Hail or fail: 10 reasons to say goodbye to legacy software

Isn’t this “it’s-not-about-the-age” philosophy just adorable? So affirmative, so promising and yet… so untrue? You know what? Age matters. At least when it comes to technologies.

Here are some points, which clearly show how using outdated software may, someday, lay waste to your projects in an epic display of mass destruction.

1. DIFFICULTIES WITH INTEGRATION AND COMPATIBILITY

   Just take it: running your business efficiently is impossible without the ability to integrate your software with other tools or applications. If your business isn’t flexible enough in technological terms, your customers will probably find another provider, leaving you high and dry.

2. SLOW AND POOR PERFORMANCE

   You see, spending oodles of time to perform a standard task is not okay for both your team and your business. However, it’s inevitable if your software is either outdated or of low-quality. Are you sure you have enough time to waste?

3. INSECURITY

   Outdated systems are vulnerable to malware and breaches, and they’re less resistant to cyber attacks. What was secure a decade ago, is unlikely to be all that reliable now.

4. ABSENCE OF VENDOR SUPPORT

   Using third-party software implies dependence on the vendor for an update and maintenance.
   You’re putting a lot at stake here, as anything can happen to the vendor (bankruptcy? acquisition by another company?..), that could affect your business in a negative way. If the vendor stops the support for the software you are using, you will be neither receiving updates nor getting the assistance fixing any issues. And that’s what will be a technological nail into your business’s coffin. Plus, if the system fails or data is lost, you will definitely want to be able to use your warranty. But that becomes absolutely impossible since your third-party provider no longer exists.

5. DEVICE-DEPENDENCY

   goes together with point

6. LOUSY MOBILE USABILITY

   Succeeding in today’s market is tough. Constant development – that’s where breakthrough opportunities reside. But a breakthrough is impossible without using up-to-date technologies. Here’s the truth: if your software can only be accessed from office computers, you’re lagging far behind, as it deprives users of the flexibility they’ve got used to. For the past decade, the workplace has been narrowed – or expanded? – to the mobile device. For better or for worse, we take our offices with us while traveling, commuting or parked at home on the couch.

7. USER-UNFRIENDLY TECHNOLOGIES

   Clarity and simplicity are definitely not the words that can describe legacy software.
   Today’s business systems are, on the contrary, intuitive and easy to interact with, which significantly decreases the time spent on training your employees to actually use it.

8. YOUR BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT BEING MET

   Yeah, we get it! People tend to stick to old stuff out of habit. Nevertheless, if you want your company to evolve, you can’t adapt the business to the software. It should be the other way around.
   Here’s the shortest checklist ever of the tasks your software must fulfill:

   • increase productivity;
   • have the possibility to expand;
   • be able to scale and change.

9. MAINTENANCE COSTS ARE HIGHER

   Do you think that the modernization of your systems will cost you a fortune? Well, the cost of legacy system maintenance is incomparably higher. And the neglect of it is not an option as it results in outages and, eventually, costs you even more. A vicious cycle indeed.

10. ONCE AGAIN: IT IS EXPENSIVE. NO, REALLY! IT IS!

    Inefficiency, staff training, outages… We’ve just mentioned plenty of obstacles, which get in the way of your business’s success. Yet, there are some hidden costs you might not be aware of. We’d better put them in separate sentences so that you’ll understand all the significance. Employee satisfaction. Customer loyalty. Your brand image, which, by the way, is not “nothing” as Sprite’s slogan claims, but “everything.” Go ask Starbucks.

There are domains (e.g. construction, warehouse control, oil and gas production, logistics, etc.) that can hardly exist without a proper revamp. Even if you think your company is not ready to dive deep into the modernization process, a good idea is to consider a step-by-step approach. Sometimes an all-or-nothing attitude can be really dangerous, as the odds of doing nothing are too high.

Everything changes. Whether we like it or not. Whether we accept it or not.

Transformation of legacy systems is significantly less expensive than losing customers and precious time while dealing with prehistoric software solutions. So wouldn’t it be better to embrace new things instead of resisting them? Just in case: this is a rhetorical question;)