Imagine you run a century-old family business worth millions, and the hard-earned algorithms — the ones that power your 56 greenhouses — are trapped in a 30-year-old application. A legacy system, some say.
According to Forbes, 44% of CXOs consider legacy systems as one of the core barriers on their path to achieving a competitive edge. That is mostly because the outdated app could be written with a programming language that lost support over bahrain phone number data a decade ago. Or, the team that built it is long gone.
In general, your old app may work only on Windows machines. That is to say, you can’t access it from your phone or browser. It sits on an unprotected server. And you keep asking, “How much longer can this setup work?”
In theory, you are good to last for another thirty years: those algorithms have gotten you through almost half a century and made your business a success. But in practice, your competition will probably oust you by then. So how do you deal with this?
Read on to learn how we helped this plant-growing company and other businesses deal with digital transformation and make sense of legacy system modernization.
What Is a Legacy System?
It’s not like there is a strict dictionary definition of hmd perseveres with repairable nokia g22 peach a legacy system or software. Still, you know when you’re dealing with one, right?
As a CIO, VP of Technology, or CTO, you’ve probably inherited a software platform that serves as the backbone for nearly all business processes at your place. And you know it’s legacy by definition because you did not architect it — your predecessors did.
But what if you are a CEO or a Product Executive trying to figure out if your operations rely on an old infrastructure? Well, the first sign is you and your employees become grumpy about using the software. But let’s look at some other symptoms that indicate it’s time to modernize legacy systems.
Legacy System Symptoms
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Symptoms
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Impact
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|---|---|
| Software hinders productivity and innovation | Your app can’t handle new market demands, upscale offerings, or optimize processes. |
| No one owns the system | All issues and bugs, even if mission-critical, remain unresolved as there is no responsible department for updates. |
| Customer support cost escalates all of a sudden | You spend a fortune on maintenance but get no tangible results. Your product needs a critical review. |
| The vendor no longer provides support | It leaves no room to fix issues, improve efficiency, or enhance software security. |
| You deal with a skill shortage | The industry is changing, and resources needed to support your system may become scarce and costly. |
| Training investment falls short | You heavily invest in training, yet expectations remain unachievable. |
Based on the above, our greenhouse-owning client was right to identify their case as dealing with a legacy system. At the same time, they were very particular about their needs, wisely not seeking to over-optimize their solution.
Read more about Plant Production Legacy System Migration
Meanwhile, you should be aware of false ch leads positives: something that looks characteristic of a typical legacy system, but not doesn’t in fact make it one.
Legacy System False Positives
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Outdated UI
Even though conversations about old app modernization often start with discussing UI, it should not be the main reason to drive digital transformation.
Case in point: the company operating greenhouses would be happy to continue using its legacy system. Despite the 80’s UI, the software had been helping the business to rake in millions of profit for over 30 years. Alas, the lack of modern design was only one of the system’s shortcomings.
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Not in the cloud
I’m trodding a thin line here, but the cloud is not always great or, better, it’s not always a cloud. When IT chatterboxes are lecturing enterprises on the cloud, they often mean SaaS solutions accessible from a browser. The thing is you can have an on-premise server (like a private cloud) running your system and access it via a browser too.
