Fear of Change Five Myths About IT Legacy Modernization Might Be Hurting Your Business

By Fred Schwering, Fujitsu Consulting

Quite frequently companies run into technology barriers imposed by the continued use of aging IT infrastructure. For various reasons, corporations often avoid modernizing. At one point or another, they are all faced with what they feel is a tough decision — to modernize or not.

By the time I'm done speaking with them, I've essentially delivered two much needed services — that of an IT consultant, and that of a mental health therapist. However, after we address the misconceptions that held them back from modernizing, a look of relief often appears on their faces.

The myths about modernizing are so pervasive and so potentially damaging to businesses I feel obliged to dispel at least a few of them. There are five common misconceptions in particular that have very little substance given today's technology landscape.

Myth No. 1: Why Fix What's Not Broken?
On the surface, this first point often makes sense. Every IT system is purchased to fulfill a need, and with legacy systems, quite often, the initial need still exists. For that reason, many companies feel it is fiscally responsible to maximize their existing system until it no longer does its job.

This reasoning is problematic on two levels. First of all, it doesn't account for the fact that while the existing legacy system continues to operate, it is usually not without a cost.

In addition, while almost every corporation has a back-up strategy to avoid data loss, unplanned downtime is rarely a good thing, and almost always results in financial loss. The risk and severity of unplanned downtime directly increases with the age of the legacy system.

The second concern with the "why fix what's not broken" mindset is that while a system may not technically be broken, it can be a technological millstone that prevents a company from using its collected data to its maximum benefit.

Although the capital cost associated with IT upgrades is for the hardware and software, the actual value of an IT system is the data it holds. Technology's ability to use that data is probably one of the most rapidly evolving aspects of business; it has given us advanced information technology categories such as business intelligence, business performance management, and customer relationship management.

At the end of the day, even though a legacy system may no longer have a capital cost, it can have a significant cost in terms of maintenance and reduced business advantage.

Myth No. 2: Existing System Has Untapped Value
In my conversations, points 1 and 2 are always fired at me in quick succession, although sometimes the order changes. The "untapped value" and the "it's paid for" go hand in hand as justifications to maintain legacy systems that, in my opinion, are no longer delivering maximum value.

Again, the thinking behind this misconception seems sound, but has some noticeable logic gaps. Value can be perceived two ways — as a finite amount to be used in its entirety and then discarded, or as an ever-changing target.

Myth No. 2 relies on the first definition. The reality is that value is more fluid, and what seemed to be a reasonable expectation for a system when first purchased can quickly change.

By modernizing, most companies stand to gain from the system advances. Computers are more powerful, development environments are more intuitive, and applications can use data in ways we never dreamed possible just a few short years ago. In my opinion, there are very few cases in which at least some degree of modernizing will not provide ROI.

Myth No. 3: Modernizing Is Costly
Prior to migration technologies capable of almost error-free data migration, every modernization required a sizable team of code and data checkers, and data was moved in small batches with frequent stops to ensure data integrity. As with anything, when the manpower requirement goes up, costs also go up.

Legacy modernization, as a practice, has matured to the point where technologies now exist that can fully automate the migration of data and business logic. As a result, migration teams are much smaller, reducing cost. At the same time, the methodology has been refined to the point where modernization projects can be completed in a fraction of the time of past legacy migrations.

In short, while a modernization project does represent a significant investment, the cost barrier continues to drop at a rate that means almost every company should reevaluate the migration option on a quarterly basis.

Myth No. 4: Modernizing is Risky
I'm surprised if I don't hear misconception #4 when speaking with someone about legacy migration. It is a commonly held belief that legacy migration is inherently risky, as data is shunted from one location to another. I empathize with all corporate decision-makers, because the idea of change when everything seems to be running smoothly is like going for a root canal when your teeth are fine. It just isn't your first priority.

In days gone by, legacy migration had its risks. Like most new IT service delivery projects, poor methodology, unsound project management, and rushed delivery left a trail of broken promises. Actually, bad implementations are still far too common as companies pursue penny-wise IT strategies. But, certainly, success rates have increased as companies have gained valuable experience and adopted state-of-the-art migration techniques and tools to ensure data integrity.

As legacy migration has established itself as a legitimate and cost-effective alternative to maintaining an aging technology infrastructure, few, if any risks remain. The most pressing concern, and one that is easily addressed by an experienced project team, is the need to maintain business logic. Often, companies have invested significant time and money in arriving at algorithms and data handling functions specific to their business.

Referred to collectively as "business logic," these information-handling mechanisms have often arisen from a very specific need, and are not readily replaceable. More than anything else, companies considering legacy migration want to know they can seamlessly transfer business logic to the new system. Trust me, they can. I have seen it done so many times I almost take it for granted.

Myth No. 5: Change Is Painful
Managers of business change know that every new software implementation, every change in program function, has a training cost associated with it and/or short-term productivity loss. Application upgrades are typically undertaken to increase productivity, so it is not in the interest of the CIO to make changes that actually result in lost productivity.

Historically, legacy migration did not always take into account the need to maintain a common look and feel with the applications that were being replaced. Instead, they set up an entirely new environment, moved the data into it, and left the users to fend for themselves. Can you imagine walking into work on a Monday to find your programs changed, with the expectation that you pick up where you left off? Neither can I.

Today's legacy modernization programs take into account every aspect of the change project. If a company wants to maintain the very same user interaction as the old system, it can be done.

As a Project Consultant in the sidebar notes, a modernization of one county court's IT system was not painful for employees, including 350 caseworkers. "The new application… closely mirrors the legacy application," he says. "For systems users, response times are greatly improved and the valuable features of the old system are still available."

Legacy modernization is not to be feared; instead, it should be viewed as a viable solution. Experience has brought a maturity to migration programs that make them safe, sound investments. Companies should not consider legacy modernization a last resort but, rather, a trump card to be played when in need of a business advantage.

Fred Schwering is a Director in the Legacy Modernization practice for Fujitsu Consulting in North America. Fred can be reached by email at Fred.Schwering@Consulting.Fujitsu.com