1993 just called. It wants its IT systems back…

Your legacy systems probably are not as old as the IRS’ present systems (some date back 60 years!). Still, modernizing your legacy technology has been on your mind A LOT recently.

Because it presents a cybersecurity hazard.

Because obsolete platforms are racking up maintenance costs while generating even 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 support of important 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 is the right time for upgrading your legacy systems.

What is a Legacy System?

Legacy systems are IT systems. Legacy systems are antiquated systems because they are based on outdated technology; however, despite their age, limited functionality, and security risk, legacy systems, are generally critical to daily business workflows, points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 fuel public-sector infrastructure that we take for granted: wastewater treatment plants, power grids, telecommunications services, and air traffic control towers. Legacy systems are CRUCIAL.

But, the expenses of modernization (including botched modernization efforts) and maintenance of legacy systems are counterproductive, totaling $35 trillion for enterprises and governments internationally since 2010.

It’s no wonder, however, that modernizing or replacing legacy systems with innovative technology, whether cloud computing, SaaS technology solutions, or on-site installation is one of the greatest challenges CIOs in small and large firms face in their careers.

What Are the Benefits 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 “hurdles” could legacy system modernization expel?

To put it briefly, A LOT.

5 Significant Advantages of Modernizing Your Legacy Systems

Whether you go for legacy system enhancements or a complete digital transformation, upgrading your legacy systems can assist you in future-proofing your firm:

1. Expedite Your Business Processes

A legacy system update, such as the implementation of SaaS solutions, new business intelligence tools, or cloud computing, can enhance your workflow and other business processes.

It is not unusual for businesses to waste over half of their IT budget on sustaining legacy systems, for example maintaining data centers instead of performing a data migration to the cloud for managing support tickets.

CIOs that have adopted technological advancements or perhaps a full-scale digital transformation have reduced production costs in their businesses by up to 500%.

2. Reduce Your IT System’s Maintenance Costs

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

In fact, businesses 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 Business’s Customer Experience and Employee Retention

Legacy technology glitches and failures might cause unexpected downtime for your organizational operations.

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

Your personnel certainly resent the downtime and awful user experience of the older technology as well. And when the technology in their pockets has advanced faster in the last decade than your IT systems—it’s time for an upgrade. For your reputation.

4. Minimize Your Security Risk While Maintaining Compliance

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

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

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

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

A one-time integration to your legacy system here, a hotfix for your legacy system there. Before long, your firm is clunking along on a Frankenstein-style legacy system.

Your out-of-date systems can hardly handle various data types—not to mention the massive amounts of data produced by your IoT devices.

Revolutionary CIOs know legacy software modernization is essential to enhance the compatibility of their IT systems with modern technology tools.

That is exactly what the CIOs at LinkedIn did when the organization was scaling into the world’s largest professional network, moving its system design 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 Replacing 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 a few questions to ask before any legacy system upgrade:

1. How much of your IT budget do you spend on maintenance costs for legacy software or forced downtime because of a full or partial malfunction of your old system?

If the cost of keeping older systems are eating up important resources, it might be time for a more cost-effective system.

2. Do your legacy systems support newer tech and recent IT breakthroughs?

Or is it a pain to integrate with a new SaaS service or API? Because of obsolete technology or ad-hoc 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 so, your legacy system is a potential risk to your company and should be upgraded.

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

Because when you are unable to leverage enormous data, you won’t have the business insight you need to be competitive. Bye-bye, legacy systems.

5. Do glitches, failures, and forced downtimes with your old system coincide with an uptick in client support tickets and complaints?

You won’t bring in any new business with such a bad customer experience. It’s time for a modern 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 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—and all the speed, efficiency, and scalability your CIOs have been promising with such a digital transformation. Welcome, workflow automation!

2. Rebuild Your Legacy Systems

Rewrite the legacy system, so you can integrate modern tech solutions, big data capacity, and business intelligence.

3. Rearchitect Your Legacy Technology

Do like LinkedIn and a host of other leading organizations: redesign your legacy software architecture to enable greater agility and scalability.

4. Reconfigure 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 Data and Functions

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

8. Migrate Your Legacy Systems Application

Move your legacy systems program to a new run-time platform without dramatically modifying the code or compromising functionality.

How Wave Can Help with Your Legacy System Modernization in ?

Think it’s time for your legacy system modernization? Start with Wave’s extensive system audit, so you can learn about its functionality and predicted lifespan.

That way, you’ll know whether you can get around with a few legacy system modifications or if you need a comprehensive digital transformation now.

Whatever the situation may be for your legacy systems, Wave can perform the needed upgrades or replacements: from adding features that improve the user experience or simplifying workflows with automation and Business Intelligence platforms.

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 happy to help! Schedule a consultation today.