1993 just called. It wants its IT systems back…

Your legacy systems probably aren’t as old as the IRS’ current systems (some are over 60 years old!). Still, modernizing your legacy technology has been on your mind A LOT lately.

Because it’s a security risk.

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

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

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

But how can you gain the support of primary stakeholders—whether that’s your business partner or the whole boardroom?

Continue reading for your legacy system checklist, this will help you determine when it is ideal to upgrade 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 Legacy systems are obsolete systems because they are based on outdated technology; however, legacy systems, despite their age, limited functionality, and security risk, are typically vital to day-to-day business processes, points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 power public-sector infrastructure that we take for granted: wastewater treatment plants, power grids, telecommunications services, and air traffic control towers. Legacy systems are VITAL.

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

It’s no surprise, then, that modernizing or rebuilding legacy systems with innovative technology, be it cloud computing, SaaS technology solutions, or on-site installation is among the greatest challenges CIOs in small and large businesses encounter in their careers.

What Are the Benefits 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?

To put it briefly, A LOT.

5 Significant Benefits of Upgrading Your Legacy Systems

In the event that 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 Processes

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

It is not unusual for businesses to spend over half of their IT budget on backing legacy systems, such as maintaining data centers rather than carrying out a data migration to the cloud for managing support tickets.

CIOs who’ve adopted technological upgrades or perhaps a full-blown digital transformation have reduced operational expenditures in their organizations by up to 500%.

2. Cut Down on Maintenance Costs for Your IT Systems

CIOs are well aware that legacy system, application, and infrastructure maintenance can eat up a significant percentage of the organization’s budget.

In fact, organizations 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. Enhance Your Company’s Customer Experience and Employee Retention

Glitches and malfunctions in legacy technology can result in unexpected downtime for your business processes.

If you’re an air carrier, IT systems faults can result in thousands of flights to be delayed or cancelled. It was a major concern for airlines. Outdated systems are bad for business.

Your staff certainly dislike the downtime and unsatisfactory user experience of the older technology too. And when the technology in their hands has advanced faster in the last decade than your IT systems—it’s time to upgrade. For your reputation.

4. Lower Your Security Risk While Staying Compliant

When your current systems are so outdated that their manufacturer no longer supports them, they could pose a serious 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 breaches.

Substantial mishaps happen with legacy systems regularly. Remember Equifax?

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

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

Your obsolete technology barely handle multiple data types—not to mention the massive amounts of data produced by your IoT devices.

Revolutionary CIOs realize that legacy software modernization is necessary to refine IT system compatibility with modern technological platforms.

That is exactly what the LinkedIn’s CIOs did as the company was growing into the world’s largest professional network, moving 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 Upgrade 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 things to consider before any legacy system upgrade:

1. How much of your IT budget are you spending on legacy software maintenance or forced downtime as a result of a complete or partial failure of your out-of-date system?

If your cost of keeping older technology is eating up considerable resources, it might be time for a cost-effective, new system.

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

Or is integration with a new SaaS solution or API a nightmare? Because of too much old technology or ad-hoc customization? If you answered “yes,” it is time for a legacy system upgrade.

3. Is the vendor who designed your legacy system no longer in business?

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

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

Because if you can’t take advantage of large data, you will not have the kind of business intelligence you need to stay competitive. Bye-bye, legacy systems.

5. Do glitches, failures, and forced downtimes with your old system coincide with a spike 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 new system.

6. Is your legacy system SLOW?

It may be time to bite the bullet and adapt. The future is FAST. And it has arrived.

How Can I Upgrade 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, efficiency, and scalability your CIOs have promised with such a digital transformation. Welcome, workflow automation!

2. Rebuild Your Legacy Software

Rewrite the software components, so you can incorporate new tech 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

Restructure your code to get rid of technical debt.

5. Rehost Your Legacy Systems

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

7. Digest Your Legacy Systems Data and Functions

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

8. Replatform Your Legacy Systems Application

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

How Wave Can Assist with Your Legacy System Modernization in Cleveland?

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

In this way, you’ll know whether your business can get around with a few legacy system tweaks or if you need a complete digital transformation now.

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

We will also give you the sustained IT support you need to see the greatest return on your modernization investment.

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