1993 just called. It wants its IT systems back…

Ok, maybe your legacy systems are not as outdated as the IRS’ current systems (some date back 60 years!).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

Because it poses a cybersecurity threat.

Because obsolete systems are racking up maintenance costs while delivering less and less capability every day.

Because you’re 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’s your business associate or the entire boardroom?

Keep 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 Legacy systems are obsolete systems because they are derived from outdated technology; however, legacy systems, despite their age, limited functionality, and security risk, are usually essential to day-to-day business processes,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 drive the infrastructure we take for granted in the public sector: telecommunications services, wastewater treatment plants, power grids, and air traffic control towers. Legacy systems are ESSENTIAL.

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

It’s no wonder, however, that optimizing or substituting legacy systems with innovative technology, whether SaaS technology solutions, cloud computing, or local installation is among the most challenging issues CIOs in small and large organizations encounter in their careers.

What Are the Advantages of Upgrading 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 Significant Benefits of Modernizing Your Legacy Systems

If you choose a legacy system enhancements or a complete digital transformation, upgrading your legacy systems can help you future-proof your business:

1. Streamline Your Business Processes

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

It’s not uncommon for businesses to expend more than half of their IT budget on supporting legacy systems, for instance maintaining data hubs instead of performing a data migration to the cloud for support ticket management.

CIOs who’ve implemented technological upgrades or perhaps a full-scale digital transformation have cut production expenses in their organizations by up to 500%.

2. Reduce IT System Maintenance Costs

CIOs well know the maintenance costs of legacy systems, applications, and infrastructure can eat up a significant percentage of the business’s budget.

Frankly, 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 Organization’s Customer Experience and Employee Retention

Glitches and malfunctions in legacy systems might cause unforeseen downtime for your organizational workflows.

If you’re an air carrier, IT systems outages can result in thousands of flights to be delayed or cancelled. It was a real issue for carriers. Outdated systems are bad for business.

Your staff unquestionably loathe the downtime and awful user experience of the older technology as well. And once the technology in their pockets has seen more advancements in the last decade than your IT systems—it’s time to upgrade. For your reputation.

4. Lower Your Security Risk While Maintaining Compliance

If your existing systems are so antiquated that their provider no longer services them, they can constitute a major security risk to your business.

Frequently ignored and out of date, your legacy software, does not receive the security updates and patches it needs to block cybersecurity attacks.

Major breakdowns occur with legacy systems regularly. Remember Equifax?

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

A single integration to your legacy system here, a hotfix for your legacy system there. Before long, your company is clunking along on a Frankenstein legacy system.

Your outdated systems can hardly handle numerous data formats—much less the enormous amounts of data your IoT devices produce.

Forward-thinking CIOs realize that legacy software modernization is necessary to refine IT system compatibility with modern technology tools.

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

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

When Should I Replace 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 six things to consider before any legacy system upgrade:

1. What percentage of your IT budget do you spend on maintenance costs for legacy software or forced downtime as a result of a complete or partial failure of your out-of-date system?

If your cost of keeping outdated technology is draining major resources, it might be time for a more cost-effective solution.

2. Do your legacy systems offer compatibility with modern tech and recent IT innovations?

Or is integration with a new SaaS solution or API a nightmare? 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 difficulty sourcing mainframe programmers to fix or extend your COBOL code? If this is the case, your legacy system poses a security risk to your firm and should be replaced.

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

Because if you are unable to leverage big data, you will not have the business insight you need to stay competitive. Adieu, legacy systems.

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

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 the change. The future is moving at a breakneck pace. And it has arrived.

How Can I Revamp My Legacy System?

What are your modernization solutions if you've determined that your legacy systems no longer fulfill your organizational needs?

1. Replace Your Legacy Systems

Out with the old, and in with the new—and all the speed, agility, and versatility your CIOs have been promising with such a digital transformation. Hello, workflow automation!

2. Rebuild Your Legacy Systems

Rewrite the application components, so you can incorporate new tech solutions, big data capacity, and business intelligence.

3. Redesign 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. Refactor Your Legacy Systems

Reconfigure your code to get rid of technical debt.

5. Rehost Your Legacy Systems

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

7. Encapsulate Your Outdated Systems Functions and Data

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

8. Replatform Your Legacy Systems Application

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

How Wave Can Be of Assistance with Your Legacy System Upgrade in Detroit?

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

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

Whatever the circumstance may be for your legacy systems, Wave can carry out the needed modifications or replacements: from adding attributes that improve the user experience or simplifying processes with automation and Business Intelligence solutions.

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

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