1993 just called. It wants its IT systems back…

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

Because it’s a cybersecurity threat.

Because obsolete platforms are costing more to maintain while delivering less and less capability every day.

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

We get it. You are ready for a legacy system modernization.

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

Continue reading for your legacy system assessment, 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 Legacy systems are obsolete systems because they are based on outdated technology; however, legacy systems, despite their age, limited functionality, and security risk, are usually critical to daily business operations, points out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 fuel public-sector infrastructure that we take for granted: power grids, telecommunications services, wastewater treatment plants, 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 enterprises and governments globally since 2010.

It’s no wonder, then, that upgrading or substituting legacy systems with innovative technology, whether SaaS technology solutions, cloud computing, or on-site 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 “obstacles” could legacy system modernization expel?

To put it briefly, A LOT.

5 Essential Advantages of Modernizing Your Legacy Systems

Whether you opt for legacy system enhancements or a comprehensive digital transformation, modernizing your legacy systems can assist you in future-proofing your organization:

1. Streamline Your Business Operations

A legacy system update, like the adoption of SaaS tools, modern business intelligence tools, or cloud computing, can refine your workflow and other business processes.

It is not uncommon for companies to waste more than half of their IT budget on supporting legacy systems, for instance maintaining data hubs instead of executing a data migration to the cloud for managing support tickets.

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

2. Cut Down on Maintenance Costs for Your IT Systems

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

Frankly, companies 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

Glitches and malfunctions in legacy systems might cause unexpected downtime for your business operations.

If you’re an air carrier, IT systems outages can result in delays and even the cancellation of thousands of flights. It was a serious issue for carriers. Obsolete systems are bad for business.

Your personnel unquestionably dislike the downtime and awful user experience of the obsolete technology too. And once the tech in their hands has developed quicker in the last decade than your IT systems—it’s time for an upgrade. For your image.

4. Minimize Your Security Risk and Stay Compliant

When your current systems are so old their provider no longer maintains them, they can pose a serious security risk to your company.

Your legacy software, which is frequently ignored and out of date, does not receive the security patches and updates it needs to avoid cybersecurity breaches.

Big mishaps occur with legacy systems regularly. Remember Equifax?

5. Make Your Business Operations More Agile for Better Scalability

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

Your out-of-date technology can hardly handle numerous data types—let alone the enormous amounts of data your IoT devices produce.

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

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

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

When Should I Consider Replacing 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.

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

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

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

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

Or is it inconvenient to integrate with a new SaaS solution or API? Because of outdated technology or haphazard customization? If you answered “yes,” it is time to upgrade your legacy system.

3. Is your legacy system's original developer no longer in business?

Or are you having difficulty locating mainframe programmers who can extend or fix your COBOL code? If this is the case, your legacy system poses a serious threat to your firm and should be modernized.

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

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

5. Do glitches, failures, and forced downtimes with your old system correspond with a spike 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 technology SLOW?

It might be time to jump in with both feet and adapt. The future is approaching at a frenetic pace. And it’s here.

How Can I Upgrade My Legacy System?

If you’ve decided your legacy systems are no longer meeting your business needs, what are your modernization options?

1. Replace Your Legacy Systems

Out with the old, and in with the new—and all the speed, efficiency, and scalability your CIOs have promised with such a digital transformation. Welcome, workflow automation!

2. Rebuild Your Legacy Software

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

3. Redesign Your Legacy Technology

Redesign your legacy software architecture to provide more agility and scalability, as LinkedIn and a slew of other outstanding firms have done.

4. Reconfigure Your Legacy Systems

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

5. Rehost Your Legacy Systems

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

7. Digest Your Outdated 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 application to a new run-time solution without drastically altering the code or sacrificing functionality.

How Wave Can Help with Your Legacy System Upgrade in Chicago?

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

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

Whatever the situation may be for your legacy systems, Wave can perform the needed upgrades or replacements: from adding attributes that improve the customer experience or streamlining processes with automation and Business Intelligence solutions.

We will also give you the ongoing IT assistance you need to maximize your modernization investment.

The future is calling. And companyname is eager to help! Schedule a consultation today.