The automated legacy systems that seemed fabulous a few decades back do not contribute much to your business performance anymore. It means that these systems have become antique, and while some of these may still be used for mission-critical handling operations, it is time that businesses decide to move ahead and work on a modernization strategy.
This article will mainly discuss the challenges of legacy system modernization, the various ways to go about it, and how modernization can make a difference to your business.
Legacy system modernization
There are two ways of going about updating legacy systems:
i. Lift and shift — when the technology becomes obsolete, the IT department will replace the entire infrastructure. In a way, every part of the legacy system is lifted and replaced or shifted on a one-to-one basis.
ii. Business transformation initiatives — in this case, businesses go in for apps or systems that replace the entire legacy system. There are two types in this case:
a. Core legacy transformation — certain legacy systems need to be scaled up for enhanced performance like ERP systems or complex systems custom-developed for the organization.
b. Non-core legacy transformation — in this case, small apps built using tools like Lotus Notes or Microsoft Access are replaced.
Why do legacy systems need updation?
a. The maintenance costs of legacy systems are quite high
b. Finding the right talent with experience to support and operate such systems today is a difficult job.
c. Legacy systems do not easily integrate with modern software or apps because of technological, architectural, or design differences.
d. Legacy systems become easy prey to cyberattacks.
e. One of the biggest disadvantages of legacy systems is that the systems were built with rigidity. As a result, these systems are unable to adapt to meet modern businesses’ needs.
Challenges of Legacy system modernization
While most businesses realize the importance of modernization, they still postpone the same. Why? Because of the challenges. Some of these have been discussed here:
- Legacy apps are still being used by many companies for day-to-day business operations and are the basis of the business’s survival. Changing the system involves multi-faceted risks.
- While legacy systems require high maintenance costs, going in for modernization typically ends up in huge technical debts for companies.
- Modernizing legacy systems involve huge expenditure, and not all businesses can easily access that kind of funds.
- Today’s systems can become a legacy in no time with the phenomenal evolution of technology. Therefore, businesses need to be cautious during decision-making. The system should be flexible, scalable, and agile otherwise; it is an expenditure that will be a waste in no time.
- When your business has to be scaled up, core legacy systems fail to live up to the expectations. That is why businesses need to look for powerful solutions and have the agility for mission-critical use.
- Often legacy migrations suffer from the oversightedness of the responsible department or officials. That is why it is vital to hire resources that can effectually plan the migration or go in for seasoned outsourced companies that can chart the way optimally to eliminated technical debt.
- Another challenge of legacy system migration is the user perspective. When migrations happen, most businesses ignore the usability feature. Organizations need to ponder about issues like user-friendliness or customer-centric before choosing the appropriate migration solution.
Conclusion
Legacy systems need to be updated or modernized as soon as possible. The more the process is delayed, the higher will be the technical debt. If you are planning legacy system updation, connect with iboss, a premier software company offering optimized and flexible solutions to meet your business requirements.
iBoss helps modernize & migrate legacy applications, by assessing the current state, defining the future state, and strategizing and creating a roadmap. We implement and iterate the modernization steps that lead to building an efficient process for the business that asks for reduced operational & maintenance costs.
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