Wrestling with keeping your IT infrastructure up to speed is more common as technology advances with each passing day. Many organisations find themselves tethered to outdated systems that, while reliable, are rapidly falling behind the times. The key to revitalising these digital dinosaurs? Take a strategic approach to modernise legacy systems with Capaciteam’s IT specialists. Keep reading to learn how to transform your IT framework from outdated to outstanding.
Legacy systems are outdated computer systems, programming languages, software, and applications that are still in use but no longer being actively developed or supported. Many companies rely on legacy systems built decades ago to run critical business functions.
There are a few reasons why modernising legacy systems makes sense:
While the risks of legacy systems are clear, modernising them is also challenging. CIOs must build a business case, plan migrations carefully, provide training, and ensure no disruptions to critical operations. However, with the right strategy and execution, legacy modernisation can transform a business.
Before modernising legacy systems, you need to evaluate your existing systems. This evaluation should encompass:
Modernisation typically requires custom development to integrate new front-ends, APIs, and cloud services with legacy back-ends. It may also require some data migration and business process changes.
The best approach for your organisation depends on your goals, resources, risk tolerance, and legacy systems. In many cases, multiple strategies are needed to modernise legacy environments. The key is to begin with a comprehensive roadmap to guide your modernisation journey:
Migrating legacy systems to the cloud, also known as “replatforming”, is one of the most effective modernisation strategies. The cloud offers scalability, flexibility, and cost efficiency that on-premises infrastructure lacks.
Replatforming involves shifting hardware, storage, and other resources from a private data centre to a public cloud provider like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP). You get all the benefits of the cloud without rebuilding applications from scratch.
To replatform, you’ll need to:
Replatforming legacy systems to the cloud is a proven, low-risk approach to modernisation that provides immediate benefits. While not as transformative as rearchitecting from scratch, replatforming is an excellent first step in any cloud journey.
Rehosting, known as “lift and shift“, involves moving your legacy system to a modern infrastructure without redesigning the application. This is a popular option as it requires little to no code changes, allowing you to move off outdated infrastructure swiftly.
To rehost, you transfer your legacy system to a contemporary hardware and software environment like the cloud. The difference with replatforming is that rehosting does not involve modification to take advantage of the new cloud infrastructure. Here, you configure the system to work as before.
Although rehosting doesn’t change your actual application, it provides modern infrastructure advantages such as:
While rehosting does provide infrastructure benefits, your application remains unchanged. Any existing issues or inefficiencies in the system design or code will remain. For this reason, rehosting is often a first step before pursuing redevelopment or replatforming strategies. It allows you to get off outdated infrastructure quickly while buying time to implement intense modernisation approaches.
Rehosting could be a good option if you aim to get off legacy infrastructure with minimal effort. However, to truly optimise your system and technical debt reduction, you’ll likely need to pursue redevelopment or replatforming in addition to or instead of rehosting. The right approach depends on your priorities, timeline, budget, and how long you want your modernised system to meet your needs.
Legacy systems often started as single, large applications known as monoliths. As these systems age, they become more difficult and risky to change. Refactoring and re-architecting monoliths into more modular applications is one of the best ways to modernise them.
Refactoring refers to restructuring existing code without changing its external behaviour. This could include:
Re-architecting goes a step further by making major changes to the system design and code structure. Some options for re-architecting monoliths include:
Refactoring and re-architecting monoliths unlock their business value and allow them to live on as a vital part of your IT infrastructure. While it requires time and resources, modernising monoliths in this way enables innovation and reduces long-term risks. The result is a system that is open, modular, and built for change.
Microservices are an architectural style where apps are built as a collection of small, independent services. Each service is self-contained and implements a single business capability.
For legacy monolithic systems, breaking them up into microservices offers several benefits:
To rearchitect a monolithic system with microservices:
Migrating to microservices is challenging, but it can revitalise and modernise legacy systems and make them fit for the current digital world. With an iterative approach, you can transform your monolith into a suite of microservices to build a flexible, scalable architecture.
Legacy systems that have been in place for years often reach a point where rewriting them from scratch makes more sense than continued patching and updating. How do you know when it’s time for a rewrite?
If your legacy system experiences frequent outages or crashes or needs constant maintenance to keep it running, it may be more cost-effective to replace. The money and resources spent on constant upkeep could be better invested in a new system built on modern architecture.
If your business needs are evolving but your legacy system is difficult to enhance with new features, a rewrite will allow you to build a flexible system that can grow with your company. Trying to bolt on new functionality to an ageing system often creates a technical debt that slows progress.
Older systems were not designed with modern security practices in mind. If your legacy system poses vulnerabilities to cyber threats or difficulties complying with HIPAA or GDPR, a rewrite is necessary to safeguard your company and customer data.
Many legacy systems rely on underlying software, hardware, and tools unsupported by vendors. If support for components of your system is ending, you risk running an unstable system with no help available to fix issues. The only option here is to migrate to a new system under active support.
Ultimately, you weigh the costs and risks of keeping your old system against the investment required to modernise your legacy system. Factor in costs like maintenance, opportunity, inability to grow efficiently, and potential impacts of downtime or security events. If a new system will save money and enable progress in the long run, it’s worth the upfront effort and expense of rewriting from scratch.
A modern replacement built on current technology will ensure your company’s systems can support its needs today and for upcoming years. While rewriting legacy systems is complex, it helps avoid the traps of the past and provides a solid foundation for the future.
A legacy system is an outdated computer system, programming language, or application still critical to day-to-day business operations. These systems are typically older technology that companies still rely on to run their business. They often run on outdated hardware and software, making maintenance difficult and expensive.
Improved security – Older systems are more vulnerable to cyberattacks and data breaches. Updating to modern technology helps patch security holes and better protect sensitive data.
Increased efficiency – Newer systems are often faster, more reliable, and integrate better with current technology stacks. This can streamline business processes and workflows.
Reduced costs – Maintaining outdated hardware and software is expensive. Migrating to modern systems reduces spending on patches, upgrades, and maintenance.
Improved scalability – Modern systems are built to handle increased data, transactions, and users. This makes it easier to scale as your business grows.
Access to new features – Contemporary software offers advanced features like predictive analytics, AI, and automation that aren’t available in legacy systems.
Better UX – Modern interfaces and architecture provide an improved user experience. This makes systems easier to use and interact with.
Rebuild – Scrap the legacy system and build a new modern system. This is high risk but often necessary for outdated systems.
Revamp – Make major changes and upgrades to a legacy system to modernise its infrastructure, software, and architecture. This “renovates” the system without completely rebuilding it.
Retain – Keep the legacy system as-is but build a separate modern system and slowly transition over. The legacy system acts as a backup until the migration is complete.
Retire – Decommission the legacy system and replace it with an off-the-shelf or custom-built modern solution. Only feasible if the system is redundant or non-critical.
Despite the clear benefits, it is challenging to modernise legacy systems, with obstacles such as resistance to business process changes, balancing the risks involved, and managing data effectively. A successful modernisation project requires careful planning, stakeholder alignment, and a strategic approach to overcome these obstacles. When you find a trusted IT staffing partner, you can leave it to them to do all the heavy lifting and reap the benefits of your upgraded, modern system.
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