1993 just called. It wants its IT systems back…

Perhaps your legacy systems are not as antiquated as the IRS’ current systems (some date back 60 years!). But, modernizing your legacy system has been on your mind A LOT lately.

Because it’s a cybersecurity risk.

Because obsolete platforms are increasing maintenance expenses while delivering less and 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 do you get the buy-in you need from key stakeholders—whether that is your business partner or the entire boardroom?

Keep reading for your legacy system evaluation, this will help you determine 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 because they are derived from antiquated technology; however, despite their age, limited functionality, and security risk, legacy systems, are usually essential to daily business workflows, points out Gartner.

How important 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: power grids, telecommunications services, wastewater treatment plants, and air traffic control towers. Legacy systems are CRUCIAL.

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

It’s no surprise, then, that modernizing or substituting legacy systems with new technology, be it SaaS technology solutions, cloud computing, or on-premise implementation is among the greatest challenges 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 legacy system modernization expel?

In a nutshell, A LOT.

5 Significant Benefits of Legacy System Modernization

In the event that you go for legacy system enhancements or a complete digital transformation, your legacy system modernization can assist you in future-proofing your firm:

1. Optimize Your Business Processes

A legacy system modernization, like the adoption of SaaS tools, modern business intelligence tools, or cloud computing, can enhance your workflow and other business operations.

It’s not unusual for organizations to spend more than half of their IT budget on supporting legacy systems, for instance maintaining data hubs instead of executing a data migration to the cloud for managing support tickets.

CIOs who’ve implemented technological advancements or even a full-blown digital transformation have reduced operational costs in their businesses by up to 500%.

2. Reduce IT System Maintenance Costs

CIOs are well aware that the maintenance costs of legacy systems, applications, and infrastructure can demand a large percentage of the business’s budget.

In fact, organizations in the public and private 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

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

For airlines, IT systems faults can result in thousands of flights to be delayed or cancelled. It was a serious concern for airlines. Obsolete systems are bad for business.

Your personnel undoubtedly dislike the downtime and unsatisfactory user experience of the older technology too. And when the technology in their hands has advanced faster in the last decade than your IT systems—it’s time for an upgrade. For your image.

4. Lower Your Security Risk and Maintain Compliance

When your present systems are so old their manufacturer no longer services them, they can constitute a serious security risk to your company.

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

Major mishaps occur with legacy systems all the time. Remember Equifax?

5. Make Your Business Processes More Agile for Greater Scalability

A single integration to your legacy system here, a hotfix for your legacy system there. Before long, your organization is stumbling on a Frankenstein-style legacy system.

Your out-of-date systems barely handle numerous data formats—not to mention the enormous amounts of data your IoT devices generate.

Innovative CIOs know legacy software modernization is essential to improve the compatibility of their IT systems with new technological solutions.

That is indeed what the LinkedIn’s CIOs did as the organization was developing into the largest global professional network, transforming its software architecture from a REST API or an event-driven architecture.

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

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

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

Here are some questions to ask before any legacy system modernization:

1. How much of your IT budget is spent on maintenance costs for legacy software or forced downtime due to a total or partial breakdown of your old system?

If your cost of operating older systems are depleting major resources, it might be time for a more cost-effective solution.

2. Do your legacy systems support the latest 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 to modernize your legacy system.

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

Or are you having difficulty finding mainframe programmers who can fix or extend your COBOL code? If this is the case, your legacy system poses a serious risk to your firm and should be replaced.

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

Because when you are unable to leverage big data, you will not have the kind of business intelligence you need to stay competitive. Bye-bye, legacy systems.

5. Does your legacy system’s failures, glitches, and forced downtimes coincide 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 fresh system.

6. Is your legacy technology SLOW?

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

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

2. Rebuild Your Legacy Systems

Rewrite the legacy system, so you can integrate new tech 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

Retool your code to get rid of technical debt.

5. Rehost Your Legacy Systems

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

7. Digest Your Legacy Systems Functions and Data

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

8. Migrate Your Legacy Systems Application

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

How Wave Can Assist with Your Legacy System Modernization in Santa Ana?

Think it’s time for your legacy system modernization? Begin with Wave’s comprehensive system audit, so you can get insights into its performance and expected lifespan.

That way, you’ll know whether your business 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 carry out the needed modifications or replacements: from adding functionality that improves the customer experience or optimizing processes with automation and Business Intelligence tools.

We'll also offer you the ongoing IT assistance you need to get the most out of your modernization investment.

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