PHOTO:
NASA
After years of hearing more vendor sales pitches than is healthy for me, Iâm convinced most pitches fall into two why categories. The first why is a pitch so abstract and high-level that it sounds like the technology equivalent of achieving world peace, with nary a mention of the how to actually pursue this nirvana. The second why pitch focuses on the technology itself â replete with elaborate technology stack diagrams â with scarcely a mention of the actual business benefits that might be tied to the technology. Also missing is any substantial discussion of what actually happens to connect the layers of those beautiful stack diagrams â another key missing how.
PHOTO:
Alex Motoc
Tried but true legacy systems can be like old friends. Sure, they may walk a little slower and need to rest more often, but they still have your back when you need them. So saying goodbye to them is always a tough choice.
Nostalgia aside, it may also simply not make financial sense to rip and replace your legacy system. It can be costly â not only in terms of the expense of new systems, but the risk involved when the transition to new systems causes downtime or unhappy customers. Companies therefore need to carefully weigh the pros and cons when deciding whether to invest in legacy system modernization or to send it to the scrap heap.