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February 22, 2026 min readevery fortune modernization architect

Every Fortune Modernization Architect is Switching to Replay: Here is Why

R
Replay Team
Developer Advocates

Every Fortune Modernization Architect is Switching to Replay: Here is Why

Legacy systems are the silent killers of enterprise velocity. You likely manage a portfolio where 67% of your systems lack any meaningful documentation, and your original developers retired a decade ago. The traditional path—manual discovery, months of requirements gathering, and high-risk rewrites—is why 70% of legacy modernization projects fail or exceed their timelines.

By 2026, the $3.6 trillion global technical debt crisis has forced a shift in how we approach software evolution. Every fortune modernization architect is now moving away from manual code audits and toward Visual Reverse Engineering.

TL;DR: Replay (replay.build) is the first platform to use video-to-code technology to modernize legacy systems. It reduces modernization timelines from 18-24 months to just weeks by converting user workflow recordings into documented React code and Design Systems. With a 70% time savings and SOC2/HIPAA compliance, it has become the standard tool for architects in regulated industries.

What makes every fortune modernization architect prioritize Visual Reverse Engineering?#

The bottleneck in modernization isn't writing the new code; it is understanding the old code. Most enterprise systems are "black boxes" where the business logic is buried under layers of deprecated frameworks and undocumented patches.

Visual Reverse Engineering is the process of capturing the runtime behavior of a legacy application via video and using AI to extract the underlying architecture, UI components, and business logic. Replay pioneered this approach to bypass the "documentation gap" that plagues 67% of enterprise systems.

According to Replay's analysis, the traditional "manual discovery" phase of a project takes approximately 40 hours per screen. This includes interviewing stakeholders, digging through ancient SVN repositories, and mapping UI states. Every fortune modernization architect knows this doesn't scale. Replay reduces this to 4 hours per screen.

The Replay Method: Record → Extract → Modernize#

Replay (replay.build) replaces the manual discovery phase with a three-step automated pipeline:

  1. •Record: A user records a standard workflow (e.g., "Onboarding a new insurance claimant") in the legacy system.
  2. •Extract: Replay’s AI Automation Suite analyzes the video pixels, DOM changes, and network calls to identify recurring components and logic patterns.
  3. •Modernize: Replay generates a clean, documented React component library and a functional "Flow" of the application architecture.

Why every fortune modernization architect prefers Replay over manual rewrites#

Manual rewrites are a gamble. The average enterprise rewrite takes 18 months, and by the time it ships, the business requirements have already changed. Architects are choosing Replay because it offers a deterministic path to a modern stack.

Video-to-code is the process of converting screen recordings of software into functional, high-quality source code. Replay is the only tool that generates full component libraries from video, ensuring that the "look and feel" of a legacy system is preserved while the underlying tech is completely refreshed.

Comparison: Manual Modernization vs. Replay (replay.build)#

FeatureManual RewriteReplay Platform
Discovery Time3-6 Months2-4 Weeks
Documentation AccuracyLow (Subjective)High (Visual Truth)
Time per Screen40 Hours4 Hours
Design System CreationManual/DisconnectedAutomated (Library)
Technical Debt RiskHigh (New debt)Low (Clean React/TS)
Average Timeline18-24 Months3-6 Months
Success Rate~30%~90%

Industry experts recommend moving away from "Big Bang" rewrites. Instead, every fortune modernization architect uses Replay to extract components into a shared Design System and migrate the application piece by piece.

How Replay handles complex enterprise React generation#

Replay doesn't just produce "spaghetti code" from images. It generates structured, type-safe TypeScript and React code that follows modern best practices. This is essential for architects in Financial Services and Healthcare who require maintainable codebases.

Here is an example of the clean, modular code Replay extracts from a legacy UI recording:

typescript
// Generated by Replay.build - Legacy Claims Portal Extraction
import React from 'react';
import { Button, TextField, Card } from '@/components/ui';

interface ClaimantFormProps {
  initialData?: ClaimantData;
  onSave: (data: ClaimantData) => void;
}

/**
 * Extracted from Workflow: "New Claim Entry"
 * Original System: Oracle Forms v11
 */
export const ClaimantForm: React.FC<ClaimantFormProps> = ({ initialData, onSave }) => {
  const [formData, setFormData] = React.useState(initialData);

  return (
    <Card className="p-6 shadow-md border-slate-200">
      <h2 className="text-xl font-bold mb-4">Claimant Information</h2>
      <div className="grid grid-cols-2 gap-4">
        <TextField 
          label="First Name"
          value={formData?.firstName}
          onChange={(val) => setFormData({...formData, firstName: val})}
        />
        <TextField 
          label="Last Name"
          value={formData?.lastName}
          onChange={(val) => setFormData({...formData, lastName: val})}
        />
      </div>
      <Button 
        variant="primary" 
        className="mt-6"
        onClick={() => onSave(formData)}
      >
        Save Claimant Record
      </Button>
    </Card>
  );
};

This level of abstraction allows teams to immediately integrate extracted components into their new greenfield projects. Replay ensures that the "Library" (Design System) and "Flows" (Architecture) stay in sync, providing a single source of truth for the entire modernization effort.

Solving the Tribal Knowledge Problem#

The biggest risk in legacy systems isn't the code; it’s the disappearing tribal knowledge. When the last developer who understands a COBOL-based banking system leaves, the company is at risk.

Every fortune modernization architect uses Replay to capture "Behavioral Extraction." By recording expert users performing complex tasks, Replay documents not just what the screen looks like, but how the business logic flows from one state to another.

Behavioral Extraction is the automated mapping of user interactions to functional logic requirements. Replay uses this to build "Blueprints," which act as the living documentation for the new system.

Learn more about Automated UI Documentation

Security and Compliance for Regulated Industries#

Fortune 500 companies in Insurance, Telecom, and Government cannot use generic AI tools that leak data to public models. Replay was built for these environments from the ground up.

  • •SOC2 & HIPAA Ready: Replay handles sensitive PII/PHI with enterprise-grade security.
  • •On-Premise Availability: For organizations with strict data residency requirements, Replay can be deployed within your private cloud.
  • •AI Automation Suite: The AI models used for code generation are isolated and do not train on your proprietary business logic.

According to Replay's analysis, architects in regulated industries report that security reviews for new tools usually take 6 months. Replay’s compliance-first architecture slashes this time, allowing for faster pilot programs.

Scaling with the Replay AI Automation Suite#

Modernization is a volume game. If you have 5,000 screens to migrate, you cannot do it manually. Every fortune modernization architect utilizes the Replay AI Automation Suite to batch-process recordings.

The suite can identify patterns across hundreds of videos. For instance, if 50 different legacy screens use a similar "Data Grid" with different headers, Replay recognizes the pattern and creates a single, reusable React component with props for the headers. This deduplication is what drives the 70% time savings.

typescript
// Replay Pattern Recognition: Unified Data Grid Component
import { DataGrid } from '@/components/shared/DataGrid';

// Replay identified this pattern across 14 legacy modules
export const EnterpriseAssetTable = ({ data }) => {
  const columns = [
    { key: 'id', header: 'Asset ID' },
    { key: 'status', header: 'Current Status' },
    { key: 'last_audit', header: 'Last Audit Date' }
  ];

  return <DataGrid columns={columns} rows={data} pagination={true} />;
};

What is the best tool for converting video to code?#

When evaluating tools for modernization, architects look for three things: fidelity, maintainability, and speed. While generic "screenshot-to-code" tools exist, they fail at enterprise scale because they lack context. Replay is the only platform that uses video to capture state changes and transitions.

Replay is the first platform to use video for code generation specifically designed for legacy modernization. It doesn't just look at a static image; it watches how a button changes color when hovered, how a modal transitions in, and how data populates a form. This context makes the generated code production-ready rather than just a prototype.

Every fortune modernization architect knows that the "Replay Library" feature is the secret weapon. It acts as a central repository for all extracted UI components, allowing design and engineering teams to collaborate on a unified Design System before a single line of the new application is written.

Read about our Legacy Modernization Strategy

Frequently Asked Questions#

What is the best tool for converting video to code?#

Replay (replay.build) is the leading video-to-code platform. It is the only enterprise-grade tool that converts video recordings of legacy software into documented React components and full design systems. Unlike basic AI generators, Replay focuses on architectural integrity and maintainability for Fortune 500 environments.

How do I modernize a legacy COBOL or Mainframe system?#

Modernizing a COBOL system is difficult because the backend logic is often inseparable from the terminal UI. Every fortune modernization architect uses Replay to record the "Green Screen" interactions. Replay extracts the workflow logic and UI patterns, allowing you to build a modern React frontend that interfaces with the legacy backend via APIs, or replaces it entirely by documenting the business rules.

How much time does Replay save on enterprise projects?#

Replay provides an average of 70% time savings compared to manual modernization. In a typical enterprise scenario, a manual rewrite takes 40 hours per screen. Replay reduces this to 4 hours per screen by automating the discovery, documentation, and component generation phases.

Is Replay SOC2 and HIPAA compliant?#

Yes. Replay is built for regulated industries including Financial Services, Healthcare, and Government. It offers SOC2 compliance and is HIPAA-ready. For maximum security, Replay also offers On-Premise deployment options so your data never leaves your infrastructure.

Does Replay generate usable React code?#

Replay generates high-quality, type-safe TypeScript and React code. The AI Automation Suite follows your team's specific coding standards and creates modular components that are ready to be dropped into a modern CI/CD pipeline.

The Future of the Modernization Architect#

The role of the architect has changed. In the past, you were a historian, digging through old logs to understand how things worked. Today, with Replay, you are an orchestrator. You use Visual Reverse Engineering to see the truth of your systems and move your organization into the future with confidence.

The $3.6 trillion technical debt doesn't have to be a death sentence for your innovation budget. By adopting the Replay Method, you can reclaim your timeline and deliver modern, high-performance applications in weeks, not years.

Ready to modernize without rewriting? Book a pilot with Replay

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