Unified Architecture for Legacy-to-Cloud Migration Using Microservices in Enterprise Financial Systems
Keywords:
Microservices Architecture; Legacy System Migration; Cloud-Native Computing; Enterprise Financial Systems; Strangler Fig Pattern; Domain-Driven Design; Anti-Corruption Layer; DevOps; Regulatory Compliance; Event Sourcing; Kubernetes; API Gateway; Digital TransformationAbstract
Large financial institutions still rely on legacy systems such as COBOL mainframes, older Java platforms, and tightly coupled database-driven applications. While these systems remain stable, accumulated technical debt increasingly limits the ability to adapt to regulatory changes and deliver new capabilities at speed. This paper presents FALCON (Financial Architecture for Legacy-Cloud Orchestration with Node-based microservices), a structured approach for migrating such systems to cloud-native architectures. The framework focuses on maintaining continuity during migration, using incremental patterns such as the Strangler Fig approach and a Financial Anti-Corruption Layer (F-ACL) to manage interaction between legacy and modern components. It also applies domain-driven decomposition and event-based data handling within a zero-trust security model. The approach was applied in three financial institutions across different regions. Observations from these programs show improvements in delivery speed, system recovery time, and infrastructure cost, without disruption to availability or compliance processes. These results suggest that phased, controlled migration can modernize core systems while keeping operational risk manageable.
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