1993 just called. It wants its IT systems back…

Perhaps your legacy systems are not as antiquated as the IRS’ present systems (some date back 60 years!). But, revamping your legacy system has been on your mind A LOT nowadays.

Because it presents a cybersecurity risk.

Because outdated platforms are increasing maintenance expenses while providing less and less capability every day.

Because you’re ready to level up your organization’s digital transformation.

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 ideal to upgrade 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 Legacy systems are obsolete systems because they are derived from outdated technology; however, despite their age, limited functionality, and security risk, legacy systems, are typically vital to daily business workflows, points out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 drive public-sector infrastructure that we take for granted: power grids, telecommunications services, wastewater treatment plants, and air traffic control towers. Legacy systems are CRUCIAL.

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

It’s no surprise, however, that upgrading or rebuilding legacy systems with newer technology, whether cloud computing, SaaS technology solutions, or local installation is among the greatest challenges CIOs in small and large organizations confront 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 eliminate?

In a nutshell, A LOT.

5 Key Benefits of Legacy System Modernization

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

1. Expedite Your Business Processes

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

It is not out of the ordinary for companies to spend over half of their IT budget on supporting legacy systems, for example maintaining data centers instead of performing a data migration to the cloud for managing support tickets.

CIOs that have applied technological upgrades or perhaps a full-blown digital transformation have lowered operational costs in their organizations by up to 500%.

2. Cut Down on Maintenance Costs for Your IT Systems

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

In 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 unexpected downtime for your business workflows.

For airlines, IT systems outages can result in delays and even the cancellation of thousands of flights. It was a major problem for airlines. Outdated systems are bad for business.

Your staff certainly resent the downtime and poor user experience of the obsolete 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 image.

4. Reduce Your Security Risk and Stay Compliant

When your current systems are so outdated that their provider no longer maintains them, they can constitute a major security risk to your company.

Often neglected and outdated systems, your legacy software, does not receive the security updates and patches it needs to prevent cybersecurity attacks.

Major failures happen with legacy systems regularly. Remember Equifax?

5. Make Your Business Processes More Agile for Higher Scalability

A single integration to your legacy software here, a hotfix for your legacy software there. Before long, your firm is stumbling on a Frankenstein-style legacy system.

Your old technology barely handle various data formats—not to mention the big data generated by your IoT devices.

Prospective CIOs understand that legacy software upgrading is essential to enhance the compatibility of their IT systems with modern technology tools.

That is indeed what the LinkedIn’s CIOs did while the firm was scaling into the world’s largest professional network, transforming 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 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 things to consider before any legacy system modernization:

1. What percentage of your IT budget do you spend on maintenance costs for legacy software or forced downtime due to a full or partial malfunction of your out-of-date system?

If the cost of maintaining outdated technology is draining important resources, it might be time for a new, cost-effective system.

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

Or is integration with a new SaaS solution or API a nightmare? Because of obsolete 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 a hard time locating mainframe programmers who can fix or extend your COBOL code? If this is the case, your legacy system introduces a serious risk to your company and should be upgraded.

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

Because when you can’t make the most of big data, you won’t have the kind of business intelligence you need to stay competitive. Bye-bye, legacy systems.

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

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 technology SLOW?

It may be time to bite the bullet and adapt. The future is FAST. 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 system—with all the speed, flexibility, and expandability 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 technology solutions, big data capacity, and business intelligence.

3. Redesign 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

Retool your code, so you can kick technical debt to the curb.

5. Rehost Your Legacy Systems

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

7. Encapsulate Your Outdated Systems Data and Functions

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

8. Replatform Your Legacy Systems Application

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

How Wave Can Assist with Your Legacy System Upgrade in Minneapolis?

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

That way, you’ll know whether your business can cope with a few legacy system tweaks or if you require an extensive digital transformation now.

Whatever the case proves to be for your legacy systems, Wave can handle the needed upgrades or replacements: from adding functionality that improves the customer experience or optimizing workflows with automation and Business Intelligence platforms.

We'll also offer you the sustained 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.