Integrate Legacy Systems And Modernize Your Operation

When a system it's being used by a company for a long time, they are what we call "legacy systems".

They are outdated platforms that are based on an older programming language that can still be functional (mainly because it contains historical data), but they are not scalable when compared to a new and updated software.

In this article, we'll delve into some of the key issues and advantages surrounding the modernization of legacy systems and how to make these changes.

What is a legacy system?

In short, the tools long used in companies, what we call legacy systems, are difficult to replace, especially if these systems play a crucial role in moving business processes forward. For some organizations, the usability of legacy systems cannot be underestimated. Without the use of these old softwares, the operation will simply not work.

Therefore, as the Information Technology area evolves, and becomes an indispensable sector for various corporate processes and workflows, a new way of working is being built, involving newer and more efficient technology stacks combined with older legacy systems.

In summary, when a company is ready to bring in new partners and services, migrate applications to the cloud or support big data initiatives, legacy systems alone will not provide the necessary resources for success, and will need to go through an integration process with these new software.

Why do you need to integrate your legacy system?

As discussed earlier, legacy softwares are an outdated version of a specific platform, and has a limited lifespan, not updating with the latest security measures. In addition, the efficiency of the program will be outdated, preventing the scale of the business. For this reason, integrating with modern systems, such as CRMs, can be the best choice to improve your operation.

• Your system no longer has a support team to help you
• Your system does not receive a security update
• Your team is always looking for alternative solutions for your processes
• Your system has a loading time before actually work
• The cost of the tool or of the IT staff involved in maintaining and managing it is extremely high
• Adding additional features is too complicated or impossible

Well, you must be wondering, if there are so many problems with a legacy system, why do companies continue to use these tools? The truth is that changing the way of doing things, especially when we talk about technology, is not a simple move, and many operations wait until the last moment to make the necessary changes.

But the ideal is that the changes occur as soon as possible to avoid spending too much on these more outdated systems. See below the costs involved in the isolated use of legacy systems:

1) Security cost

Legacy systems often present a security risk to companies because there are often no more updates from the supplier company. Without regular maintenance, legacy systems are vulnerable and a lack of data security puts the organization at risk, regardless of the industry. In this way, it is necessary to hire a vigilant IT team to keep the system up to date, which does not come cheap.

2) Cost of unproductivity

When these systems were first launched, they helped many businesses to work better. But with rapidly advancing technology helping business practices to grow, aging systems can hamper productivity and contribute to an inefficient flow of processes. A legacy system is often unable to handle different types of data or move them efficiently, causing delays in all internal processes, interrupting corporate gains.

3) Cost of missing information

A well-informed company is more likely to outperform its competitor. Therefore, software needs to have an advanced metrics dashboard with reports and deep data insights in order to support critical business decisions with verifiable information built into the platform. When we talk about these specific flows of data, legacy systems unfortunately cannot keep up, and this prevents your company from evolving and staying competitive in the market.

How can your legacy system be integrated?

• Speed in new and future integrations
• Faster system responses to changes
• Real-time data access
• Greater end-to-end data governance
• Constant updates to quickly identify and resolve bugs
• Lower maintenance and staff cost
• More business insights
• More informed business decisions
• Faster processes
• Fewer errors in information handling
• Less duplicate data
• Ability to quickly handle growing volumes of data from new tools

These integrations are not so simple because they are old systems and, therefore, more complex. Advanced knowledge of server management, database and integration APIs is also required.

Therefore, it is important to contact partners with know-how in this process. Insight Sales has been working with tools and their integrations for over a decade in the market. Any questions, contact us through our form.