Legacy systems - as good as new?

Banks and other financial services organisations are being warned of a skills gap as the IT workers which built systems in the 70s begin to retire, taking with them the knowledge of how to maintain them.

Tony Gill left university as a graduate to work for ICL – now Fujitsu Services. He started working on ICL's mainframe computer VCE and other legacy systems still in use today.

He spoke to silicon.com about some of the challenges of replacing legacy systems.

What's your background, Tony?
TG: I'm one of those people who created the legacy systems. I've actually retired from ICL and Fujitsu and now work in consultancy. I joined in 1971 straight from college.

Are many firms still using your systems?
TG: Legacy is still used by [government], benefits agencies and the second-tier financial services firms. Building societies use them still.

Why are people still hanging on to these legacy systems? Surely it's outdated?
TG: There's so much embedded knowledge with it. I think people are frightened there is so much implicit knowledge in those systems that replacing them is asking for trouble. I just don't think there are people who know enough.

Are the fresh-faced graduates of today moving into legacy systems as it's obviously a well-paid area in high demand?
TG: I don't have the feeling they are. The strategy has been to give existing people more – anything to keep the knowledge base available. The issue is that everyone is always so keen to move on but we'll continue to use them.

If firms are sticking to their old systems, does that mean that nothing better has come along for them?
TG: I don't know that we've got any better at competing with the designs of the old systems. So much of this is time-based that people are creating their own legacy problems. In other words it takes a longer-term view and a view that the ROI [investors] don’t want to take.

So will firms always hang on to legacy?
TG: I don't think they can afford not to. There are organisations that are so dependent on them. Mergers and acquisitions will get rid of some of them. With mergers people tend to homogenise a system. But certainly people try to cut costs.