1993 just called. It wants its IT systems back…

Perhaps your legacy systems aren’t as antiquated as the IRS’ present systems (some are over 60 years old!). But, revamping your legacy system has been on your mind A LOT lately.

Because it poses a security risk.

Because antiquated platforms are racking up maintenance costs while generating less and less capability every day.

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

We understand. 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 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 Oftentimes, legacy systems are outdated systems because they are derived from older technology; however, legacy systems, despite their age, limited functionality, and security risk, are generally critical 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 power 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 VITAL.

However, the costs of modernization (including unsuccessful modernization efforts) and maintenance of legacy systems are cumbersome, totaling $35 trillion for companies and governments globally since 2010.

It’s no surprise, then, that optimizing or replacing legacy systems with new technology, whether it be cloud computing, SaaS technology solutions, or on-premise installation is among the most difficult tasks CIOs in small and large businesses encounter 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 “obstacles” could the upgrading of legacy systems remove?

Short answer, A LOT.

5 Essential Advantages of Modernizing Your Legacy Systems

Whether you opt for legacy system enhancements or an absolute digital transformation, modernizing your legacy systems can help you future-proof your company:

1. Expedite Your Business Operations

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

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

CIOs that have applied technological advancements or even a comprehensive digital transformation have lowered production costs in their organizations by up to 500%.

2. Reduce IT System Maintenance Costs

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

In fact, companies in the public and private 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 Organization’s Customer Experience and Employee Retention

Glitches and malfunctions in legacy technology can lead to unforeseen downtime for your business workflows.

For airlines, IT systems faults can result in delays and even the cancellation of thousands of flights. It was a real problem for carriers. Obsolete technology is bad for business.

Your staff undoubtedly dislike the downtime and poor user experience of the obsolete technology too. And once 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 existing systems are so old their provider no longer supports them, they can pose a severe security risk to your business.

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

Major breakdowns occur with legacy systems frequently. Remember Equifax?

5. Make Your Business Processes More Agile for Greater Scalability

A single integration to your legacy software here, a hotfix for your legacy technology there. In no time, your organization is clunking along on a Frankenstein-style legacy system.

Your old systems barely handle numerous data types—not to mention the big data your IoT devices produce.

Revolutionary CIOs know legacy software upgrading is mandatory to improve IT system compatibility with modern technological solutions.

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

CIOs for Netflix, Unilever, SAP, Amazon, and the Federal Aviation Administration have all taken the same approach.

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

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

Below are some questions to keep in mind before any legacy system upgrade:

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

If your cost of keeping older systems are depleting important resources, it might be time for a more cost-effective platform.

2. Do your legacy systems support the latest tech and recent IT advancements?

Or is it a pain to integrate with a new SaaS service or API? Because of obsolete 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 sourcing mainframe programmers to extend or fix your COBOL code? If this is the case, your legacy system introduces a serious threat to your organization and should be modernized.

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

Because when you can’t make the most of big 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 correspond with an uptick in client 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 system SLOW?

It might be time to bite the bullet and make a change. The future is moving at a breakneck pace. 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—with all the speed, flexibility, and scalability your CIOs have promised with such a digital transformation. Welcome, workflow automation!

2. Rebuild Your Legacy Systems

Rewrite the software components, so you can incorporate 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. Refactor Your Legacy Systems

Retool your code to eliminate technical debt.

5. Rehost Your Legacy Systems

Implement cloud computing with a data migration and application re-deployment to cloud infrastructure.

7. Encapsulate Your Outdated Systems Data and Functions

Encompass your data and functions in the application, so that they may be accessed as services via an API.

8. Migrate Your Legacy Systems Application

Transfer your legacy systems application to a new run-time platform without extensively modifying the code or compromising functionality.

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

Do you believe it’s time to modernize your legacy system? Begin with Wave’s comprehensive system audit, so you can learn about its performance and predicted lifespan.

In this way, you’ll know whether your company can get by with a few legacy system modifications or if you need an extensive digital transformation now.

Whatever the case proves to be for your legacy systems, Wave can handle the needed modifications or replacements: from adding attributes that improve the customer experience or simplifying processes with automation and Business Intelligence platforms.

We'll 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.