By Jo Best, 12 May 2006 12:45
NEWS
Shoddy legacy systems are doing the image of UK techies no favours in the boardroom, research has found.
More than three-quarters of companies say their legacy systems aren't able to keep pace with their business objectives, according to a report by outsourcer Atos Origin and the National Computer Centre.
But while legacy systems may be creaking and costly to maintain, they're still vital. Around a quarter of those surveyed said they use legacy applications to support 50 per cent of their critical business systems.
The continued use of legacy systems is also presenting a skills crisis for businesses, with more than 60 per cent of companies worried about core skills and lack of knowledge.
According to silicon.com's own CIO Jury legacy remains the biggest headache for CIOs, who said continued use of such systems can hinder business transformation and drain tech budgets.
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1. Julian Dobbins
Although ATOS Origin's survey raises many valid points surrounding the need to align IT with business objectives (UK firms hooked on costly legacy IT, 12 May), we must not under-estimate either the critical importance of legacy applications to today’s businesses or the risks associated with their replacement. While legacy hardware may indeed need replacing, the same fate need not apply to the applications running on that platform.
According to Gartner, 75 per cent of the world’s business is run by legacy applications. These applications capture core business processes that have been developed over many years, and embody data, processes, rules and concepts uniquely intertwined with the business. For the majority, a replacement project is just too risky and costly. Moreover, the advent of SOA is further extending legacy’s lifespan, as many services currently being created in support of these initiatives are derived from legacy systems.
Valuable applications can now be migrated onto better, cheaper, faster contemporary systems like Windows, Unix or Linux, enabling CIOs to drive down costs and increase agility with minimum risk. As the article concludes, companies must adopt a 'flexible and open IT architecture'. Services based on legacy components are a vital part of that architecture.