Platform Modernization Best Practices for Future-Ready Enterprises
Modernizing legacy platforms can be costly and full of challenges. Yet, at some point, a level of updating must happen. Trying to work indefinitely within the confines of a legacy system does not work the way it might be expected when budgets are initially allocated for technology. Those companies choosing to continue to invest in legacy platforms often face rigid and inflexible infrastructures – which eventually can come at a higher cost.
On the other hand, striving for platform modernization offers your business the ability to leverage technology and position yourself for a stronger and more profitable future. To sustain strong performance, your company may better serves itself to invest in a flexible and scalable lifecycle management solution to help you plan for now and in the future. Platform modernization is a big part of this strategy.
Today’s organizations are striving for modernization to prepare themselves for the future. After all, a future-ready enterprise will be a much more competitive one. This article will examine at the risks of businesses investing in legacy systems without modifications and the benefits of diverting funds to the modernization of the technology they use.
Risks of Legacy Systems
Legacy systems are often tough to replace due to the time, resources and expense associated with this type of project. As a result, many companies understandably delay upgrading their technology. Despite this complication, now is the time for enterprises to seriously rethink this strategy and prepare themselves for the future by updating their legacy platforms. There are simply too many risks that legacy systems leave wide open for exploitation. Let’s look at some of the top risks your company could face.
Vulnerability to Cybersecurity Threats
Cybersecurity vulnerabilities are consistently on the rise with threat actors working hard to stay ahead of the good guys. Cybercriminals target businesses because they are a lucrative, albeit illicit, opportunity. Data is a valuable asset and is irreplaceable if lost or exposed – the damage either event could bring comes with incredibly high costs – both tangible and intangible losses.
The longer an enterprise utilizes legacy software and hardware, the more risk it adopts. Sure, a business might get lucky and skate the bad guys’ efforts, but it’s unlikely. Legacy systems substantially increase the risks of an organization being hacked and exploited. New platforms are designed to be more secure, include higher levels of encryption, provide better segregation of authorization and access and improve walls of defense.
Loss of Vendor Support
Vendors heavily market and promote their products as they release them, but at some point, developers move on from their earlier products to invest their resources toward bringing new technologies and capabilities to the market. As a result, they stop supporting legacy platforms. This results in more glitches, downtime and security holes for those organizations holding onto these legacy platforms, creating disruption in productivity and efficiency. From a security standpoint, it also puts an enterprise in a vulnerable position.
Costs Associated with Downtime
The technology associated with old platforms is hard to keep up with, especially because newer technologies are always on the horizon. As advancements occur, old systems become burdened and cannot keep up with the times. As a result, platforms suffer frequent and sometimes long-term downtime, costing companies thousands of dollars – or more! Not to mention, it is harder to obtain either the parts or find the expertise to repair or maintain old platforms. This scarcity drives the costs of maintaining legacy systems even higher.
Lack of Scalability
Trying to work within a legacy platform may often feel like trying to fit a round peg in a square hole. As applications consistently develop with updates, including new bells and whistles, legacy platforms become far less equipped to allow for expansion.
As technology evolves, so do the capabilities businesses can enjoy. By not embracing change and investing in platform modernization, enterprises can position themselves at a great competitive disadvantage. Their platforms at some point will run the course of usability and put virtual roadblocks in the way of progress.
Sure, patches and on-the-fly solutions can be sometimes applied, but they are not long-term solutions and do not address the restrictions a legacy platform imposes on a company continuing to invest in old technology. This inability to scale hinders a company’s performance, ability to store and process data and capacity to adequately secure its digital assets.
Problems with Legal Requirements
Regulatory requirements regarding data collection, processing and storage are constantly being implemented by both domestic and international governments. Additionally, many must follow industry-specific requirements as well. It is risky to continue to invest in legacy hardware and software because they often do not have the capacity to align with new expectations and rules. As a result, enterprises can face high penalties due to non-compliance and other governance issues relating to technology.
Other issues legacy platforms contribute to include reduced efficiency, lowered productivity, incompatibility issues and limited accessibility. Perhaps most importantly, its inability to leverage the treasure troves of data they’ve collected is one of the biggest drawbacks of maintaining legacy equipment. With modernization, you can do far more with your digital assets.
Benefits of Platform Modernization
At some point, every organization needs to undergo a digital transformation. If not, we’d all still be operating with typewriters and filing cabinets. The reality is in today’s highly technological society, we need to keep moving forward. Doing so requires heavy planning and high investment, but the tradeoffs can be well worth overcoming the challenges associated with upgrades. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits associated with platform modernization.
Ability to Employ Better Security
Cybercrime continues to grow exponentially, with some estimates indicating it’ll cost global organizations a whopping 13.82 trillion U.S. dollars by 2028. Ransomware costs alone are anticipated to exceed $265 billion by 2031. Old legacy systems contain many vulnerabilities, and even if they are supported by vendors (and chances are they won’t be), these systems may not be equipped to handle the latest updates and patches. Using modern hardware and software is critical to the overall health and future stability of your organization when it comes to cybersecurity.
Capability to Boost Revenue
By modernizing your platform, you can boost your revenue streams. Newer technology will empower you to add new services or integrate more efficient processes to bolster your bottom line. Enterprises lose this capacity if they continue to invest in legacy products. Instead of sluggish or non-functional products, enterprises can enjoy seamless and speedy capabilities, enabling them to identify new revenue streams or improve upon existing ones by leveraging upgraded technologies. Even better is that once established, a modernized platform is much cheaper to maintain, further fostering the ability to extend budget dollars.
Enjoy Compatibility with Modern Standards
It is quite difficult to stay up to date with the latest software and mobile applications if you create a strategy based on maintaining a legacy platform. With a modernized platform, you can seamlessly move your operations to cloud-based applications to allow a high-level ability of accessibility. No longer is anything siloed, and employees can access what they need, from wherever and whenever they need. Not to mention, a new platform allows for improved integrations and better functionality of existing applications. This means your organization can pull data much more quickly and utilize it to make faster decisions – in today’s world, timing is everything.
Provide Better Customer Experiences
Today’s customers are accustomed to on-demand services. If you can’t respond quickly to their needs, you’ll find they aren’t shy about turning to a competitor. At some point, a legacy platform will give out, you don’t want to lose existing and future loyal customers as a result. When you invest in platform modernization, you make a firm commitment to your customers and show them you want to provide them with the best service possible. Even if you must maintain certain legacy components, you can better prioritize your customer needs and focus on upgrading specific components that are vital to the success of your enterprise.
Best Practices – How Your Organization Can Approach Platform Modernization
Every enterprise is different and there is no one-size-fits-all solution, nor should there be. However, by employing these platform modernization best practices, your organization can gain the capabilities it needs, keep costs down and minimize risks and drawbacks. Here we’ll look at best practices to approach platform modernization.
Evaluate Your Current Legacy Platform
Since platform modernization centers on upgrading and transforming your existing set-up, you should take a careful look at what is working and what aspects of your system are either not working or could use better optimization. Make a list of any limitations your enterprise is experiencing due to its legacy system.
Define Your Enterprise’s Goals
Once you know your limitations, list your goals. Determine what can or cannot be accomplished within the existing limitations. Next, examine to see what realistically can be changed – or what should be updated. For example, look at whether your enterprise could benefit from the integration of cloud technologies, microservices architecture or artificial intelligence, to name a few. What could you ideally change to be able to meet your goals and objectives?
Look at Your Realistic Options
If your enterprise is operating on a legacy platform, you’ll have a few options. Examine all of them and determine which ones can realistically make the improvements you need within any budgetary limitations.
- Retire and replace the legacy system. Is the system so outdated you cannot integrate the capabilities you need to place your enterprise in the strategic position you need? If so, scrapping the entire system might be your best option.
- Retain the legacy system. This might be feasible if you can integrate new applications and get them to work within the confines of your legacy system. It’s probably not a long-term solution, but one you could implement until you have the budget dollars and resources to do a complete upgrade.
- Refactor the legacy system. If you have in-house expertise, your IT department may be able to tweak code to empower you to smooth things and make systems run a bit better. You probably won’t be able to integrate many of the new technologies, but with some coding changes, you might be able to at least gain some level of better efficiency.
Important factors to consider in your decision-making are whether data can safely be migrated and the training of your user base. These two factors will play heavily into whether a decision is the right choice.
Whether you decide to rebuild and restructure existing systems or start anew, the goal is to ensure you can reach your objectives and continue to move your enterprise forward in a world that is increasingly relying on modern technology.
Work With the Experts to Help You Strategize
Platform modernization is not a current fad, it is something every enterprise will need to face at some point or another. If your organization is reaching this point, one of the best steps you can take is to partner with a knowledgeable expert technology transformation company that can help you bridge your legacy structure to modernization. An expert can guide you through determining what upgrades are necessary and which modernization features are less vital to maintaining your competitive advantage in your market.
Red River is Committed to Technological Transformation
Platform modernization does not come without its pains. It takes hours of strategic research and planning, along with committing your financial resources to identifying and deploying the best solutions. However, having a well-fleshed-out plan is a strong step in getting your enterprise future-ready.
At Red River, our skilled technology professionals will take a holistic look at your enterprise, its technological structure and business needs. Once we have a full comprehensive view of your platform, we will make recommendations based on what is best for your enterprise. Our experts will assess your legacy platform and discuss options for you to consider while keeping cost-effectiveness in mind.
To learn more about our process, contact Red River today. We’d love to chat with you to discover your vision for your enterprise’s future and how we can help you develop the right technology solutions for you.
