Cloud-Native Modernization of Legacy Enterprise Systems Using AI and DevSecOps

Abstract

Legacy enterprise systems continue to support critical business operations, but many of these systems are monolithic, tightly coupled, difficult to scale, and vulnerable to security risks. These limitations reduce their ability to adapt to modern digital environments that require flexibility, reliability, faster deployment, and continuous security. This paper presents a structured framework for cloud-native modernization of legacy enterprise systems by integrating Artificial Intelligence and DevSecOps practices. The proposed framework supports gradual transformation through microservice decomposition, containerization, API-based interoperability, and hybrid integration, allowing organizations to modernize existing systems without major disruption to business processes. Artificial Intelligence is used to support intelligent code analysis, dependency mapping, anomaly detection, workload optimization, and migration planning. These AI-driven capabilities help identify risks, reduce manual effort, and improve decision-making during modernization. DevSecOps practices are integrated into the software development lifecycle through automated CI/CD pipelines, vulnerability scanning, compliance validation, and continuous monitoring. This ensures that security is not treated as a final-stage activity but is continuously applied from development to deployment and post-migration operations. The framework also addresses important migration concerns such as data integrity, system resilience, interoperability, and governance in hybrid cloud environments. Data consistency is maintained through controlled synchronization, validation procedures, and API-led integration between legacy and modernized components. The proposed model improves operational efficiency, deployment agility, security readiness, and system reliability by combining cloud-native architecture with intelligent automation and continuous security enforcement. This study provides a systematic modernization approach that connects legacy enterprise systems with scalable, secure, and future-ready cloud-native architectures.