1993 just called. It wants its IT systems back…

Ok, maybe your legacy systems are not as antiquated as the IRS’ current systems (some date back 60 years!). But, revamping your legacy technology has been at the back of your mind A LOT nowadays.

Because it is a cybersecurity threat.

Because antiquated platforms are costing more to maintain while providing less and less functionality every day.

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

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

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

Keep reading for your legacy system evaluation, this will help you determine when it’s time to upgrade your legacy systems.

What is a Legacy System?

Legacy systems are IT systems. Oftentimes, legacy systems are antiquated systems since they are derived from outdated technology; however, legacy systems, despite their age, limited functionality, and security risk, are generally essential to daily business processes, points out Gartner.

How important are legacy systems? Without the legacy system on which they rely, commercial business processes such as payroll, inventory management and replenishment, and digital payment transactions would come to a halt.

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.

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

It’s no surprise, however, that optimizing or rebuilding legacy systems with innovative technology, be it cloud computing, SaaS technology solutions, or local installation is among the most difficult tasks CIOs in small and large organizations confront in their careers.

What Are the Advantages 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 “obstacles” could the upgrading of legacy systems expel?

To put it briefly, A LOT.

5 Key Benefits of Modernizing Your Legacy Systems

In the event that you go for legacy system enhancements or an absolute digital transformation, your legacy system modernization can help you future-proof your company:

1. Expedite Your Business Processes

A legacy system modernization, such as the implementation 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 expend over half of their IT budget on backing legacy systems, such as maintaining data centers rather than carrying out a data migration to the cloud for managing support tickets.

CIOs that have adopted technological upgrades or perhaps a full-blown digital transformation have lowered production expenditures in their businesses by up to 500%.

2. Reduce IT System Maintenance Costs

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

Frankly, organizations 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 Business’s Customer Experience and Employee Retention

Legacy technology glitches and failures might cause unplanned downtime for your business operations.

For airlines, IT systems faults can cause delays and even the cancellation of thousands of flights. It was a major problem for airlines. Outdated technology is bad for business.

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

4. Lower Your Security Risk and Maintain Compliance

When your existing systems are so old their original vendor no longer services them, they could pose a major security risk to your company.

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

Big failures happen with legacy systems frequently. Remember Equifax?

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

A single integration to your legacy software here, a hotfix for your legacy system there. In no time, your firm is stumbling on a Frankenstein legacy system.

Your old technology can hardly handle numerous data types—not to mention the big data your IoT devices generate.

Forward-thinking CIOs realize that legacy software upgrading is mandatory to refine IT system compatibility with modern technological tools.

That is exactly what the CIOs at LinkedIn did while the firm was scaling into the world’s premier professional network, transforming 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 Upgrade My Legacy System? 6 Questions to Contemplate

When contemplating whether or not to modernize legacy technology, CIOs must assess three primary factors: technology, architecture, and functionality.

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

1. What percentage of your IT budget are you spending on maintenance costs for legacy software or forced downtime due to a total or partial malfunction of your old system?

If your cost of operating obsolete systems are draining major resources, it may be time for a new, cost-effective solution.

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

Or is it a pain to integrate with a new SaaS service or API? Because of outdated technology or haphazard customization? If you answered “yes,” it’s time for a legacy system upgrade.

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

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

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

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

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

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

6. Is your legacy system SLOW?

It might be time to bite the bullet and make the change. The future is moving at a breakneck pace. And it’s here.

How Can I Modernize My Legacy System?

If you’ve decided your legacy systems are no longer meeting your business needs, what are your modernization options?

1. Replace Your Legacy Systems

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

2. Rebuild Your Legacy Software

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

3. Rearchitect Your Legacy Systems

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

4. Refine Your Legacy Systems

Reconfigure your code to get rid of technical debt.

5. Rehost Your Legacy Systems

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

7. Digest Your Legacy Systems Data and Functions

Encompass 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 program to a new run-time platform without drastically modifying the code or compromising functionality.

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

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

That way, you’ll know whether you can get around with a few legacy system enhancements or if you require a complete digital transformation now.

Whatever the situation may be for your legacy systems, Wave can perform the needed modifications or replacements: from adding attributes that improve the customer experience or streamlining workflows with automation and Business Intelligence tools.

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

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