1993 just called. It wants its IT systems back…

Perhaps your legacy systems aren’t as outdated as the IRS’ existing systems (some date back 60 years!). Still, modernizing your legacy technology has been on your mind A LOT lately.

Because it’s a cybersecurity threat.

Because obsolete systems are racking up maintenance costs while delivering even less efficiency every day.

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

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

But how can you gain the support of primary stakeholders—whether that is your business associate or the whole boardroom?

Continue reading for your legacy system checklist, this will help you determine when it’s the right time for upgrading your legacy systems.

What is a Legacy System?

Legacy systems are IT systems. Oftentimes, legacy systems are obsolete systems since they are derived from antiquated technology; however, legacy systems, despite their age, limited functionality, and security risk, are usually vital to everyday business processes, 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 power 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 CRUCIAL.

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

It’s no wonder, then, that optimizing or substituting legacy systems with newer technology, whether it be SaaS technology solutions, cloud computing, or on-premise implementation is among the greatest challenges CIOs in small and large companies encounter in their careers.

What Are the Benefits 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 the modernization of your legacy systems expel?

In a nutshell, A LOT.

5 Essential Advantages of Upgrading Your Legacy Systems

If you opt for legacy system enhancements or a complete digital transformation, your legacy system modernization can help you future-proof your company:

1. Optimize Your Business Operations

A legacy system update, like the deployment of SaaS tools, modern business intelligence platforms, or cloud computing, can improve efficiencies in your workflow and other business operations.

It’s not out of the ordinary for companies to expend more than half of their IT budget on backing legacy systems, for instance maintaining data centers rather than carrying out a data migration to the cloud for support ticket management.

CIOs who’ve applied technological improvements or even a full-blown digital transformation have cut operational expenses in their organizations by up to 500%.

2. Cut Down on Maintenance Costs for Your IT Systems

CIOs well know the maintenance costs of legacy systems, applications, and infrastructure can eat up a large percentage of the company’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. Improve Your Organization’s Customer Experience and Employee Retention

Legacy technology glitches and failures might cause unforeseen downtime for your organizational workflows.

If you’re an air carrier, IT systems faults can result in delays and even the cancellation of thousands of flights. It was a real concern for airlines. Obsolete systems are bad for business.

Your employees undoubtedly loathe the downtime and poor user experience of the obsolete technology as well. And once the tech in their pockets has advanced faster in the last decade than your IT systems—it’s time to upgrade. For your credibility.

4. Reduce Your Security Risk and Maintain Compliance

If your present systems are so outdated that their original vendor no longer maintains them, they can constitute a severe security risk to your business.

Frequently ignored and out of date, your legacy software, doesn’t receive the security updates and patches it requires to prevent cybersecurity breaches.

Big mishaps happen with legacy systems all the time. Remember Equifax?

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

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

Your old technology barely handle multiple data formats—much less the massive amounts of data your IoT devices generate.

Dynamic CIOs realize that legacy software upgrading is mandatory to enhance IT system compatibility with modern technological platforms.

That’s exactly what the CIOs at LinkedIn did while the company was growing into the world’s largest professional network, converting its software architecture from a REST API or an event-driven architecture.

CIOs for SAP, Netflix, Unilever, 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 some things to consider before any legacy system upgrade:

1. What percentage of your IT budget is spent on legacy software maintenance or forced downtime due to a complete or partial malfunction of your old system?

If the cost of keeping obsolete systems are depleting important resources, it may be time for a more cost-effective system.

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

Or is it inconvenient to integrate with a new SaaS solution or API? Because of too much old technology or ad-hoc customization? If you answered “yes,” it’s time to upgrade your legacy system.

3. Has the vendor that originally designed your legacy system folded?

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

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

Because when you are unable to take advantage of large data, you won’t have the kind of business intelligence you need to stay competitive. Adieu, legacy systems.

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

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

6. Is your legacy technology SLOW?

It may be time to take the plunge and make a change. The future is FAST. And it has arrived.

How Can I Modernize 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—along with all the speed, flexibility, and versatility 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 implement modern tech solutions, business intelligence, and big data capacity.

3. Rearchitect 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. Reconfigure Your Legacy Systems

Reconfigure 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. Encapsulate Your Outdated Systems Functions and Data

Encapsulate your functions and data in the solution, so that they may be accessed as services through an API.

8. Migrate Your Legacy Systems Application

Migrate your legacy systems program to a new run-time platform without drastically modifying the code or losing functionality.

How Wave Can Assist with Your Legacy System Modernization in Fresno?

Do you believe it’s time for your legacy system modernization? Start with Wave’s comprehensive system audit, so you can learn about its functionality and estimated lifespan.

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

Whatever the case proves to be for your legacy systems, Wave can perform the required upgrades or replacements: from adding features that improve the user experience or streamlining workflows with automation and Business Intelligence tools.

We'll also provide you with the continuous IT assistance you need to maximize your modernization investment.

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