All You Need To Know About Modernizing Legacy Software

Every few years, we change computers and smartphones. The world evolves, new features appear, and applications start to use them and show new appetites. Then, new development tools, databases, and communications appear. To the same extent, this is true for companies. If you want to keep your business on top, you have to involve modern technologies.

It is normal practice to constantly update IT systems before they become seriously outdated. However, many processes run on old systems that are difficult and expensive (and scary) to modernize. In this article, we will discuss the main things you must know about modernizing legacy software.

5 reasons why companies don’t do anything with legacy software

Despite age and growing problems, companies continue to use legacy systems. Mainly for the following reasons.

Migration costs

Migrating from a legacy IT system to a modern one usually becomes expensive and time-consuming. If the return on investment is properly calculated, the modernized software will eventually offset the costs. But first, you have to find the money to modernize, budget for possible downtime, employee training, and a number of other indirect costs as well as internally accept reasonable risks.

Skills gap

Legacy systems that depend on legacy technology require specific skills to support and maintain. Experienced developers retire or migrate to new platforms, finding and retaining skilled staff becomes more difficult. Training costs rise, eating up resources for modernization. And you’ll have to teach new software, too.

Fear of collapse

Companies cling to legacy systems because they work. These systems have become so ingrained in the infrastructure over time that any disruption can have catastrophic consequences – disrupting key business operations. The banking system is perhaps the best example. Throw in staff shortages and money to rebuild, and change begins to play out in grim colors.

Ease of maintenance

Before critical obsolescence sets in, existing systems are easy to maintain because they evolve with the business. Internal teams grow the right skills, experience is accumulated, and everything is on a development trajectory. Then, time starts to land the firm on a ballistic trajectory. It’s important to anticipate the last days of stability so that you don’t miss the transition to degradation.

Specific functionality

Legacy systems may have been customized for very specific business needs. Customization may have taken functions indefinitely far from the original, so only the authors can figure them out. Conventionally, let’s call this the 1C situation. Interestingly, it is these people who, if they are not ready for development, can become the main opponents of change.

Legacy cutoffs: when is the time to modernize your legacy software?

We at OS-System highlight 4 reasons when it is time to modernize legacy software:

• End-of-Life (EOL). Legacy systems have reached the point where the vendor considers them useless and stops using them. Without vendor support, you need to either organize them in-house or move on to something else, if only for security reasons.
• Updates are impossible. After the end of official support, not all systems can be updated by other means. Many systems simply freeze. Without vendor services, they cannot even be adequately replaced. Stressful reorganization of processes for radically different software begins.
• Inability to scale. Some software systems have limitations in scalability, which reduces their ability to adapt to new types of data or increased transaction volumes. As the company expands, these systems become bottlenecks.
• Too deep customization. Software that’s been tweaked a lot just can’t be maintained properly. It becomes increasingly unique, and with that, its set of bugs and dependencies becomes increasingly unique. Vendor updates stop solving the tasks of process maintenance. Security suffers. Any small task grows into an architectural project, ending up in the task manager with the phrase “We’ll manage somehow”.

If you need a consultation regarding legacy software modernization, you can contact us at OS-System.

Legacy software modernization strategies

Modernizing legacy systems can be done in 3 ways: upgrading, replacing with analogs, or developing your own system from scratch.

Upgrading existing systems

This approach involves making gradual improvements to the current infrastructure, focusing on backward compatibility and integrating modern development stacks. It’s often the most cost-effective and straightforward option, assuming the legacy systems are upgradeable. After a thorough analysis, technical experts or trusted contractors must determine the feasibility of this approach. Ideal candidates for this method are systems that can be upgraded without disrupting settings, interfaces, or data.

Phased and partial replacement

In this strategy, outdated systems are phased out and replaced with modern equivalents that offer enhanced or more suitable functionality. Sometimes, older components can be retained and integrated with new ones, particularly when modern alternatives are either unavailable or less cost-effective than the existing infrastructure.

Developing a new system

With management’s approval and expert evaluation, the company creates a brand-new business platform from scratch to meet current and future needs. This approach provides the opportunity to develop a tailored solution, eliminating the risk of a problematic transition from one system to another. Although this method ensures a smooth transition, it requires significant resources and is the most expensive and time-consuming option.

A step-by-step guide on how to modernize legacy software

Here are 9 steps we recommend you adhere to effectively modernize your legacy software.

Decide who will take care of the business

From this step, you need to know who is responsible for modernizing legacy IT software. Otherwise, there is a risk of unsynchronized efforts and miscommunication between teams. If the internal team objectively lacks knowledge or time, look for a software development partner.

Assess the current situation

During the assessment, experts should examine various software and hardware aspects, including code, architecture, business processes, management, and end-user requirements. A systematic and detailed assessment helps identify current problems and potential problems that may arise.

Rank approaches by speed

A long legacy software modernization may not be experienced at all. Based on a thorough assessment, choose a modernization approach that fits your needs and promises quick results. According to your strategic development plan, implement SaaS where you have to reinvent the wheel. Engage in custom development where no one else offers the right solution.

Simplify and prioritize

Legacy systems suffer from complexity, which reduces productivity. As you modernize, make simplicity and flexibility the fundamental requirements for the new architecture. Start with core functions and try to apply microservices for the sake of scalability. Ensure full compatibility with existing business tools and accommodate future changes.

Choose the optimal technology stack

The company’s future depends on the technology stack underlying the system. It will be difficult to change the stack later, so it is necessary to select everything so that it will minimally limit the achievement of strategic goals in the future. Of course, you should start by consulting with your own specialists, but an outside opinion from our OS-System team will be a good help.

Document everything, everything at all

Set standards for coding and internal processes to prevent mistakes from happening again. Clear, well-documented code improves understanding, feature extension, and software maintenance. Adopt best practices from other companies to create a foundation for future system growth. Consider case studies of large businesses that have successfully gone through a rapid growth phase and integrated dozens of teams and thousands of specialists, including those who came to deal with off-the-shelf systems.

Support and schedule lifecycle

Even with a new system in place, legacy software can still be retained during the transition period. Documentation and archiving solutions will be needed to easily refer to existing resources. The plan is to abandon the legacy system completely when the new product is fully operational.

Budget for training people and updating software

Whether we like it or not, we must recognize the need to spend on employee training when transitioning from old systems to new ones. This increases people’s capabilities, improves the team climate, and communicates the change’s goals. It’s hard for a manager to want more. And that accomplishment will require resources.

Referencing specific actions, schedule regular system upgrades to avoid future modernization problems arising from outdated software. Plans are not always destined to come true, but you should have them as a map that reminds you of the right direction.

Flexibly move on a strict ToR

There is no mistake here. With the scale of the project, the probability of surprises increases. Maximum details are thought out in terms of reference. Still, using a flexible development methodology will allow you to bypass the obstacles that could not be considered.

Conclusion

All of the above is an absolutely normal practice in large IT projects. Even if you don’t have such practices, an experienced hired team like OS-System will bring the right competencies with them. You must demand them and ensure the contractor has the right expertise.

There are no stalemate situations. Foreseen problems are known to become challenges and can always be solved. And our OS-System team is ready to help you!