1993 just called. It wants its IT systems back…

Your legacy systems probably are not as outdated as the IRS’ present systems (some date back 60 years!). Still, revamping your legacy system has been on your mind A LOT recently.

Because it’s a cybersecurity risk.

Because outdated systems are increasing maintenance expenses while generating less and less efficiency every day.

Because you are ready to take your company's digital transformation to the next level.

We get it. You are ready for a legacy system modernization.

But how can you gain the necessary buy-in from primary stakeholders—whether that is your business associate or the whole boardroom?

Keep reading for your legacy system checklist, this will help you determine when it is time to upgrade your legacy systems.

What is a Legacy System?

Legacy systems are IT systems. Oftentimes, legacy systems are antiquated systems because they are based on outdated technology; however, legacy systems, despite their age, limited functionality, and security risk, are typically critical to day-to-day business processes, points out Gartner.

How relevant are legacy systems? In the commercial sector, business processes like payroll, inventory tracking and replenishment, and cashless payment transactions would grind to a halt without the legacy system on which they operate.

Legacy systems drive the infrastructure we take for granted in the public sector: wastewater treatment plants, power grids, telecommunications services, and air traffic control towers. Legacy systems are ESSENTIAL.

But, the costs of modernization (including unsuccessful modernization efforts) and maintenance of legacy systems are cumbersome, totaling $35 trillion for businesses and governments globally since 2010.

It’s no surprise, however, that upgrading or substituting legacy systems with innovative technology, whether it be SaaS technology solutions, cloud computing, or on-premise deployment is one of the greatest challenges CIOs in small and large firms confront in their careers.

What Are the Perks of Upgrading a Legacy System?

“For many organizations, legacy systems are seen as holding back the business initiatives and business processes that rely on them. When a tipping point is reached, application leaders must look to application modernization to help remove the obstacles.” — Stefan Van Der Zijden, VP Analyst, Gartner

What “barriers” could the upgrading of legacy systems expel?

Short answer, A LOT.

5 Key Advantages of Legacy System Modernization

If you go for legacy system enhancements or a comprehensive digital transformation, modernizing your legacy systems can help you future-proof your organization:

1. Streamline Your Business Processes

A legacy system modernization, such as the adoption of SaaS solutions, new business intelligence software, or cloud computing, can enhance your workflow and other business processes.

It’s not out of the ordinary for businesses to waste more than half of their IT budget on supporting legacy systems, for example maintaining data hubs instead of carrying out a data migration to the cloud for support ticket management.

CIOs that have implemented technological advancements or perhaps a full-blown digital transformation have reduced operational costs in their businesses by up to 500%.

2. Reduce Your IT System’s Maintenance Costs

CIOs are well aware that legacy system, application, and infrastructure maintenance can demand a large percentage of the company’s budget.

Frankly, organizations in the public and private sectors spent $26.25 trillion in legacy IT systems operations and maintenance costs over the 11 years spanning 2010 to 2021.

3. Enhance Your Company’s Customer Experience and Employee Retention

Glitches and malfunctions in legacy systems can result in unforeseen downtime for your organizational operations.

If you’re an air carrier, IT systems faults can cause delays and even the cancellation of thousands of flights. It was a serious problem for carriers. Obsolete technology is bad for business.

Your personnel unquestionably resent the downtime and awful user experience of the outdated technology as well. And once the technology in their pockets has advanced faster in the last decade than your IT systems—it’s time to upgrade. For your image.

4. Reduce Your Security Risk and Maintain Compliance

When your present systems are so antiquated that their manufacturer no longer services them, they could pose a severe security risk to your organization.

Your legacy software, which is frequently ignored and out of date, does not receive the security patches and updates it requires to avoid cybersecurity threats.

Big failures occur with legacy systems all the time. Remember Equifax?

5. Increase the Agility of Your Business Processes for Higher Scalability

A one-off integration to your legacy software here, a hotfix for your legacy technology there. Before long, your company is stumbling on a Frankenstein-style legacy system.

Your outdated systems barely handle multiple data formats—not to mention the big data generated by your IoT devices.

Innovative CIOs understand that legacy software upgrading is mandatory to refine the compatibility of their IT systems with new technology tools.

That’s exactly what the LinkedIn’s CIOs did when the firm was developing into the world’s premier professional network, transforming its system architecture from a REST API or an event-driven architecture.

CIOs for Unilever, SAP, Netflix, the Federal Aviation Administration, and Amazon have all taken the same approach.

When Should I Upgrade My Legacy System? 6 Questions to Ponder

CIOs must evaluate three primary factors when assessing if it is time to modernize legacy technology: technology, architecture, and functionality.

Here are some questions to keep in mind before any legacy system upgrade:

1. How much of your IT budget are you spending on legacy software maintenance or forced downtime as a result of a total or partial malfunction of your outdated system?

If the cost of maintaining older technology is eating up major resources, it may be time for a more cost-effective platform.

2. Do your legacy systems work with the latest tech and recent IT breakthroughs?

Or is it inconvenient to integrate with a new SaaS solution or API? Because of outdated technology or ad-hoc customization? If you answered “yes,” it is time to upgrade your legacy system.

3. Is the vendor who designed your legacy system no longer in business?

Or are you having difficulty locating mainframe programmers who can extend or fix your COBOL code? If so, your legacy system is a security risk to your business and should be modernized.

4. Is your legacy system capable of providing visibility into real-time data transactions and workflow patterns?

Because when you are unable to make the most of big data, you will not have the kind of business intelligence you need to be competitive. Goodbye, legacy systems.

5. Does your old system’s forced downtimes, failures, and glitches coincide with an uptick in customer complaints and support tickets?

You won’t bring in any new business with such a bad customer experience. It’s time for a new system.

6. Is your legacy system SLOW?

It may be time to jump in with both feet and make a change. The future is approaching at a frenetic pace. And it has arrived.

How Can I Modernize My Legacy System?

What are your modernization alternatives if you've determined that your legacy systems no longer fulfill your company needs?

1. Replace Your Legacy Systems

Out with the old, and in with the new—with all the speed, flexibility, and expandability your CIOs have been promising with such a digital transformation. Welcome, workflow automation!

2. Rebuild Your Legacy Systems

Rewrite the software components, so you can incorporate modern tech solutions, big data capacity, and business intelligence.

3. Rearchitect Your Legacy Systems

Do like LinkedIn and a host of other leading organizations: redesign your legacy software architecture to enable greater agility and scalability.

4. Refactor Your Legacy Systems

Retool your code, so you can kick technical debt to the curb.

5. Rehost Your Legacy Systems

Utilize cloud computing by migrating data and redeploying applications to cloud infrastructure.

7. Encapsulate Your Legacy Systems Data and Functions

Encompass your functions and data in the solution, so that they may be accessed as services through an API.

8. Migrate Your Legacy Systems Application

Transfer your legacy systems application to a new run-time tool without dramatically altering the code or losing functionality.

How Wave Can Assist with Your Legacy System Upgrade in Chesapeake?

Think it’s time for your legacy system modernization? Begin with Wave’s thorough system audit, so you can get insights into its performance and expected lifespan.

In this fashion, you’ll know whether you can get around with a few legacy system enhancements or if you need a comprehensive digital transformation now.

Whatever the case proves to be for your legacy systems, Wave can handle the required modifications or replacements: from adding features that improve the customer experience or simplifying processes with automation and Business Intelligence platforms.

We'll also give you the continuous IT assistance you need to get the most out of your modernization investment.

The future is calling. And companyname is happy to help! Schedule a consultation today.