Info-Tech Research Group, a global IT research and advisory firm, has just released a research report titled Make the Case for Legacy Application Modernization, which underscores the role of ongoing legacy application modernization in achieving digital transformation success.
In it, the company points out that many businesses remain constrained by aging legacy systems embedded within their application portfolios. Despite the push for companies to modernize, the resources required for this transformative process are often underestimated or overlooked by organizational leadership.
Ricardo de Oliveira, research director at Info-Tech Research Group, said, “Legacy systems are deeply interwoven into the operational fabric of numerous organizations. However, they become a priority when they no longer align with business objectives, present unsustainable ownership costs, or pose cybersecurity and compliance risks.”
The research highlights that addressing this challenge isn’t a one-time event, but a continuous journey. The report mentions challenges with long-standing employees’ resistance to change and limited resources as some of the obstacles organizations face. Moreover, the lack of comprehensive documentation for existing legacy applications adds another layer of complexity to the modernization process.
Oliveira emphasized, “Navigating the intricate decision-making landscape encompassing business needs, stakeholders, software, hardware, resources, and financial considerations is essential in crafting a successful legacy application strategy.”
The study includes a three-step process to help organizations update their legacy application landscape:
Understand: Assess the challenges, lay out the reasons for updating, define the legacy applications, and prepare to remove the barriers to modernization.
Assess: Determine the benefits of modernization by business capability and leverage APM foundations to select the candidate applications and prioritize.
Define: Use the prioritized application list to drive the next steps to modernization.
The research findings also underscore the advantages of updating legacy applications, including enhanced security for secure external communication, and improved user experiences compared to older systems.