Summary: Is your company tied to legacy applications or systems? If so, they could be harming your business. Learn why, along with a simple way to bring modern features to your existing systems.

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Summary: Is your company still using those outdated character based programs? If so, here’s a short video you’ll want to watch. It explains the limitations of character based programs, a couple of different approaches to modernizing those programs, and even walks you through the process of turning a character based program into a modern web app. All that in under 3 minutes!
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Summary: Many organizations still run their business on legacy applications and systems. They don’t modernize these applications because of the risk and expense associated with modernization. But, could ignoring modernization be an even riskier choice? In this article, you’ll learn 6 major risks your business takes by postponing or ignoring legacy modernization.

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Summary: Many businesses still run on legacy applications. Is your business one of them? If so, how much are these legacy applications costing your company? It might be more than you think. Here are 7 ways legacy applications can hurt the bottom line.
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Summary: Legacy applications pose serious problems for businesses. They waste money. They waste time. They hinder agility and keep businesses from capitalizing on modern technology. While application modernization holds the answer to these problems, many modernization projects fail. Learn why, and how you can avoid failure in your modernization project.
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Summary: Many businesses still run on outdated applications. Is your business one of them? If so, how do you know when it’s time to replace your legacy apps? At what point do your legacy applications do more harm than good? Here are 9 sure-fire signs to watch for.
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Summary: Are you stuck with legacy applications? Do you view application modernization as risky, expensive, or potentially disruptive to your business? It doesn’t have to be, if you choose the right modernization method. Learn which modernization approach works best for you.
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Many companies face the same problem: They’re stuck to their legacy enterprise applications and systems. Sure, they’d love to upgrade their outdated system, or replace those legacy applications, but…they can’t.

Why not? Maybe their business relies too heavily on their legacy applications. Maybe past customizations have virtually locked them into their legacy apps. Maybe it’s too risky or expensive. Maybe management doesn’t see the need for modern applications. Whatever the cause, the problem is the same: They’re tied to their legacy applications.

photo credit: jurvetson via photopin cc

What problems does this cause? Quite a few. While I could explain how it keeps the company from modern features and capabilities and makes them look outdated, those issues are small potatoes compared to the larger business problems caused by legacy applications. For instance, legacy applications:

1. Tie up IT budget: Since legacy applications are more difficult to maintain, they require a good portion of the IT budget. How much? I’ve seen estimations ranging from 70-80%. Think about that. If you’re spending 80% of your budget maintaining the status quo, how can you ever afford modern technology?

2. Keeps IT from innovation: Since legacy applications are more difficult to maintain, they also require much of the IT department’s attention. Of course, if the IT department spends a good chunk of its time maintaining applications, they have little left to spend on business innovation–which, as we explained in this article, is becoming more and more important.

So, what can you do? If you’re stuck with legacy applications that you can’t replace, what are your options?

In this article, let’s explore a few ways to breathe new life into your old applications. If you can’t replace your systems or applications entirely, how can you bring modern features and capabilities to your legacy apps? To help you answer those questions, I’ve outlined some methods to do just that, and touched on the pros and cons of each. Without further ado, here are 5 ways to breathe new life into your applications.
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Why do 70% of the companies listed on the Fortune 1,000 list ten years ago no longer exist today? Inflexibility. They couldn’t adapt to change. In the past, big companies ate small ones. Now, fast eats big.

With that in mind, it’s no wonder that CIOs list legacy modernization as one of their top priorities. Legacy applications aren’t flexible. They don’t quickly adapt to change. As such, companies that rely on these applications lack flexibility, which…kills companies.

Hence, the growing push towards modernization. Application modernization promises flexibility. It frees these companies from the shackles of their legacy software.

The problem: Modernization isn’t exactly straightforward. There’s more than one way to modernize. By my count, there’s five. How do you know which way is best?
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Many companies approach legacy application modernization from the wrong angle. They aim for modern-looking applications rather than truly modern applications.

Of course, when dealing with modern underlying architecture, this approach works just fine. However, that’s rarely the case. Legacy applications in need of modernization are typically built on at least 10 – 15 year old (or older) architecture.

The problem this creates: Much has changed in that time. Programming methods have changed. Databases have changed. Application structures have changed. That’s just the beginning.

With all of these changes, you can’t simply build a new interface on top of old architecture and expect it to fit your needs. These changes require a fundamental shift in application architecture and development as a whole.

I could go on, but we’ve outlined everything in a free white paper entitled: Crash Course in Modernization. It explains the changes you must address, and even outlines 5 different modernization methods.