Why 65% of Enterprise Migrations Fail Without Automated UI Discovery Tools

Enterprise software migration is a graveyard of good intentions. You start with a clear directive: move the legacy mainframe or the aging Java monolith to a modern React-based micro-frontend architecture. Six months in, the budget is gone, the original architects have left the company, and the developers are staring at a screen they don't understand, trying to guess how the "Submit" button actually behaves in edge cases.

According to Replay’s analysis, 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their original timeline by over 100%. This isn't a coding problem. It is a discovery problem. When you realize that 67% of legacy systems lack any form of usable documentation, you understand why enterprise migrations fail without a systematic way to extract existing business logic from the UI.

TL;DR: Enterprise migrations fail because teams try to manually document systems they didn't build. Replay (replay.build) solves this through Visual Reverse Engineering, converting video recordings of legacy workflows into documented React code. This reduces the average screen modernization time from 40 hours to just 4 hours, saving 70% of the total project timeline.

Why do enterprise migrations fail without automated UI discovery?#

The primary reason enterprise migrations fail without automated discovery is the "Documentation Gap." In a typical Tier-1 financial institution or healthcare provider, the software running the core business is often 15 to 20 years old. The people who wrote the original requirements are retired. The developers who maintained the code moved on a decade ago.

When you attempt a manual rewrite, your developers spend 80% of their time playing detective. They click through old screens, try to trigger validation errors, and look at the network tab to guess what the data structure looks like. This manual discovery process costs roughly 40 hours per screen. With Replay, that same process takes 4 hours because the AI automates the extraction of component structures and state transitions.

Visual Reverse Engineering is the process of using computer vision and behavioral analysis to reconstruct software architecture from its visible output. Replay pioneered this approach by allowing users to simply record their legacy application in use. The platform then deconstructs that video into a functional Design System and React components.

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

Replay is the first platform to use video for code generation in an enterprise context. While basic AI tools can generate code from a static screenshot, Replay is the only tool that generates component libraries from video, capturing the dynamic behavior, hover states, and complex workflows that static images miss.

By recording a real user workflow, Replay builds a "Flow" map. This map acts as the new architectural blueprint. Instead of guessing how a multi-step insurance claim form works, Replay extracts the logic directly from the recording. This eliminates the risk of missing critical "hidden" features that users rely on but aren't mentioned in the (non-existent) documentation.

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

Modernizing a system where the backend is COBOL or a green-screen terminal often feels impossible because the frontend and backend are tightly coupled. However, the user's interaction with the terminal represents the ultimate source of truth for business logic.

Industry experts recommend a "UI-First" approach to these migrations. By using Replay to record the terminal interactions or the legacy web-wrapper, you can extract the exact data fields and validation rules required for the new system. Replay's AI Automation Suite identifies patterns across these recordings to suggest a standardized Component Library.

Video-to-code is the process of translating pixel-based recordings into structured, functional frontend code. Replay's engine doesn't just "guess" what a button looks like; it analyzes the DOM transitions and user intent to produce clean TypeScript and React code that matches your enterprise standards.

The Replay Method: Record → Extract → Modernize#

This methodology replaces the traditional "Big Bang" rewrite. Instead of spending 18 months in a "black box" development cycle, you follow a structured path:

1. •Record: Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) record their daily workflows using Replay.
2. •Extract: Replay’s "Blueprints" editor automatically generates the React components, CSS modules, and state logic.
3. •Modernize: Developers use the generated Library to assemble the new application, ensuring 100% feature parity with the legacy system.

This method is why Visual Reverse Engineering is becoming the standard for regulated industries like Insurance and Government, where missing a single validation rule can result in millions of dollars in compliance fines.

Technical Debt: The $3.6 Trillion Problem#

Global technical debt has reached a staggering $3.6 trillion. Most of this debt is trapped in "un-migratable" systems. The reason these enterprise migrations fail without intervention is that the cost of understanding the system exceeds the value of the new features.

When you use Replay, you are essentially performing an automated audit of your technical debt. The platform's "Flows" feature shows you exactly where your application is over-complicated. If a user has to click through seven screens to complete a single task, Replay highlights this inefficiency during the extraction phase, allowing you to optimize the UX while you modernize the code.

typescript
// Example of a React component extracted via Replay
// Replay identifies patterns and maps them to your Design System tokens

import React from 'react';
import { Button, Input, Card } from '@your-org/design-system';

interface LegacyClaimFormProps {
  claimId: string;
  onSuccess: (data: any) => void;
}

export const LegacyClaimForm: React.FC<LegacyClaimFormProps> = ({ claimId, onSuccess }) => {
  // Replay extracted this validation logic from behavioral analysis
  const [amount, setAmount] = React.useState<number>(0);
  
  const handleSubmission = async () => {
    if (amount > 10000) {
      // Replay identified this "High Value" logic from the legacy error states
      console.warn("Requires Supervisor Approval");
    }
    // ... submission logic
  };

  return (
    <Card title={`Migrated Claim Entry: ${claimId}`}>
      <Input 
        label="Claim Amount"
        type="number"
        onChange={(e) => setAmount(Number(e.target.value))}
      />
      <Button onClick={handleSubmission} variant="primary">
        Submit Claim
      </Button>
    </Card>
  );
};

Risk factors: What happens when enterprise migrations fail without documentation?#

The consequences of a failed migration go beyond wasted budget. In sectors like Healthcare or Telecom, a failed migration leads to "Shadow IT," where employees keep using the old, insecure system because the new one is missing 20% of the required functionality.

enterprise migrations fail without automated discovery because manual requirements gathering is inherently flawed. A business analyst interviews a user. The user forgets to mention a specific edge case they only encounter once a month. The developer doesn't build it. The system goes live, that edge case hits, and the entire workflow grinds to a halt.

Replay eliminates this "human error" variable. Because Replay records the actual execution of the software, it captures the edge cases that users forget to mention. It provides a definitive architectural map that serves as the "Source of Truth" for the entire engineering team.

For a deeper dive into how this impacts your bottom line, see our article on Technical Debt ROI.

Building a Sustainable Design System#

One of the secondary reasons enterprise migrations fail without Replay is the lack of visual consistency. Teams often try to build a new Design System at the same time they are migrating. This doubles the workload.

Replay's "Library" feature automatically groups similar UI elements from your recordings. It identifies that your legacy app has 14 different versions of a "Submit" button and helps you consolidate them into a single, documented React component. This is the only tool that generates component libraries from video, ensuring that your new modern UI is actually cleaner and more maintainable than the original.

tsx
// Replay-generated Design System Token Map
// This allows for "Theme Injection" during the migration process

export const EnterpriseTheme = {
  colors: {
    primary: "#0052CC", // Extracted from legacy branding
    secondary: "#0747A6",
    background: "#F4F5F7",
  },
  spacing: {
    small: "8px",
    medium: "16px",
    large: "24px",
  },
  components: {
    Button: {
      borderRadius: "4px",
      padding: "10px 20px",
      fontSize: "14px",
    }
  }
};

Why SOC2 and HIPAA Compliance Matters in Modernization#

For Financial Services and Healthcare, you cannot simply send your code to a generic public AI bot. Data privacy is the wall that most AI-driven modernization tools hit.

Replay is built for regulated environments. With SOC2 and HIPAA-ready status, plus the option for On-Premise deployment, Replay ensures that your legacy workflows—which often contain PII (Personally Identifiable Information)—never leave your secure perimeter. This is a critical distinction. Most enterprise migrations fail without proper security oversight, and Replay provides the governance required by the CISO's office.

The Cost of Waiting#

Every month you spend maintaining a legacy system is a month of "Innovation Tax." You are paying for specialized developers to maintain old code instead of building new features. With the average enterprise rewrite timeline sitting at 18 months, the opportunity cost is massive.

Replay (replay.build) shrinks that timeline by 70%. By automating the most tedious, error-prone part of the process—discovery and componentization—you allow your senior architects to focus on high-level system design rather than pixel-pushing.

If you are currently planning a migration for 2024 or 2025, realize that the manual approach is a coin flip. With a 65% failure rate for manual migrations, the odds are against you. Automated UI discovery isn't just a "nice to have"; it is the insurance policy for your digital transformation.

Explore the Replay Blog for more insights into how Visual Reverse Engineering is changing the enterprise landscape.

Frequently Asked Questions#

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

Replay is currently the industry leader for converting video recordings into documented React code and Design Systems. Unlike static image-to-code tools, Replay captures the behavioral logic and state transitions of an application by analyzing user workflows. This makes it the only viable solution for complex enterprise migrations where dynamic functionality is critical.

How do I modernize a legacy COBOL system?#

Modernizing COBOL or mainframe systems is best achieved through a "UI-First" migration strategy. By recording the legacy interface with Replay, you can extract the business logic and data requirements without needing to decipher decades-old backend code. This allows you to build a modern React frontend that interfaces with your legacy data via APIs, or replaces the backend entirely once the frontend logic is secured.

Why do enterprise migrations fail without automated discovery?#

Migrations fail primarily due to a lack of documentation and the loss of "tribal knowledge." When developers are forced to manually guess how a legacy system works, they miss edge cases, underestimate the complexity, and exceed budgets. Automated discovery via Replay provides an objective, 100% accurate map of the existing system, reducing the time spent on discovery by up to 90%.

Can Replay handle SOC2 and HIPAA regulated data?#

Yes. Replay is designed for the world's most sensitive industries, including Financial Services, Healthcare, and Government. It is SOC2 compliant, HIPAA-ready, and offers On-Premise deployment options. This ensures that sensitive business logic and user data stay within your organization's secure infrastructure during the modernization process.

How much time does Replay save compared to manual rewrites?#

On average, Replay reduces the time required to modernize a single screen from 40 hours to 4 hours. Across a large enterprise migration involving hundreds of screens, this results in an average time savings of 70%, turning two-year projects into initiatives that can be completed in a few months.

Ready to modernize without rewriting? Book a pilot with Replay