In this session, Microsoft Developer’s Ayan Gupta guides you through the AI-powered deployment of a Java application to Azure using the GitHub Copilot App Modernization tool, showcasing how automated processes streamline cloud migration.

Modernize Java Apps with AI: Deploy Your Applications to Azure

Host: Ayan Gupta, Microsoft Developer

Overview

This session demonstrates the full process of deploying a modernized Java application to Microsoft Azure, leveraging the GitHub Copilot App Modernization tool for an AI-powered, streamlined cloud deployment experience.

Key Topics Covered

  • Project Recap: The journey begins with an upgraded Asset Manager application, previously modernized and migrated in earlier sessions.
  • The Deployment Challenge: Traditional cloud deployments involve manual infrastructure provisioning, writing and managing complex YAML CI/CD workflows, and integrating Azure resources—a process that is often error-prone and time-consuming.
  • Copilot-Powered Deployment: The App Modernization tool uses GitHub Copilot’s AI to deeply analyze your application’s architecture, automatically generate architecture diagrams, collaborate on a deployment plan, and provision necessary Azure resources via the Azure Developer CLI (azd).
  • Iterative, Automated Approach: The tool supports iterative deployments, learning from issues, retrying steps as needed, and ultimately reducing the complexities associated with cloud migrations.

Deployment Workflow Highlights

  1. Architecture Diagram Generation: Copilot scans the application and produces an architecture overview diagram for review.
  2. Deployment Plan Creation: An AI-generated plan covers what needs to be provisioned and deployed on Azure.
  3. Azure Resource Provisioning: Azure resources (e.g., App Service, Azure SQL) are automatically provisioned using the Azure Developer CLI.
  4. Automated CI/CD Configuration: YAML files and pipelines are managed by the tool, minimizing manual overhead.
  5. Deployment and Testing: The App Modernization tool deploys the app to Azure, handles retries, adapts to issues, and lets you verify the running application through the Azure Portal.

What You’ll Learn

  • How to harness AI tools to accelerate cloud migration of Java workloads
  • The end-to-end workflow for cloud deployment using GitHub Copilot’s App Modernization tool
  • Automating infrastructure provisioning with Azure Developer CLI (azd)
  • Streamlining CI/CD for application delivery
  • Verifying and testing deployments in the Azure Portal

Resources and Further Learning

By following this session, you’ll gain practical insights on using Microsoft AI tooling and DevOps practices to overcome cloud deployment challenges and modernize your Java applications effectively.