Modernizing Legacy Apps: Why it Is Important for Businesses

Most people today engage with software and computer programs in some way or another. And for that simple reason, they know that they need the latest iteration of this software, apps, and more to ensure they can glean the maximum value out of the software. And research has shown that on average, most software products have a life of up to five years, i.e., it would be fair to deem them legacy apps post that period. Unfortunately, a lot of companies and businesses all over the world are using quite a bit of these legacy systems. Don’t get us wrong; they weren’t legacy systems, to begin with, when they are first bought, they are, of course, modern tools. But as discussed above, they are rendered outdated after a few years and lead to many problems for the business.

Thankfully, this is easily fixed with legacy modernization, i.e., the process of converting an organization’s legacy system into a modern one, of course. Besides the countless bottlenecks it causes across the business, a legacy system also poses a significant risk to the entire company’s IT security. In addition to that, such systems can take quite a toll on the overall productivity of the company’s employees. Oh, and let us not forget that if you intend to undertake digital transformation for your business. And it is irrespective of your industry, then you can not do without legacy modernization. What else can this process do for the company, then? Well, it leverages the old business in combination with modern tools to deliver a rock-solid setup that can deliver a world of benefits, such as the ones listed below.

1. Better productivity: It is substantially better productivity when the business can make use of cloud technology and several other modern tools that come with this process. Furthermore, new age systems bring much better agility, thus ensuring varying departments across the organization. It has unique access to its requirements, such as computing power, storage space, etc. Studies have shown that legacy application modernization can help boost productivity by as much as 40 percent!
2. Enhanced security: As mentioned above, security is one of the biggest reasons for undertaking the process of legacy modernization. It is because old, archaic systems are highly at risk of not only malware attacks but also data leaks. This vulnerability is chalked up because such systems are not equipped to safeguard data against modern hackers and their advanced tools.
3. Improved processes and agility: When you use modern systems, you gain access to new tools, apps, software, and other digital resources that enable you to build advanced products, strategize better, and so much more and that too substantially quicker than you could before. Such systems afford companies the agility and scalability that is necessary to grow as well as adapt to the evolving market.
4. Reduction in costs: Did you know legacy modernization can increase your ability to reduce costs by 5x successfully? It is because making the transition from on-premises systems to cloud-based solutions; first, you immediately shed the cost of maintaining such systems and data center utilities. Maintenance is also much easier because it doesn’t involve continually updating old code and other such things. Furthermore, you are also able to immediately lower the time it takes to diagnose issues in the system. Really. It goes from spending days on end to figure out what is causing the system to trip up to a matter of a few hours since the folks charged with the responsibility are more likely to be better versed with modern technologies and tools than they would be with older systems.

Quite frankly, any company that intends to stay in business in the modern world must undertake legacy modernization. And when you do, make sure to take a calculated approach to the process to ensure success.