Legacy systems, as the name suggests, are old systems. This is especially common in companies that have been using their own in-house systems for many years, but did you know that this legacy system can cause significant damage to your company?
Moreover, using legacy systems is not only harmful, but also has benefits and rationality for certain companies.
If you are concerned about whether your company can continue to use a legacy system or are considering replacing a legacy system, please refer to this article.
What is a legacy system?
A legacy system is simply an old system. Even if a system is originally equipped with the latest technology and functions, as technology develops over time, the system becomes a legacy.
As a result of becoming a legacy system, if it becomes incapable of supporting new technology or requires a lot of cost and man-hours to maintain, that system becomes known as a legacy system.
As will be discussed in detail later, legacy systems often present risks from a security perspective and low convenience. For this reason, this issue is being viewed as a problem, especially by companies that have been operating the system for many years, and there are also movements toward a solution.
Office computer (office computer)
In the past, office computers (office computers) were widely used. However, as of December 2022, office computers are considered a representative example of legacy systems.
However, the advantage of office computers is that they are specialized for office processing, the risk of virus infection is low, and many companies can operate them stably.
In addition, it is developed by major manufacturers such as IBM and Ricoh, so it has the advantage of fewer defective products.
COBOL
COBOL is one of the programming languages. It is used in the development of insurance and banking-related systems, and has continued to be used for more than half a century. However, with regard to COBOL, as of December 2022, there are many cases where systems developed with COBOL will be considered legacy systems.
However, COBOL has advantages such as excellent maintainability and good calculation processing. Another advantage is that it is highly readable, so programs developed with COBOL can be documented and used as is.
Legacy systems and the year 2025 problem
The 2025 problem originates from the statement in the DX report released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2018 that “If DX does not progress, there will be an economic loss of up to 12 trillion yen after 2025.” It means.
In other words, if we continue to adopt current legacy systems, it is predicted that by 2025 we will incur up to 12 trillion yen in opportunity losses and damages due to the negative effects of legacy systems.
Furthermore, by 2025, many of the generation that developed and maintained legacy systems will have retired, making maintenance difficult and potentially increasing the risks posed by legacy systems.
The DX
report mentioned above states that by 2025, legacy systems that have been in use for more than 21 years will account for more than 60% of all systems, and it is estimated that by 2025 legacy systems will have to be converted to new technologies. It’s wanted.
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Why do we end up with legacy systems?
There are four main reasons why a system becomes a legacy system:
I will explain each in turn.
New technology is constantly emerging and it is difficult to keep up with it.
The speed of development of information technology in recent years has been remarkable, and new technologies are being created almost all the time. It is a huge burden for companies to constantly keep up with new technology.
Therefore, as a result of continuing to use the existing system, the system becomes legacy. Additionally, once a system becomes a legacy, it becomes more difficult to incorporate new technology, and continued use of the system further promotes the legacy, resulting in a negative spiral.
The person in charge has retired
In the first place, even if you want to update a system that has become a legacy system, there are many cases where you cannot change the system because the person in charge of developing the system has already retired. As mentioned earlier, by 2025, most of the engineers from the legacy systems developer generation will have retired.
As the engineers who developed the system have left the company, the inside of the system has become a black box, making it difficult to update the legacy system.
Depends on system company
Many companies outsource system development and maintenance to system companies. However, if the outsourced system development company only has technology compatible with legacy systems, it will naturally be necessary to operate the system as is.
On the other hand, there are many cases where people end up putting off changing systems companies because they end up not being able to use their existing systems or it requires a bigger budget.
As you can see, there are many cases where the system is tied up depending on the outsourced system company.
I’m not trying to convert to DX in the first place.
In the first place, there are many companies that continue to use legacy systems because they are not thinking about converting to DX. Although the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is actively promoting DX, there are many companies that are not considering DX because the disadvantages of not doing so have not been realized.
Due to the lack of knowledge and importance regarding DX conversion, the disadvantages of continuing to use legacy systems are not considered.
Problems that can occur with legacy systems
If you continue to operate the system as a legacy system, the following two problems may occur.
I will explain each in turn.
system failure occurs
Legacy systems are at high risk of system failure due to their inability to keep up with the latest programs and large amounts of data. In addition, as a result of repeated modifications and alterations, the system often becomes complex and the “spaghetti phenomenon” occurs, where the internal structure of the system becomes unclear.
When this phenomenon occurs, recovery work in the event of a system failure can take an extremely long time, and the risk of a system failure becoming more severe increases, potentially resulting in significant damage.
It also affects business
If legacy systems remain in place, there is a high possibility that business performance will deteriorate. Because the technology is simply outdated, processing speeds are slower and errors occur more frequently than systems using the latest technology. These factors can have a major negative impact on your business.
Also, depending on the system, the contents may have to be changed due to changes such as legal revisions. Legacy systems may find it difficult to keep up with these changes, and business operations may become stagnant.
Two countermeasures for legacy systems
There are two main methods for dealing with legacy systems:
I will explain each in turn.
migration
Migration, as the word “migration” comes from in English, refers to the transfer of systems and data to another environment. This is a method of breaking away from a legacy system by replacing the functions and data in the legacy system with the latest environment in stages.
Please note that migration is performed using the following steps.
1. Current situation analysis: Inventory the existing data and other assets, and decide on requirements definition and migration policy based on the contents of the legacy system.
2. Development: Perform the development necessary for migration, such as rewriting the language of the legacy system and rebuilding the system.
3. Testing/migration: After confirming that the new system functions properly, actually migrate to the new environment
4. Operation: Actual use on site. Initially, it is often used in conjunction with the old system.
Since the existing system structure can be reproduced in the new system/environment, you will be able to use the system very comfortably after completion.
modernization
Modernization, as it comes from the English word “modernize,” refers to modernizing existing legacy systems. We utilize the data and programs already in legacy systems while replacing the running software and hardware with ones equipped with the latest technology.
It is extremely convenient as it allows you to optimize an aging system while inheriting the current functionality. There are three modernization methods:
Each method has different benefits, so it is important to consider how to approach your company’s legacy system while also considering the migration mentioned above.
Benefits of opening legacy systems
Opening generally refers to building a system by combining OS and hardware whose specifications and technologies are publicly available.
An open system not only increases expandability and versatility, but also allows for flexible system operation. Another big attraction is that OS and hardware developers who are open to the public are able to update them with the latest technology from time to time.
Additionally, if it is an open system, it is relatively easy to modify the system, so even if there is a system failure, there is a high possibility that it can be recovered quickly. In today’s world, where technology is developing rapidly, you will receive greater benefits than having your own system.
summary
In this article, we have provided an overview of legacy systems, the negative effects they bring, and ways to counter them. Many companies using legacy systems may not yet have problems, but they are very likely to encounter major problems at some point. Furthermore, given the 2025 problem, moving away from legacy systems as quickly as possible will be key to keeping your business running smoothly.
Why not use this article as a reference to review your company’s systems and consider improving your legacy systems?