1993 just called. It wants its IT systems back…

Perhaps your legacy systems are not as old as the IRS’ existing systems (some date back 60 years!). But, upgrading your legacy technology has been at the back of your mind A LOT recently.

Because it’s a security threat.

Because obsolete platforms are racking up maintenance costs while generating less and less efficiency every day.

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

We understand. You’re ready for a legacy system modernization.

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

Continue reading for your legacy system evaluation, so you know when it’s time to upgrade your legacy systems.

What is a Legacy System?

Legacy systems are IT systems. Legacy systems are outdated systems because they are derived from outdated technology; however, despite their age, limited functionality, and security risk, legacy systems, are usually critical to everyday business operations, points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.

However, the expenses of modernization (including botched modernization efforts) and maintenance of legacy systems are counterproductive, totaling $35 trillion for businesses and governments globally since 2010.

It’s no surprise, then, that upgrading or replacing legacy systems with newer technology, whether it be cloud computing, SaaS technology solutions, or on-site installation is one of the most difficult tasks CIOs in small and large companies face in their careers.

What Are the Perks of Modernizing 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 eliminate?

Short answer, A LOT.

5 Essential Benefits of Upgrading Your Legacy Systems

In the event that you opt for legacy system enhancements or a comprehensive digital transformation, modernizing your legacy systems can help you future-proof your business:

1. Expedite Your Business Operations

A legacy system upgrade, like the implementation of SaaS solutions, modern business intelligence tools, or cloud computing, can improve efficiencies in your workflow and other business processes.

It is not unusual for businesses to spend more than half of their IT budget on sustaining legacy systems, for example maintaining data hubs rather than performing a data migration to the cloud for managing support tickets.

CIOs that have implemented technological upgrades or perhaps a full-blown digital transformation have cut operational expenditures in their businesses by up to 500%.

2. Reduce Your IT System’s Maintenance Costs

CIOs well know the maintenance costs of legacy systems, applications, and infrastructure can demand a significant percentage of the organizational budget.

In fact, organizations in both private and public 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 Business’s Customer Experience and Employee Retention

Glitches and malfunctions in legacy technology can result in unexpected downtime for your business processes.

For airlines, IT systems outages can result in thousands of flights to be delayed or cancelled. It was a major concern for carriers. Outdated technology is bad for business.

Your employees certainly resent the downtime and unsatisfactory user experience of the outdated technology too. And once the tech in their hands has advanced faster in the last decade than your IT systems—it’s time to upgrade. For your image.

4. Minimize Your Security Risk While Maintaining Compliance

When your present systems are so old their original vendor no longer maintains them, they could pose a serious security risk to your company.

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

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

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

A one-time integration to your legacy system here, a hotfix for your legacy technology there. Before long, your organization is clunking along on a Frankenstein-style legacy system.

Your out-of-date systems can hardly handle multiple data formats—much less the massive amounts of data generated by your IoT devices.

Forward-thinking CIOs know legacy software modernization is necessary to refine IT system compatibility with innovative technology tools.

That is exactly what the LinkedIn’s CIOs did as the company was developing into the largest global professional network, transforming its software 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 Consider Upgrading My Legacy System? 6 Questions to Ponder

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

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

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

If the cost of keeping older technology is draining major resources, it may be time for a new, cost-effective system.

2. Do your legacy systems work with newer technology and recent IT innovations?

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 to upgrade your legacy system.

3. Is your legacy system's original developer no longer in business?

Or are you having trouble finding mainframe programmers who can fix or extend your COBOL code? If so, your legacy system poses a security threat to your company 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 leverage enormous data, you won’t have the kind of business intelligence you need to be competitive. Goodbye, legacy systems.

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

With such a poor customer experience, you won’t bring in new customers. It’s time for a new system.

6. Is your legacy technology SLOW?

It might be time to bite the bullet and adapt. The future is approaching at a frenetic pace. And it has arrived.

How Can I Revamp 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—along with all the speed, flexibility, and expandability your CIOs have promised with such a digital transformation. Welcome, workflow automation!

2. Rebuild Your Legacy Software

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

3. Redesign Your Legacy Technology

Do as LinkedIn along with many other world-class firms have done: rearchitect your legacy software architecture to improve agility and scalability.

4. Refactor Your Legacy Systems

Reconfigure your code to eliminate technical debt.

5. Rehost Your Legacy Systems

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

7. Digest Your Legacy Systems Functions and Data

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

8. Replatform Your Legacy Systems Application

Transfer your legacy systems program to a new run-time solution without drastically altering the code or losing functionality.

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

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 predicted lifespan.

In this way, you’ll know whether your company can cope with a few legacy system enhancements or if you need a complete digital transformation now.

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

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

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