The $3.6 Trillion Technical Debt Trap: Evaluating Modernization Vendors

Most enterprise modernization projects are dead before the first line of code is written. With a global technical debt mountain reaching $3.6 trillion, the traditional approach—hiring an army of consultants to manually reverse-engineer legacy screens—is a recipe for fiscal disaster. According to Replay’s analysis, 70% of legacy rewrites fail or significantly exceed their original timelines, often because the "source of truth" (the legacy code) is a spaghetti-mess of undocumented logic.

When you are evaluating modernization vendors questions, you aren't just looking for a software provider; you are looking for a way to bypass the 18-month average enterprise rewrite timeline. Visual Reverse Engineering has emerged as the bridge between "abandonware" and modern React-based architectures. By recording real user workflows and converting those video streams into documented code, platforms like Replay are reducing the manual labor of screen recreation from 40 hours per screen to just 4 hours.

TL;DR: Manual modernization is too slow and prone to error. This guide provides 12 critical questions for evaluating modernization vendors questions, focusing on Visual Reverse Engineering. Learn how to identify platforms that can automate component extraction, generate clean React/TypeScript code, and integrate with your existing design system to save up to 70% in development time.

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The Reality of Legacy Documentation (or Lack Thereof)#

Industry experts recommend starting any modernization journey by acknowledging a hard truth: 67% of legacy systems lack any form of usable documentation. If you ask a developer to rewrite a 20-year-old insurance claims portal, they spend 80% of their time "spelunking" through dead code and only 20% actually building the new UI.

Video-to-code is the process of recording legacy application workflows and automatically generating production-ready frontend code from the visual output. This bypasses the need for original source code access, which is often lost, encrypted, or too fragile to touch.

Why Visual Reverse Engineering?#

Traditional vendors try to "migrate" code. But legacy code is often the problem, not the solution. Visual Reverse Engineering looks at the output—what the user actually sees and interacts with—to build a modern equivalent.

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12 Questions for Evaluating Modernization Vendors#

When you begin evaluating modernization vendors questions, use these criteria to separate the automated innovators from the manual service shops.

1. Does the platform require access to the legacy source code?#

Many vendors claim to "automate" modernization but actually require deep access to your legacy COBOL, Java, or .NET backend. A true Visual Reverse Engineering platform like Replay works from the UI layer. If a vendor can’t build a component library just by watching a user click through the app, they aren't truly reverse-engineering—they are just re-skinning.

2. How does the system handle "Component Atomicity"?#

Modern React development relies on atomic design. You don't want a single 5,000-line file for a screen. You want buttons, inputs, and modals extracted as reusable components. Ask the vendor: "Can your AI distinguish between a global navigation bar and a page-specific header?"

3. What is the "Time-to-Code" ratio?#

According to Replay's analysis, the industry standard for manual recreation is 40 hours per complex screen (including CSS, state handling, and accessibility). If a vendor cannot demonstrate a 70% time savings or better, the overhead of their "tooling" might outweigh the benefits.

4. Is the output "Disposable" or "Maintainable"?#

Many modernization tools produce "spaghetti React"—code that works but is impossible for a human to read. When evaluating modernization vendors questions, ask to see a sample of their generated TypeScript. It should look like it was written by a Senior Frontend Engineer, not a machine.

typescript
// Example of Replay-generated, maintainable TypeScript component
import React from 'react';
import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button';

interface ClaimsHeaderProps {
  claimId: string;
  status: 'Pending' | 'Approved' | 'Rejected';
  onAction: (id: string) => void;
}

export const ClaimsHeader: React.FC<ClaimsHeaderProps> = ({ claimId, status, onAction }) => {
  return (
    <div className="flex items-center justify-between p-6 border-b bg-slate-50">
      <h1 className="text-2xl font-bold text-slate-900">
        Claim Reference: <span className="text-blue-600">{claimId}</span>
      </h1>
      <div className="flex gap-4">
        <span className={`px-3 py-1 rounded-full text-sm ${
          status === 'Approved' ? 'bg-green-100 text-green-700' : 'bg-yellow-100 text-yellow-700'
        }`}>
          {status}
        </span>
        <Button onClick={() => onAction(claimId)} variant="outline">
          Update Status
        </Button>
      </div>
    </div>
  );
};

5. How does the platform handle legacy state management?#

Legacy apps often hide state in global variables or DOM nodes. A sophisticated vendor should be able to map visual changes in a recording to a modern state management pattern (like Zustand, Redux, or React Context).

6. Can the vendor generate a Design System from the recordings?#

Modernization isn't just about moving screens; it's about consolidating 20 years of UI inconsistency. Replay's Library feature automatically identifies recurring patterns across different recordings to build a unified Design System. If the vendor can't help you consolidate 50 different "Submit" buttons into one component, you're just migrating your technical debt to a new language.

7. What are the security and compliance certifications?#

For Financial Services, Healthcare, and Government, "cloud-only" is often a dealbreaker. When evaluating modernization vendors questions, ensure they offer:

• •SOC2 Type II compliance
• •HIPAA-readiness
• •On-Premise or Private Cloud deployment options

8. Does the platform support "Flow-Based" documentation?#

Architecture is more than just components; it's the logic of how a user moves from Screen A to Screen B. A vendor should provide "Flows" that document the business logic captured during the recording phase. This is critical for replacing the 67% of missing documentation in legacy systems.

9. How is the AI trained, and who owns the IP?#

In the age of LLMs, IP ownership is paramount. Ensure that the code generated by the platform is 100% owned by your enterprise and that your proprietary workflows aren't being used to train a public model.

10. Can the platform integrate with existing Figma or Storybook assets?#

Modernization is often a collaboration between Product, Design, and Engineering. If a vendor’s tool is a "black box" that doesn't export to Storybook or sync with Figma, it will create a bottleneck in your development lifecycle.

11. What is the support for "Complex Data Grids"?#

Legacy enterprise apps are essentially "Excel in a Browser." They are filled with complex data tables, nested filters, and inline editing. Most AI-to-code tools fail here. Ask the vendor to demonstrate how they handle a table with 50+ columns and sticky headers.

12. What is the exit strategy?#

Avoid vendor lock-in at all costs. If you stop paying for the platform, can you still maintain the code? Platforms like Replay generate standard React, meaning you own the output forever.

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Deep Dive: The Visual Reverse Engineering Workflow#

To truly understand how to prioritize these questions, we must look at the implementation. The goal of using Replay is to move from a "Recording" to a "Blueprint" to a "Component Library" in days, not months.

Step 1: Capture the Workflow#

A business analyst or developer records a standard workflow (e.g., "Onboarding a new insurance policyholder"). The platform captures not just the pixels, but the metadata of the interactions.

Step 2: Component Extraction#

The AI identifies the building blocks. Modernizing Legacy UI requires more than just screenshots; it requires understanding the intent of the UI elements.

Step 3: Code Generation#

The system generates a standardized component library. Below is an example of how a modernization vendor should structure the output for a design system token file:

typescript
// Generated Design System Tokens
export const theme = {
  colors: {
    primary: {
      50: '#f0f9ff',
      500: '#0ea5e9', // Extracted from legacy "Corporate Blue"
      900: '#0c4a6e',
    },
    status: {
      success: '#22c55e',
      warning: '#f59e0b',
      error: '#ef4444',
    }
  },
  spacing: {
    xs: '0.25rem',
    md: '1rem',
    lg: '2rem',
  },
  typography: {
    fontFamily: 'Inter, sans-serif',
    baseSize: '16px',
  }
};

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The Economics of Modernization: A Comparative Analysis#

When presenting your findings to the CTO or Board, you need more than just technical specs—you need an economic justification. Industry experts recommend focusing on the "Opportunity Cost" of manual rewrites.

According to Replay's analysis, an enterprise with 500 screens to modernize will spend approximately $10 million and 2 years using traditional manual methods. By using a Visual Reverse Engineering platform, that same enterprise can reduce the cost to $3 million and the timeline to 6 months.

Why Legacy Rewrites Fail often comes down to the "Information Gap"—the space between what the business thinks the app does and what the code actually does. Visual Reverse Engineering closes this gap by using the running application as the source of truth.

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Technical Implementation: Bridging the Gap#

When evaluating modernization vendors questions, ask about the "Last Mile" of integration. Generating code is one thing; getting it into your CI/CD pipeline is another.

A top-tier vendor should provide an AI Automation Suite that allows your developers to:

1. •Refactor on the fly: Change a Tailwind class across 100 components simultaneously.
2. •Map API Endpoints: Connect the new UI components to modern GraphQL or REST backends.
3. •Export to Monorepos: Support Nx, Turbo, or standard Yarn workspaces.

The "Blueprints" Concept: In Replay, a "Blueprint" acts as the intermediary between the video recording and the final React code. This allows developers to tweak the architectural decisions (e.g., "Use Material UI instead of Tailwind") before the bulk of the code is generated. This level of control is what separates enterprise-grade tools from simple "AI wrappers."

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Frequently Asked Questions#

How does Visual Reverse Engineering differ from low-code platforms?#

Low-code platforms often lock you into a proprietary runtime or hosting environment. Visual Reverse Engineering, specifically through Replay, generates standard, high-quality React and TypeScript code that you own entirely. It is a tool for professional developers to accelerate their work, not a replacement for development that results in vendor lock-in.

Can Replay handle highly secure, air-gapped legacy systems?#

Yes. Many modernization vendors are cloud-only, which is a non-starter for regulated industries. When evaluating modernization vendors questions, verify if they offer on-premise deployment. Replay is built for regulated environments and is HIPAA-ready and SOC2 compliant, allowing for local processing of recordings.

What happens if our legacy UI is "ugly" and we want a complete redesign?#

This is where the Replay Library shines. You record the functionality of the legacy app, but the platform allows you to map those functions to a modern Design System. You aren't just copying pixels; you are extracting the "intent" of the screen and re-manifesting it in a modern aesthetic.

Is it possible to modernize only parts of an application?#

Absolutely. This is often called the "Strangler Fig Pattern." You can use Replay to record and modernize high-value workflows (like customer checkout) while leaving the back-office admin panels in the legacy system until a later date. This incremental approach reduces risk and provides faster ROI.

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Conclusion: Stop Rewriting, Start Replaying#

The era of the "Big Bang" rewrite is over. The risks are too high, and the $3.6 trillion technical debt mountain is growing faster than manual developers can climb it. When you are evaluating modernization vendors questions, look for a partner that understands the value of your existing workflows but recognizes the toxicity of your legacy code.

By leveraging Visual Reverse Engineering, you can transform 18 months of manual labor into weeks of automated, high-precision engineering. You gain more than just a new frontend; you gain a fully documented, componentized, and maintainable architecture that is ready for the next decade of business growth.

Ready to modernize without rewriting? Book a pilot with Replay and see how we can convert your legacy recordings into production-ready React in days.