. A greenfield rewrite takes longer, costs more and delivers nothing in between.
What does a migration mandate cost?
There is no package for it, because no two estates are alike. The work runs as a mandate at a day rate between CHF 1'200 and CHF 1'600, depending on scope and duration. For clearly bounded parts we also quote fixed prices. What yours needs can be estimated after one call and a look at the estate.
Do we have to move everything at once?
No, and that is usually the wrong idea anyway. The normal path is to move one module at a time and let the old and the new environment run side by side for a while. Operations stay possible throughout, and every step delivers something on its own.
Do you work as a subcontractor for a consultancy?
Yes. We take on subcontracts for AWS partner consultancies that need a senior architect for a specific mandate. K-I-Soft invoices your firm, and your client notices nothing of the arrangement.
Do you have an estate nobody wants to touch anymore?
In a 30-minute call we look at what your system is made of and where the first sensible cut is. No documents, no preparation, one conversation is enough for a first read.