1993 just called. It wants its IT systems back…

Ok, maybe your legacy systems are not as antiquated as the IRS’ present systems (some are over 60 years old!). However, revamping your legacy technology has been on your mind A LOT recently.

Because it’s a cybersecurity hazard.

Because antiquated systems are increasing maintenance expenses while providing even less functionality every day.

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

We get it. You’re ready for a legacy system modernization.

But how can you gain the support of important stakeholders—whether that is your business associate or the entire boardroom?

Keep reading for your legacy system checklist, so you know when it is the right time for upgrading your legacy systems.

What is a Legacy System?

Legacy systems are IT systems. Legacy systems are outdated systems since they are based on older technology; however, legacy systems, despite their age, limited functionality, and security risk, are usually critical to day-to-day business workflows, points out Gartner.

How essential 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 public-sector infrastructure that we take for granted: telecommunications services, wastewater treatment plants, power grids, and air traffic control towers. Legacy systems are CRUCIAL.

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

It’s no surprise, then, that optimizing or rebuilding legacy systems with innovative technology, whether SaaS technology solutions, cloud computing, or local implementation is one of the most challenging issues CIOs in small and large organizations face in their careers.

What Are the Benefits of Updating 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 “hurdles” could the modernization of your legacy systems remove?

Short answer, A LOT.

5 Essential Advantages of Legacy System Modernization

Whether you choose a legacy system enhancements or a complete digital transformation, modernizing your legacy systems can help you future-proof your business:

1. Optimize Your Business Operations

A legacy system upgrade, like the implementation of SaaS solutions, new business intelligence software, or cloud computing, can enhance your workflow and other business processes.

It is not out of the ordinary for businesses to waste over half of their IT budget on supporting legacy systems, for instance maintaining data centers rather than carrying out a data migration to the cloud for support ticket management.

CIOs that have implemented technological upgrades or even a full-scale digital transformation have cut operational expenditures in their companies by up to 500%.

2. Reduce IT System Maintenance Costs

CIOs well know legacy system, application, and infrastructure maintenance can account for a substantial percentage of the business’s budget.

As a matter of fact, businesses in both 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. Enhance Your Business’s Customer Experience and Employee Retention

Glitches and malfunctions in legacy technology might cause unplanned downtime for your business workflows.

If you’re an air carrier, IT systems outages can result in thousands of flights to be delayed or cancelled. It was a serious issue for airlines. Obsolete technology is bad for business.

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

4. Lower Your Security Risk While Maintaining Compliance

If your present systems are so outdated that their manufacturer no longer supports them, they can pose a severe security risk to your company.

Frequently ignored and out of date, your legacy software, does not receive the security patches and updates it requires to prevent cybersecurity breaches.

Major failures happen with legacy systems regularly. Remember Equifax?

5. Make Your Business Processes More Agile for Greater Scalability

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

Your obsolete systems barely handle multiple data types—much less the enormous amounts of data generated by your IoT devices.

Dynamic CIOs understand that legacy software modernization is essential to refine the compatibility of their IT systems with new technological platforms.

That’s exactly what the CIOs at LinkedIn did as the company was developing into the world’s premier professional network, converting its system design from a REST API or an event-driven architecture.

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

When Should I Consider Upgrading 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.

Below are six things to consider before upgrading any legacy system:

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

If your cost of maintaining outdated technology is draining major resources, it might be time for a new, cost-effective solution.

2. Do your legacy systems offer compatibility with modern tech and recent IT advancements?

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

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

Or are you having trouble finding mainframe programmers who can extend or fix your COBOL code? If this is the case, your legacy system is a security threat to your organization and should be modernized.

4. Does your legacy system offer insight into real-time data transactions and workflow patterns?

Because if you can’t leverage large data, you will not have the kind of business intelligence you need to be competitive. Adieu, legacy systems.

5. Does your old system’s forced downtimes, failures, and glitches correspond with an uptick 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 may be time to bite the bullet and make a change. The future is approaching at a frenetic pace. And it has arrived.

How Can I Upgrade 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 system—with all the speed, efficiency, and expandability your CIOs have been promising with such a digital transformation. Hello, workflow automation!

2. Rebuild Your Legacy Software

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

3. Redesign 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

Restructure your code to eliminate technical debt.

5. Rehost Your Legacy Systems

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

7. Encapsulate Your Legacy Systems Data and Functions

Encompass your data and functions into the software, so that they may be accessed as services via an API.

8. Migrate Your Legacy Systems Application

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

How Wave Can Be of Assistance with Your Legacy System Upgrade in Gilbert?

Think it’s time for your legacy system modernization? Begin with Wave’s thorough system audit, so you can learn about its performance and estimated lifespan.

In this way, you’ll know whether you can get by with a few legacy system modifications or if you require a complete digital transformation now.

Whatever the situation may be for your legacy systems, Wave can handle the needed modifications or replacements: from adding functionality that improves the customer experience or optimizing processes with automation and Business Intelligence platforms.

We'll also give you the sustained IT support you need to maximize your modernization investment.

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