1993 just called. It wants its IT systems back…

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

Because it’s a security hazard.

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

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

We get it. You are ready for a legacy system modernization.

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

Keep reading for your legacy system assessment, so you know when it’s ideal to upgrade your legacy systems.

What is a Legacy System?

Legacy systems are IT systems. Legacy systems are antiquated systems seeing as they are based on older technology; however, legacy systems, despite their age, limited functionality, and security risk, are usually essential to day-to-day business operations, 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 fuel public-sector infrastructure that we take for granted: wastewater treatment plants, power grids, telecommunications services, and air traffic control towers. Legacy systems are ESSENTIAL.

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

It’s no surprise, then, that optimizing or rebuilding legacy systems with newer technology, whether it be SaaS technology solutions, cloud computing, or on-site implementation is one of the greatest challenges CIOs in small and large businesses face 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 “barriers” could the modernization of your legacy systems expel?

To put it briefly, A LOT.

5 Significant Advantages of Upgrading 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 organization:

1. Streamline Your Business Processes

A legacy system modernization, such as the adoption of SaaS tools, new business intelligence tools, or cloud computing, can refine your workflow and other business processes.

It’s not uncommon for businesses to waste more than half of their IT budget on sustaining legacy systems, such as maintaining data hubs rather than performing a data migration to the cloud for managing support tickets.

CIOs that have implemented technological improvements or perhaps a full-scale digital transformation have lowered production expenditures in their businesses by up to 500%.

2. Reduce Your IT System’s Maintenance Costs

CIOs well know the costs of maintaining legacy systems, infrastructure, and applications can demand a large percentage of the organization’s budget.

As a matter of fact, organizations in the 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

Legacy technology glitches and failures can result in unforeseen downtime for your organizational operations.

For airlines, IT systems instabilities 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 certainly dislike the downtime and awful user experience of the outdated technology too. And once the tech in their hands has seen more advancements in the last decade than your IT systems—it’s time to upgrade. For your reputation.

4. Reduce Your Security Risk While Staying Compliant

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

Your legacy software, which is frequently ignored and out of date, doesn’t receive the security patches and updates it requires to avoid cybersecurity breaches.

Big breakdowns occur with legacy systems frequently. Remember Equifax?

5. Make Your Business Operations More Agile for Greater Scalability

A one-time integration to your legacy system here, a hotfix for your legacy software there. Before you know it, your company is clunking along on a Frankenstein legacy system.

Your obsolete systems are incapable of handling numerous data formats—let alone the big data your IoT devices produce.

Prospective CIOs understand that legacy software modernization is essential to refine IT system compatibility with new technological solutions.

That’s exactly what the LinkedIn’s CIOs did when the company was growing into the world’s largest professional network, transforming its system design from a REST API or an event-driven architecture.

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

When Should I Replace 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 six questions to ask before upgrading any legacy system:

1. What percentage of your IT budget is spent on legacy software maintenance or forced downtime due to a full or partial failure of your outdated system?

If your cost of keeping older systems are draining considerable resources, it may be time for a cost-effective, new solution.

2. Do your legacy systems work with modern technology and recent IT breakthroughs?

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

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

Or are you having a hard time locating mainframe programmers to fix or extend your COBOL code? If so, your legacy system introduces a potential risk to your business and should be modernized.

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

Because when you can’t leverage enormous data, you won’t have the business insight you need to be competitive. Goodbye, legacy systems.

5. Does your old system’s forced downtimes, failures, and glitches correspond with an uptick in customer support tickets and complaints?

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 may be time to jump in with both feet and make a change. The future is approaching at a frenetic pace. And it has arrived.

How Can I Revamp 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—with all the speed, flexibility, and versatility your CIOs have promised 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

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 by migrating data and redeploying applications to cloud infrastructure.

7. Digest Your Legacy Systems Data and Functions

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

8. Replatform Your Legacy Systems Application

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

How Wave Can Assist with Your Legacy System Upgrade in San Francisco?

Do you believe it’s time to modernize your legacy system? Start with Wave’s comprehensive system audit, so you can get insights into its performance and predicted lifespan.

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

Whatever the circumstance may be for your legacy systems, Wave can perform the necessary modifications or replacements: from adding functionality that improves the user experience or expediting workflows with automation and Business Intelligence tools.

We will also give you the continuous 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.