Cloud-native architecture transformation strategies for legacy systems in regulated industries

Legacy systems remain the backbone of mission-critical operations in highly regulated sectors such as healthcare, finance, and government. Those legacy systems, however, do not typically possess the agility, scalability, and resiliency required to perform in today's digital environments. This paper introduces the RegCloud-Migrate framework—a formal, compliance-oriented method for rearchitecting legacy architectures into cloud-native applications. Following a systematic literature review and case study evidence, the framework employs DevSecOps pipelines, observability tools, automated compliance, and modular microservices design. Experimental testing in many industries indicates striking improvements in deployment speed, system uptime, and regulatory compliance. The research advances the digital transformation debate by outlining an actionable, domain-agnostic strategy tailored for regulated companies.