MongoDB unveils AMP to speed enterprise app modernisation with AI

MongoDB has introduced MongoDB AMP, an AI-powered Application Modernisation Platform designed to assist enterprises in transforming legacy applications into modern, scalable services.

Key components of the new platform were developed by MongoDB's local engineering team in Australia, which also served as one of the first test markets for customer pilots of AMP. The company said this initiative addresses widespread challenges faced by Australian businesses grappling with the operational and financial burdens of legacy databases, which can impede adoption of new technologies, including artificial intelligence.

AMP combines AI-enabled tooling, a structured delivery framework, and dedicated delivery engineers who manage and guide the transformation process. According to MongoDB, pilot projects have demonstrated that code transformation tasks can be accelerated by tenfold or more, while overall modernisation initiatives are completed two to three times faster than with traditional methods.

Australian impact

"The launch of MongoDB AMP is a tremendous opportunity for Australian businesses to break free from the burden of legacy tech debt and to embrace an AI-driven future. What makes it even more exciting is that some of the key elements of the platform were built right here in Australia by our brilliant local development teams. Not only that, but Australia was one of the first countries where our customers piloted AMP and demonstrated the impact it could have. This early adoption and customer feedback, combined with the talent of our local teams, played a crucial role in refining and strengthening AMP, ensuring it delivers lasting value to businesses across Australia and around the world," said Simon Eid, Senior Vice President, APAC, MongoDB.

Across various industries, the reliance on outdated software is a recurrent issue. Many legacy systems remain integral to business operations but contribute to mounting maintenance expenses and limited ability to respond quickly to emerging market demands or regulatory changes. The Consortium for Information & Software Quality estimates the annual cost of technical debt in the United States alone stands at nearly USD $4 trillion, accounting for inefficient software quality, failures, time lost by developers, and ongoing systems maintenance.

Rachel Stephens, Research Director at RedMonk, commented on these challenges, stating, "Enterprises are increasingly grappling with the burden of complex legacy applications, constrained by rigid data foundations and outdated architectures that stifle innovation. While traditionally recognised for its database capabilities, MongoDB's strategic expansion into an AI-powered Application Modernisation Platform highlights a critical understanding: the data layer remains an indispensable foundation for truly modern, scalable services. AMP empowers organisations to go beyond incremental 'lift and shift' migrations, instead focusing on full-stack transformation from the data up."

Shifting modernisation strategies

The conventional approach to application modernisation often involves lengthy, resource-intensive consultancy projects, which can be both costly and risk falling short of intended outcomes. This frequently results in modest improvements such as migrating applications from one relational database to another, rather than adopting fundamentally new architectures.

Vinod Bagal, Senior Vice President, Modernisation and Transformation at MongoDB, said, "Research shows that too many organisations spend time and budget on low-value, high-effort work simply to keep the lights on - which impacts their ability to keep pace with competitors. MongoDB AMP offers enterprises a better approach to modernisation. It helps companies move from traditional to transformative with remarkable speed and quality, opening doors to innovation and cost savings."

Real-world outcomes

MongoDB highlighted recent successes in sectors ranging from banking to financial technology. Bendigo Bank in Australia reported a significant reduction in development time when migrating a core banking application from a legacy relational database to MongoDB Atlas. According to the company, the transition required just 10% of the development hours previously needed, and with AI tooling, the time required for application testing dropped from over 80 hours to just five minutes.

Lombard Odier, a financial institution, achieved an up to 60-fold acceleration in code migration and cut regression testing time from three days to three hours after transferring critical applications to MongoDB, thereby allowing development teams to redirect their focus to other initiatives.

IntellectAI, a global fintech company, engaged MongoDB to modernise important components of its Wealth Management platform. Deepak Dastrala, Chief Technology Officer at IntellectAI, remarked, "At IntellectAI, we are redefining how enterprises unlock value with AI. Modernising with MongoDB has transformed how we deliver value to our customers, freeing us from bottlenecks and accelerating the realisation of our AI vision. One of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, with trillions under management, relies on our flagship enterprise AI platform, Purple Fabric (powered by MongoDB) to support real-time investment decisions. Together, IntellectAI and MongoDB are enabling clients to turn AI vision into measurable business impact."

MongoDB stated that AMP is now broadly available to customers globally. The platform's development incorporated feedback and experiences from Australian customers, as well as technical input from local teams.