With growing customer expectations, increasingly cloud-native architecture and overstretched IT budgets, Pega modernization has never been more relevant
If you’re running a Pega platform with heritage UI like UI-Kit or Theme Cosmos, there is a high chance you’re thinking: ‘my application still runs smoothly, why change?’
On the face of it, it’s a valid question. Your front end looks great, your users are enjoying a good experience, and your application is working just as it always has. However, behind the scenes there are a number of potential hidden costs that could hurt your operations in the long term.
These hidden costs could be in areas like performance, compliance, and missed opportunities.
Pega introduced Constellation as a solution to these potential issues. Not only is it designed to facilitate smoother, more simplified workflows in the short term, but also provide Futureproofing in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
The best way to look at the shift to Pega Constellation is not to see it as replacing something that’s broken. Instead, look at it as ensuring your Pega platform can keep pace with modern demands and deliver a better return on investment.
The Hidden Costs of Heritage UI
Heritage Pega applications were built in a different era, for different demands. In their time they were cutting edge – indeed, the fact they can still provide a good service today is testament to how advanced they were at the time. However, in today’s fast-evolving market, they often can’t deliver the required flexibility and performance without significant rework.
1. Maintenance Drag
While custom code was one of the biggest benefits of heritage systems, it often bypasses Pega’s guardrails. This means that every platform update risks breaking those changes, forcing teams to spend time reworking existing code.
2. Slower User Experience
Heritage server-rendered pages require the app to build the entire layout on the back end for each click. That increases server CPU and memory use, raising cloud costs and slowing response times under load, which harms UX.
3. Compliance Risk
Meeting WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards and modern security standards takes ongoing effort when you’re retrofitting them into a legacy front end. Existing and proposed regulations in the US, UK, and EU make this a growing risk. Read more about compliance here.
4. Talent Attraction & Retention
Modern front-end engineers want to work with frameworks like React or Angular. Older JSP-based UIs can make it harder to recruit and keep top talent. In light of the ever-growing tech skills gap, this should be a major concern.
5. Strategic Opportunity Cost
Time spent keeping heritage UI functional is time not spent delivering new features, improving user journeys, or entering new markets.
What's Different with Constellation?
Constellation is built on a client-side engine that renders UI in the browser rather than on the server. That changes how apps are built, how they perform, and how they scale.
- App studio first – A low-code design environment that allows business and IT teams to collaborate without deep coding
- Templated design system – Standard, reusable components ensure branding consistency, mobile responsiveness, and WCAG 2.2 AA compliance
- Lean DX API v2 – Efficient, model-driven API calls deliver only the data and layouts needed, enabling micro front ends, embedded self-service widgets, and progressive web apps
- Upgrade-ready architecture – Built to minimize breakage during platform updates, reducing regression-testing effort
In short, Constellation makes apps faster, simpler to maintain, easier to enhance, and less dependent on specialist custom code.
You can learn more in this video from Pega, which takes a deep dive into the technical features of Constellation.
| Training courses | Length (days) | 1-6 students | 7-12 students | 13+ students |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Business Architect Essentials |
5 |
£1,500 |
£1,350 |
£1,200 |
|
System Architect Essentials |
8 |
£2,400 |
£2,160 |
£1,920 |
|
Senior System Architect |
10 |
£3,000 |
£2,700 |
£2,400 |
|
Senior System Architect – (exam preperation) |
2 |
£600 |
£540 |
£480 |
Why This Matters to Your Business
Constellation’s technical upgrades act as remedies to the hidden costs outlined earlier in this article. As such, they translate into tangible business outcomes, such as:
- Higher efficiency – Faster screens mean more cases can be processed per day, directly affecting service levels and operational cost
- Improved customer journeys – Consistent, responsive interfaces reduce drop-off and shorten resolution times
- Lower hosting costs – Reduced server load means you can run the same workload on reduced cloud resources
- Simpler upgrades – With fewer customizations to maintain, upgrades become faster and less disruptive
- Reduced compliance effort – Accessibility and security are built in, reducing remediation work and audit costs
Constellation Adoption to Suit You
Pega Modernization can feel like a big step. With so much involved and so much at stake, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed. However, it doesn’t have to be as disruptive as it sounds.
With sound planning it is possible to plot the perfect Modernization roadmap for your business.
You could start with one or two high-impact case types to prove value quickly; migrate in stages, prioritizing the most valuable or highest-risk workflows first; or start completely fresh without carrying over technical debt from older applications.
Whatever path you decide, one thing’s for sure: it’s going to benefit your organization. However, modernization is a highly complex process with countless pitfalls. As such, it is essential to take advice from experts with intricate Pega knowledge before you begin.
At labb, we are a Specialist Pega Partner with unrivalled insight. Our award-winning team can assess your current platform, model ROI, and design a roadmap that fits your business objectives.
Take the Next Step
If you’re interested in measurable gains in speed, scalability, efficiency overall business outcomes, it’s time to take the next step.
Our white paper, The Pega Modernization Roadmap, offers a deeper dive into the process and benefits of adopting Constellation. You can learn about the demands of the modern market, ROI modelling, detailed benefits, and step-by-step migration phases.
“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Habitasse orci scelerisque congue sit in arcu turpis consequat eu. Nunc interdum mauris scelerisque ornare. Ut volutpat in pulvinar vitae id. Elementum tristique orci adipiscing proin. Ultrices eget a libero etiam augue. Vel cras imperdiet at posuere hendrerit cras. “
Paul Wales, Labb customer
Learn More
To learn more about all aspects Pega Modernization and how it can improve your operations, download our free whitepaper or contact our team for a no-obligation chat.
