Legacy Application Migration: Excerpts from a CTO
Editor’s note
Dileep Jacob, Senior Vice President –
Global Operations, talks about the business benefits of legacy software modernization, the key cloud adoption options, and the success factors behind legacy-to-cloud transformations. And should you plan to deploy your app in the cloud, Fingent, with two decades of experience and expertise, can gladly offer assistance in migrating legacy systems to the cloud or modernizing your existing application.
What is a Legacy System? Why Legacy Application Migration?
A legacy system is any outdated software, hardware, or application that organizations still use. The term legacy system isn’t necessarily an aged technology. It can be a system that lacks platform support or vendor support or doesn’t meet an organization’s evolving needs and demands.
It is not easy for businesses to make a thoughtful decision to move out from their legacy system and quickly transform their IT processes. Hence, it is imperative to make a comprehensive approach to legacy system migration with proper planning and strategy.
Technology has come a long way. Are you still lighting up your legacy system?
At one time, legacy systems were the backbone of technology, driven by industry standards created by IBM, Dell, COBOL, and others. A few years back, the financial giant Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) faced a meltdown on the busiest online shopping day, leaving customers unable to use cards or pay for goods online. They faced a complete blackout with blocked account access and payment processing glitches. The sole reason behind this breakdown was that they relied on their ancient IT infrastructure, built way before the mobile banking age.
"RBS CEO Stephen Hester admitted in an interview that the major IT glitch could have been avoided if the bank had focused more on keeping its existing systems up-to-date."
source: theguardian.com
Evolution of Applications - Then & Now
BEFORE
- Monolithic services
- Siloed applications
- Difficult to scale
- On-premises
- Time-consuming to deploy
- Managing servers and infra
- Supports only limited platforms
TODAY
- Microservices
- Multi-channel applications
- Unlimited scalability and flexibility
- SaaS
- Easy and quick to deploy
- Focus on application development
- Supports cutting-edge platforms
Due to a lack of technology modernization over the last eight years, from about $14 billion to nearly $11 billion, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) eventually faced a computer glitch that caused damaging results to their system. The computer failure blocked the agency’s ability to process nearly five million Americans’ electronically filed tax returns.
The stories of legacy system users still continue to evolve.
Do you know how a legacy system can sloth your business growth?
Legacy systems used despite their advanced age can become obsolete, and ongoing use of these systems can delay your business upgrade and enhancement. If you’re hanging onto your legacy systems, chances are you’re doing your business a great disservice.
Common Issues with Legacy Systems
- Increased downtime
- Non-compliance
- Reliance on legacy skillsets
- Vulnerability to cyberattacks
- Tremendous maintenance cost
Stubborn legacy systems hesitate to listen to your business needs
Legacy systems may lack the ability to integrate with other IT resources or third-party systems- keeping data siloed and separate. With the changing markets and growing business requirements, legacy systems need help to align with the new goals defined. Thus, incorrect working reduces productivity and results in slow and laggy systems that provide poor user satisfaction.
Legacy systems are not capable of adopting new features and functionality required to compete. It is too difficult to improve its usability and provide the best experience to the customer. A poor customer experience can harm your business’s revenue.
Forcing older systems to blend with the new ones
Another significant disadvantage of outdated technology or system is their incompatibility. Your business may have some new systems that are more advanced than the others. When you try to blend your old system with the new one, a host of problems will inevitably occur.
Newer software and older software don’t integrate well, and because of these incompatibilities, you will more than likely have to use more systems or resources than you would otherwise since modern models offer a multitude of features that support a wide range of processes.
An easy avenue for cybercriminals
A major downside of using legacy systems is that they are more susceptible to cyber-attacks. Data breaches, ransomware attacks, and cybersecurity problems are increasingly widespread today as hackers use more sophisticated approaches in cybercrimes.
Outdated software is usually vulnerable because it doesn’t feature the new security patches released by the vendor. Vendors prioritize up-to-date models for their version upgrades and updates on the latest iterations of malware and guard against issues. Depending on outdated software won’t receive these updates, thus putting the entire business at risk.
Yet, why businesses can’t let go of their legacy system?
Maintaining or upgrading legacy systems is one of the major challenges for CIOs. Here are a few listed factors that often challenge CIOs in delaying the decision-making process in legacy application migration to the cloud.
| Cost | Lack of funds for modernization? |
| Time | Will legacy migration take too long? |
| Inertia | Why modernize when my existing system works fine? |
| Business disruption | Can I move without disrupting my existing operations? |
| Underskilled Resources | Can my employees operate the new system? |
| Data Security | Will the changes compromise data security? |
Many survey reports show that while everyone wants to modernize their applications, not everyone is actually doing it. So what’s pulling back?
Tell us what reasons make you anxious about taking the big leap.
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Today, technology can unhook your business from the legacy system without issues!
Legacy system migration is a timely process, and the fear that it will disrupt the regular operations of businesses prevents companies from going through it. Contrary to popular belief, the modernization or migration process doesn’t disrupt your business functions, as the old system can stay up and running while a team of experts works on the new and improved one.
| Cost | Cost of software licensing and infrastructure costs are cheaper in modern systems than in legacy systems. |
| Time | Modern system software is quick to deploy, easier, reliable, and faster to use. |
| Inertia | Did you compare your system with your competitor’s advanced software system? |
| Business disruption | The right solution partner can assist in legacy migration without any disruptions to your existing system. |
| Underskilled Resources | Modern tech methodologies make it simple and hassle-free to handle the system. |
| Data Security | Modern systems guarantee uncompromised security of your data and systems. |
How do you make a perfect choice in your Legacy Application Modernization?
Every organization’s legacy context is different, as are its business goals. The first and most important starting point to deciding on migration or modernization is understanding your business’s pain points. Also, consider the age and maintainability of your legacy system when putting together a legacy system migration strategy.
Then, choose the cloud platform that best suits your demands and develop the corresponding architecture to execute your migration from legacy systems to the cloud.
Before you choose what to do with your legacy system, ask yourself why you want to move your legacy applications to the cloud.
I want faster processing with minimal errors.
“Do you know you can increase speed and scalability by 90%.”
I want to maximize my ROI.
“Do you know most clients start seeing an ROI within three to five years moving to cloud.”
I want to reduce my operational expenses.
“Do you know you can reduce maintenance costs by up to 30%.”
I want to innovate and compete.
“Do you know you can achieve a 30% reduction in time-to-market.”
Get a free evaluation of your legacy system for modernization
Take our quick assessment and get a tailored report of your application readiness to help you make a decision.
The 6 Rs for your Legacy Modernization Options
There are several paths to legacy migration. Migrating from legacy systems to the cloud is a wiser and smarter choice to run your business and stay competitive with the changing demands.
Migrating to the cloud is not simply about replacing or adding an application or software but choosing the right approach that aligns with your business needs.
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By 2024, more than 45% of IT spending will shift from traditional solutions to the cloud.
The 6 Rs of the cloud migration process will help you prioritize your business needs and optimize your budgets.
6 R’s for Legacy Migration
Re-host
Re-platform
Re-purchase
Re-factor
Retire
Retain
Re-host (lift and shift)
Find what needs to be shifted from on-premises to the cloud, and take the necessary steps to migrate applications, data, and infrastructure.
Re-platform (lift tinker and shift)
Compatibility is essential to facilitate seamless integration between legacy systems and modern cloud solutions. Suppose you have a legacy system that runs on an obsolete platform and is no longer supportable. Then you must change its platform to make it compatible while maintaining its core application.
Re-purchase
Replacing applications that run on your infrastructure with SaaS applications from one vendor with another vendor.
Re-factor or Re-architect (cloud-native)
Transform server-based applications to serverless applications, allowing them to achieve agility and scalability. This is the most advanced process in cloud migration strategy that boosts overall productivity, collaboration, agility, and business continuity.
Retire
It is a good practice to conduct a thorough analysis to help you identify applications that won't be required for future use. This can help you retire those applications, thereby saving time and the cost of migration.
Retain
While developing a cloud migration strategy, it is vital to identify applications that should remain on-premises and those that should not be replaced.
When should you make your move to migration?
The digital world today thrives on speed and higher performance to stay competitive. It is hard to meet modern world requirements with obsolete legacy systems, as they are built using old technologies. Hence, migrating systems to the cloud is the preferred choice, but the journey to the cloud is different for every organization, as there is no one-size-fits-all migration plan.
Surf the cloud wave and make your legacy migration
Legacy migration to the cloud results in significant bottom-line savings by eliminating the need for a larger security and maintenance staff and reducing server costs. It brings ample benefits to the organization and allows for efficient and cost-effective scalability that takes minutes instead of days.
With 75% of companies already focusing on cloud-native applications and a complete transformation expected by 2025, it is only a matter of time.
Business Impact Brief by 451 Research
Explore exciting insights on how to get smarter with cloud-native applications.
Get started with your Legacy Application Modernization before it reaches the tipping point
Make your legacy migration move before it is on the verge of collapsing. Don’t wait till the last minute. If your legacy software poses a growing security threat, lacks support for modern functionalities, curbs productivity, or starts incurring higher maintenance costs, it calls for a shift.
With two decades of experience and expertise working on several migration projects, we can help you pick the best migration strategy that aligns with your business ecosystem without compromising or disrupting your existing business operations.
Migrating a legacy system to a mobile application
In the modern business environment, companies are bound to adopt cutting-edge tools and applications to stay competitive and target new markets. This includes mobile applications. With smartphones being ubiquitous, mobile application development can unlock smarter opportunities without requiring scarce and costly development resources. Mobile applications open up a host of advantages to businesses, regardless of their industry. Such as delivering great user experiences to help businesses to stay ahead of the competition.
At Fingent, we have a team of specialists who can assist you with mobile application development. Whether your company is looking to move away from its legacy system and embrace mobile applications, we can help you find the right solution that can push your business to the next level.
Have you wondered why some migrations fail?
Migrating legacy applications is not straightforward and will likely go astray without proper planning and implementation. Some common reasons migration projects fail are
- Lack of proper strategy and the inability of applications to restart correctly in the cloud.
- Disruptions during the migrating process cause threats to the efficient working of the organization and its stability.
- Poor evaluation of the system and its dependencies when migrating legacy apps poses system breakdowns.
Given the many migration risks, business owners should be careful when choosing the software company they partner with. With profound expertise and in-depth knowledge of cloud technologies, we can ensure that your migration goes smoothly without any technical glitches.
Flawless software is not a fancy dream anymore! Legacy Application Modernization with FINGENT!
Fingent is always committed to helping businesses evolve by providing the most impactful software modernization to meet their business goals. Our team of experts can power your legacy applications and systems to be more efficient and robust through intelligent automation, modern technology solutions, and global delivery capabilities. With nearly two decades of experience and expertise, we understand our clients’ requirements at the core and provide the most cost-effective solution.
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ImpactXM enhanced its capabilities and could scale with the growing market changes by modernizing its legacy system cost-effectively.
The leading experiential marketing agency in the US experienced-
- Process improvement and consolidated data management
- Automated alerts and notifications
- Real-time tracking of estimates and proposals
- Secured and speedy data transfer
To know more about how Fingent helped ImpactXM minimize its maintenance cost by 50%
