Legacy systems.
They are something we’re all familiar with and virtually every business has. On the IT evolutionary scale, they reside somewhere between an endangered species and extinction.
Nevertheless, legacy systems are the logical fallout from a world where technological change takes place at a dizzying pace. A world where modifications and new functionality are requested almost as soon as a new application is first implemented. Three forces (3) drive this:
1. Operational changes – Customer requirements change. Competitive dynamics change. Business processes and policy change. This means that the systems supporting them have to change too.
2. Technological changes – Improvements and innovations occur in IT technology almost daily. So each day, current applications and systems are rendered just a little less relevant – and eventually become antiquated.
3. Financial changes – In the quest for greater profitability, management continuously seeks to tighten budgets, cut headcount and expenses, and freeze capital investment.
All these forces of change can conspire to force business units to forego investment in new systems or technologies, to delay IT projects, and to hold on to older systems just one more year.
For example, let’s assume that one business unit of a company had a project planned for a major functionality overhaul of a legacy system. But then IT layoffs are announced and a freeze is placed on hiring outside contractors. Oops … project cancelled.
Or let’s say another business unit was planning to buy new software to upgrade the capabilities of its supply chain systems. But then the CFO orders a suspension of all capital investment projects. Suddenly, it’s back to using horse-and-buggy functionality in the ol’ supply chain.
When this occurs, there are two (2) options: a) whine about the lack of resources and cling to those old systems while watching them go the way of the dinosaur; or b) be creative, act smart.
Other than lend a sympathetic ear, we can’t help much with Option A. But thanks to the integration capabilities of Ratchet-X software, we can provide significant help with Option B.
Using the Ratchet-X toolbox, companies can revive those legacy systems and make them more relevant to users. How? The ability of Ratchet-X to integrate data and functionality from System A with that of System B without changing the source code to either application … while delivering new functionality and capabilities directly to a user’s desktop.
That project that was cancelled or that software purchase that was squashed? Who cares? From a functionality standpoint, the integration capabilities of Ratchet-X can serve as a viable and cost-effective alternative to providing the functionality that the cancelled project or software purchase would have provided.
It’s a classic example of doing more with what you have. It’s an opportunity to leverage a greater ROI from an existing system that probably has already been fully depreciated rather than having to justify the ROI for investment in a proposed new system.
If you are like most companies today, you probably are facing the prospect of having to make do with legacy system(s) without the immediate prospect of obtaining funding for the resources and technology to replace those systems. You probably face the same resource, expense and budget constraints as your colleagues in other companies.
They are something we’re all familiar with and virtually every business has. On the IT evolutionary scale, they reside somewhere between an endangered species and extinction.
Nevertheless, legacy systems are the logical fallout from a world where technological change takes place at a dizzying pace. A world where modifications and new functionality are requested almost as soon as a new application is first implemented. Three forces (3) drive this:
1. Operational changes – Customer requirements change. Competitive dynamics change. Business processes and policy change. This means that the systems supporting them have to change too.
2. Technological changes – Improvements and innovations occur in IT technology almost daily. So each day, current applications and systems are rendered just a little less relevant – and eventually become antiquated.
3. Financial changes – In the quest for greater profitability, management continuously seeks to tighten budgets, cut headcount and expenses, and freeze capital investment.
All these forces of change can conspire to force business units to forego investment in new systems or technologies, to delay IT projects, and to hold on to older systems just one more year.
For example, let’s assume that one business unit of a company had a project planned for a major functionality overhaul of a legacy system. But then IT layoffs are announced and a freeze is placed on hiring outside contractors. Oops … project cancelled.
Or let’s say another business unit was planning to buy new software to upgrade the capabilities of its supply chain systems. But then the CFO orders a suspension of all capital investment projects. Suddenly, it’s back to using horse-and-buggy functionality in the ol’ supply chain.
When this occurs, there are two (2) options: a) whine about the lack of resources and cling to those old systems while watching them go the way of the dinosaur; or b) be creative, act smart.
Other than lend a sympathetic ear, we can’t help much with Option A. But thanks to the integration capabilities of Ratchet-X software, we can provide significant help with Option B.
Using the Ratchet-X toolbox, companies can revive those legacy systems and make them more relevant to users. How? The ability of Ratchet-X to integrate data and functionality from System A with that of System B without changing the source code to either application … while delivering new functionality and capabilities directly to a user’s desktop.
That project that was cancelled or that software purchase that was squashed? Who cares? From a functionality standpoint, the integration capabilities of Ratchet-X can serve as a viable and cost-effective alternative to providing the functionality that the cancelled project or software purchase would have provided.
It’s a classic example of doing more with what you have. It’s an opportunity to leverage a greater ROI from an existing system that probably has already been fully depreciated rather than having to justify the ROI for investment in a proposed new system.
If you are like most companies today, you probably are facing the prospect of having to make do with legacy system(s) without the immediate prospect of obtaining funding for the resources and technology to replace those systems. You probably face the same resource, expense and budget constraints as your colleagues in other companies.
If this is the challenge you are facing and you would like to overcome it by being creative and acting smart, then maybe we can help. We’ll look forward to discussing if we are up to the challenge of helping you overcome The Legacy System Challenge.
And we’ll look forward to helping you take those dinosaur systems, and turning that fossilized functionality and decaying data into the new fuel that powers business today: timely, relevant, actionable INFORMATION.
