Can Amazon Transform Custom Cut Technical Debt Costs by Up to 80%?

Technical debt consumes about 20% of IT budgets, forcing teams to spend time on repetitive modernization tasks.

At re:Invent 2025 Amazon announced Amazon Transform custom, an agent that automates large‑scale code modernization across Java, Node.js, and Python. Built‑in conversion rules and user‑defined patterns can reduce task execution time by up to 80%.

The service works via CLI or Web UI. Users define transformation rules with natural‑language descriptions, documentation, or code examples; the engine applies them across hundreds of repositories, learning from explicit feedback and implicit developer corrections.

Runtime version upgrades are handled automatically. For example, the tool can upgrade Lambda functions from Python 3.8 (EOL) to Python 3.13 by executing:

atx custom def exec -p /path/to/project -n AWS/python-version-upgrade -c "pytest" --configuration "additionalPlanContext= The target Python version to upgrade to is Python 3.13" -x -t

The command triggers analysis, syntax changes, dependency updates, and generates a detailed migration report.

Framework migrations are also supported. When moving an Angular 16 app to Angular 19, the tool learns component, state‑management, and routing conversion patterns, then creates an incremental migration plan (16→17→18→19) to minimize risk.

Custom transformation capabilities can be created interactively. After initializing with atx, users answer natural‑language prompts (e.g., “new one”, “angular 16 to 19 application migration”) and the CLI generates a JSON definition that can be published to a shared registry and reused across teams.

Beyond code, Amazon Transform custom updates AWS SDKs, CDK‑to‑Terraform conversions, and CloudFormation changes, preserving declarative intent while applying best‑practice optimizations.

In practice, the automated workflow reduces manual effort from hours to minutes, produces a verification report with Git commits, build times, and artifact sizes, and enables developers to focus on innovation rather than repetitive maintenance.

Overall, Amazon Transform custom reshapes enterprise code‑modernization by consolidating scattered efforts into a standardized, intelligent platform that accelerates projects and mitigates technical debt.