1993 just called. It wants its IT systems back…

Perhaps your legacy systems aren’t as old as the IRS’ present systems (some date back 60 years!). But, revamping your legacy technology has been on your mind A LOT lately.

Because it is a cybersecurity risk.

Because antiquated systems are costing more to maintain while generating less and less efficiency every day.

Because you’re ready to level up your organization’s digital transformation.

We understand. You are ready for a legacy system modernization.

But how do you get the buy-in you need from primary stakeholders—whether that is your business associate or the entire boardroom?

Continue reading for your legacy system evaluation, so you know when it is ideal to upgrade your legacy systems.

What is a Legacy System?

Legacy systems are IT systems. Oftentimes, legacy systems are obsolete systems since they are based on outdated technology; however, legacy systems, despite their age, limited functionality, and security risk, are typically critical to everyday business workflows, points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: power grids, telecommunications services, wastewater treatment plants, and air traffic control towers. Legacy systems are ESSENTIAL.

But, the modernization (including failed modernization efforts) and maintenance costs of keeping legacy systems are troublesome, totaling $35 trillion for enterprises and governments globally since 2010.

It’s no wonder, then, that modernizing or rebuilding legacy systems with new technology, whether it be SaaS technology solutions, cloud computing, or local deployment is among the greatest challenges CIOs in small and large companies face 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 “obstacles” could legacy system modernization expel?

Short answer, A LOT.

5 Significant Benefits of Legacy System Modernization

Whether you opt for legacy system enhancements or an absolute digital transformation, modernizing your legacy systems can help you future-proof your organization:

1. Streamline Your Business Operations

A legacy system update, such as the deployment of SaaS solutions, modern business intelligence software, or cloud computing, can improve efficiencies in your workflow and other business operations.

It is not uncommon for businesses to spend over half of their IT budget on backing legacy systems, such as maintaining data hubs rather than performing a data migration to the cloud for managing support tickets.

CIOs that have implemented technological advancements or even a full-scale digital transformation have lowered production expenditures in their businesses by up to 500%.

2. Cut Down on Maintenance Costs for Your IT Systems

CIOs well know the costs of maintaining legacy systems, infrastructure, and applications can demand a large percentage of the organization’s budget.

Frankly, businesses in the public and private sectors spent $26.25 trillion in legacy IT systems operations and maintenance costs over the 11-year period from 2010 to 2021.

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

Glitches and malfunctions in legacy systems can result in unexpected downtime for your business workflows.

For airlines, IT systems faults can result in delays and even the cancellation of thousands of flights. It was a major problem for airlines. Obsolete systems are bad for business.

Your personnel certainly loathe the downtime and unsatisfactory user experience of the obsolete technology too. And once the tech in their pockets has seen more advancements in the last decade than your IT systems—it’s time for an upgrade. For your image.

4. Reduce Your Security Risk While Maintaining Compliance

If your present systems are so outdated that their provider no longer services them, they can constitute a severe security risk to your organization.

Often neglected and outdated systems, your legacy software, doesn’t receive the security patches and updates it requires to avoid cybersecurity attacks.

Major mishaps happen with legacy systems regularly. Remember Equifax?

5. Make Your Business Processes More Agile for Better Scalability

A one-off integration to your legacy software here, a hotfix for your legacy software there. Before you know it, your organization is stumbling on a Frankenstein legacy system.

Your obsolete systems can hardly handle various data formats—let alone the enormous amounts of data your IoT devices generate.

Prospective CIOs realize that legacy software modernization is necessary to enhance IT system compatibility with modern technological tools.

That’s exactly what the CIOs at LinkedIn did while the organization was growing into the world’s largest professional network, transforming its system architecture from a REST API or an event-driven architecture.

CIOs for Netflix, Unilever, SAP, Amazon, and the Federal Aviation Administration have also followed suit.

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

Technology, architecture, and functionality are 3 major considerations for CIOs when deciding if it’s time for a legacy technology upgrade.

Below are a few questions to keep in mind before upgrading any legacy system:

1. What percentage of your IT budget is spent on maintenance costs for legacy software or forced downtime because of a complete or partial failure of your old system?

If the cost of keeping older systems are eating up major resources, it might be time for a cost-effective, new platform.

2. Do your legacy systems offer compatibility with the latest technology and recent IT breakthroughs?

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

3. Has the vendor that originally designed your legacy system folded?

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

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

Because if you can’t take advantage of big data, you will not have the business insight you need to stay competitive. Bye-bye, legacy systems.

5. Do glitches, failures, and forced downtimes with your old system coincide with an increase in customer complaints and support tickets?

With such a negative client experience, you will not attract new customers. It’s time for a modern system.

6. Is your legacy system SLOW?

It might be time to bite the bullet and adapt. The future is moving at a breakneck 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 scalability your CIOs have been promising with such a digital transformation. Welcome, workflow automation!

2. Rebuild Your Legacy Software

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

3. Rearchitect Your Legacy Technology

Redesign your legacy software architecture to provide more agility and scalability, as LinkedIn and a slew of other outstanding firms have done.

4. Reconfigure Your Legacy Systems

Restructure your code to get rid of technical debt.

5. Rehost Your Legacy Systems

Implement cloud computing with a data migration and application re-deployment to cloud infrastructure.

7. Encapsulate Your Legacy Systems Data and Functions

Encapsulate your data and functions into the solution, so you can access them as services via an API.

8. Migrate Your Legacy Systems Application

Move your legacy systems application to a new run-time platform without extensively modifying the code or losing functionality.

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

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

In this fashion, you’ll know whether your business can get around with a few legacy system tweaks or if you need an extensive digital transformation now.

Whatever the situation may be for your legacy systems, Wave can carry out the required upgrades or replacements: from adding attributes that improve the user experience or optimizing processes with automation and Business Intelligence platforms.

We will also provide you with the ongoing IT support you need to maximize your modernization investment.

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