Slow, Crashing, and Poorly performing legacy systems:

A lack of security patches within older systems may lead to vulnerabilities and this could put the system at risk of being compromised. Maintaining and expanding systems can be difficult because there is a lack of understanding about how they are run.

Integration, Scalability and Compatibility issues:

New systems may be difficult to integrate with older technologies as there may not be sufficient demand for the integration with new age technologies like WhatsApp, BI, IOT, Banks or any API (Application Programming Interface) based applications.

IT Specialists/Hardware retiring

IT workers are retiring and younger professionals are not training with bygone computer languages. This means that when these legacy professionals retire, they can be impossible to replace – and to make matters worse, hardware makers and vendors are, in many cases, no longer offering support for their legacy products.

Device-dependent legacy systems that lack mobile versions

Think about how you access the internet, do you always switch on a laptop/PC or do you prefer to use a mobile device such as a tablet or smart phone? Many legacy systems are not designed to deal with rapidly expanding mobile services; as well as being unable to offer the capabilities necessary to offer services on social networks and other platforms.

Your legacy software is not scalable

Failing to keep up with IT trends is a significant black mark for any business. For example, if a competitor launches a new app and your company can’t do the same because it doesn’t have the back-end system capable of supporting such a flexibility, then this could seriously affect your business.

The system no longer solves your business problems

Old systems require an excessive amount of custom-code to run new tools. In many cases, they completely fail in establishing any compatibility. Adding new apps or tools that help in making your production system more efficient or a CRM to manage your customers is important and can be achieved by upgrading your legacy software.

Is there a middle ground?

If you’re thinking of replacing a legacy system, you may not need a complete rip out and replace. Instead, service-oriented architecture, known as SOA, will allow companies to introduce new software in stages. This incremental introduction could be seen as a lower risk strategy. However, in some cases a complete replacement of legacy systems may be a necessity: especially when the old system cannot support essential new technology.