Still using outdated legacy software? Discover compelling reasons to modernize: improved security, better integration, cost savings, and improved user experiences.
Today, the software industry moves at breakneck speed, releasing new products and new versions of applications every day. The idea of this constant software evolution is to provide the best possible experience, which translates into new features, stronger security levels, greater performance and greater efficiency.
However, even with all these advantages, there are companies that neglect the software update process. They prefer to use old software (also known as legacy software) and give many reasons for this, from avoiding additional costs that could come with newer software to simple force of habit. However, using old software is a dangerous game, as companies that use it expose themselves to numerous problems.
Is your company stuck with legacy software? Here are 8 reasons why you shouldn't.
1 Expensive maintenance
While some companies still use legacy software to avoid paying for newer applications, this can end up costing a lot more. This is because older software is often written with older languages, frameworks, tools, and code practices. This means that keeping everything running (and fixing anything that breaks) requires software engineers with knowledge of all these old technologies, which may be in short supply. Therefore, different companies fight for the same talent, which makes these professionals more expensive, a cost that directly impacts their maintenance expenses.
2 Weak Security
Software developers often discontinue their applications or stop supporting older versions to focus on other projects or newer iterations of the software. When they do this, software users stop receiving updates, which include security patches that fix security issues. Therefore, anyone using older versions is exposed to attacks and breaches that can be easily avoided with newer software.
3 Underperformance of the team
Security isn't the only thing that suffers when you don't update your software – team performance can also suffer. This is because legacy applications were designed with specific environments in mind. When this changes, legacy software begins to behave erratically, crashing frequently and consuming more resources. This disrupts the normal work of the team who see how the software begins to disrupt their work. All of this leads to frustration and decreased productivity.
4 Non-existent Documentation
Software development practices have changed over the years, which means new applications are built very differently than legacy software. In fact, legacy software often has a complex architecture and a different approach to coding. This makes it difficult for developers to add new features or replace existing ones, so they end up having to review documentation. The issue is that documentation for legacy software is often non-existent or written differently than current standards. This complicates things further because engineers are left on their own to figure out how to make the necessary changes to the code.
5 Lack of compatibility
Modern business environments are highly interconnected, with digital tools integrated together to collaborate seamlessly on the task at hand. This is why modern developers work on their software to make it more easily integrated into a broader digital ecosystem. Unfortunately, this is not the case with legacy systems, which often need specific modules and APIs to integrate with other tools. And that's not to mention the fact that legacy systems aren't compatible with mobile devices or current web standards, making them nearly impossible to use on smartphones or in the cloud.
6 Lack of compliance with regulations and standards
Since legacy systems are products of another era, it is natural that they do not comply with the latest regulations and standards. This means that users of legacy software could be to blame because they do not meet these standards, which could end up resulting in expensive fines and damage to the company's reputation. This is especially true for companies with big data strategies, since the processing of private data involves a series of regulations that companies need to comply with.
7 Bad user experience
We are living in the era of user experience, which means users expect pleasant experiences when using software. This is something that is notoriously missing from legacy software, which is often blocked, buggy, and counterintuitive. A bad UX not only leads to users' frustration, but also leads them to consider other alternatives. Furthermore, if they are forced to use an app with poor UX, the frustration can seriously affect productivity.
8 lost trends
Ultimately, using legacy software leads to one crucial thing: you won't be able to take advantage of some of the latest technology trends. This means you will miss out on the use of artificial intelligence, blockchain, 5G, Internet of Things and others. And while you might think you're fine without them, some of these technologies can give your company a big advantage (especially AI). Additionally, your competitors may decide to use these technologies, meaning you will be left behind.
Update your legacy software with the top 1% of technology talent
Legacy software is always a risk for your company: it can affect your productivity, expose you to attacks, fail to integrate with other tools and be expensive to maintain. What these 8 reasons show is that the disadvantages of maintaining legacy software in your company are greater than the benefits.
Want to know how we can take your old system from clunky to high-performing? Contact us today.
