A legacy .NET monolith usually contains years of business rules. Rewriting it from scratch sounds clean, but it often creates more risk than value. The safer path is incremental modernization.
Start by understanding the current system: modules, database dependencies, deployment process, failure points, and the business workflows that cannot break. Then identify stable boundaries. Some parts may be extracted behind APIs. Other parts should remain in place until risk is lower.
Deployment is often the first modernization win. If releases are manual, slow, or hard to roll back, every change becomes expensive. Improving CI/CD, configuration, environment separation, and observability can make the existing system safer before any major architectural change.
Database modernization should be deliberate. SQL Server may be deeply tied to the application. Changing schemas, stored procedures, and reporting flows requires sequencing.
The goal is not to chase microservices. The goal is to make the system easier to change, safer to deploy, and more aligned with the business roadmap.