1993 just called. It wants its IT systems back…

Your legacy systems probably aren’t as old as the IRS’ existing systems (some are over 60 years old!). However, modernizing your legacy technology has been on your mind A LOT recently.

Because it presents a cybersecurity threat.

Because outdated platforms are racking up maintenance costs while delivering even less functionality every day.

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

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

But how can you gain the support of primary stakeholders—whether that’s your business partner or the whole boardroom?

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

What is a Legacy System?

Legacy systems are IT systems. Legacy systems are outdated systems seeing as they are derived from older technology; however, despite their age, limited functionality, and security risk, legacy systems, are generally critical to everyday business processes, 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 power 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 expenses of modernization (including botched modernization efforts) and maintenance of legacy systems are counterproductive, totaling $35 trillion for companies and governments globally since 2010.

It’s no surprise, however, that optimizing or rebuilding legacy systems with newer technology, be it cloud computing, SaaS technology solutions, or on-premise deployment is among the greatest challenges CIOs in small and large firms confront in their careers.

What Are the Advantages 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 “barriers” could legacy system modernization expel?

Short answer, A LOT.

5 Essential Advantages of Upgrading Your Legacy Systems

Whether you choose a legacy system enhancements or an absolute digital transformation, your legacy system modernization can assist you in future-proofing your firm:

1. Streamline Your Business Processes

A legacy system upgrade, such as the deployment of SaaS tools, new business intelligence platforms, or cloud computing, can improve efficiencies in your workflow and other business processes.

It is not unusual for organizations to spend more than half of their IT budget on supporting legacy systems, such as maintaining data centers instead of executing a data migration to the cloud for managing support tickets.

CIOs who’ve implemented technological advancements or perhaps a comprehensive digital transformation have lowered operational expenses in their companies by up to 500%.

2. Cut Down on Maintenance Costs for Your IT Systems

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

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

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

Glitches and malfunctions in legacy systems might cause unforeseen downtime for your business workflows.

If you’re an air carrier, IT systems outages can cause delays and even the cancellation of thousands of flights. It was a real concern for airlines. Outdated technology is bad for business.

Your personnel undoubtedly dislike the downtime and poor user experience of the older technology as well. And when the tech in their pockets has seen more advancements in the last decade than your IT systems—it’s time to upgrade. For your image.

4. Lower Your Security Risk and Stay Compliant

If your present systems are so outdated that their original vendor no longer supports them, they can constitute a serious security risk to your company.

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

Big breakdowns occur with legacy systems frequently. Remember Equifax?

5. Increase the Agility of Your Business Operations for Greater Scalability

A single integration to your legacy software here, a hotfix for your legacy system there. Before long, your business is clunking along on a Frankenstein-style legacy system.

Your out-of-date technology are incapable of handling various data types—not to mention the massive amounts of data produced by your IoT devices.

Forward-thinking CIOs realize that legacy software upgrading is essential to refine the compatibility of their IT systems with new technological platforms.

That is exactly what the LinkedIn’s CIOs did when the organization was scaling into the largest global professional network, moving its system design from a REST API or an event-driven architecture.

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

When Should I Consider Upgrading My Legacy System? 6 Questions to Contemplate

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

Here are a few questions to ask before any legacy system modernization:

1. What percentage of your IT budget do you spend on maintenance costs for legacy software or forced downtime as a result of a full or partial breakdown of your outdated system?

If your cost of maintaining older technology is draining major resources, it might be time for a more cost-effective system.

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

Or is it a pain to integrate with a new SaaS service or API? Because of too much old technology or haphazard customization? If you answered “yes,” it is time to modernize your legacy system.

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

Or are you having trouble finding mainframe programmers to extend or fix your COBOL code? If so, your legacy system poses a potential threat to your business and should be replaced.

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

Because when you can’t take advantage of enormous data, you won’t have the business insight you need to be competitive. Bye-bye, legacy systems.

5. Does your legacy system’s failures, glitches, and forced downtimes coincide with a spike in client complaints and support tickets?

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

6. Is your legacy system SLOW?

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

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 versatility your CIOs have been promising with such a digital transformation. Hello, workflow automation!

2. Rebuild Your Legacy Systems

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

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

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

5. Rehost Your Legacy Systems

Adopt 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 software, so that they may be accessed as services through an API.

8. Migrate Your Legacy Systems Application

Transfer your legacy systems program to a new run-time tool without drastically modifying the code or sacrificing functionality.

How Wave Can Help with Your Legacy System Modernization in Louisville?

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

That way, you’ll know whether your organization can get around with a few legacy system tweaks or if you need a comprehensive digital transformation now.

Whatever the situation may be for your legacy systems, Wave can perform the required upgrades or replacements: from adding functionality that improves the customer experience or expediting processes with automation and Business Intelligence tools.

We will also provide you with the ongoing IT assistance you need to see the greatest return on your modernization investment.

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