Legacy software: who smells a rat?

Richard Clark of Xuber explains how organisations should look to build their business case to replace legacy systems - and why it's important

Much has been written about the dangers of running legacy software, mostly by vendors trying to convince you of the potential consequences of not buying their new and shiny software. Hands right up from the start, we are not advocating that legacy systems are ‘the new black' - far from it, but what many C-level executives fail to consider when they shrug off the old ‘be afraid' tactic is that there are two very different reasons for addressing legacy systems.

Remember Skinner and his... pause to think of collective noun ... mischief of rats (really). His experiments resulted in two clear behavioural theories. First, that rats would behave in a certain way to avoid punishment, and secondly that the rats would repeat a type of behaviour if it rewarded them. Both types of reinforcement strengthened the behavior of the rats. Vermin analogies aside, we can apply these theories to legacy systems.

If an enterprise experiences the negative impact of legacy systems enough times, it is likely to instigate change to avoid it happening again, the alternative being that too much pain ultimately loses business. If an enterprise realizes that there is a positive benefit to be had by enhancing its systems, it then has the business case for replacement to achieve advantage.

Whether to avoid negative impact on operations or to gain advantage, any CIO entering the boardroom ready to justify incremental budget to replace a core system needs to have a strong business case. In reality, such justification needs to balance the stick of pain-avoidance carefully with the carrot of advantage to win hearts, minds and cheque books.

So what is preventing enterprises from creating such a compelling business case for legacy replacement? Many CEOs still see technology as a business function and not a business enabler, and when everything ticks along nicely, they are prepared to take the risk and avoid the potential disruption and cost of change. These CEOs rarely give their CIOs a place on the board, and tend to employ ‘vanilla' CIOs who lack inherent expertise in their specific market sector and subsequently lack skills to drive tangible business advantage through technology.

When legacy systems become anachronistic, they become a barrier to business expansion and many enterprises can't keep pace. For example, enterprises that haven't web-enabled their applications will lose out to those that have embraced mobility to drive staff and customer satisfaction alike.

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Legacy software: who smells a rat?

Richard Clark of Xuber explains how organisations should look to build their business case to replace legacy systems - and why it's important

You've only got to look at the retail news of late to see evidence of complacency. Three giants of our high street - HMV, BlockBuster and Jessops - all recently fell afoul of not anticipating what their customers wanted, and not using technology to adapt to their changing needs.

So it's not just about avoiding pain; it's also about losing ground to those that invest to succeed or to the new kids on the block with no legacy systems in the first place. It's about investing in open systems versus closed systems, and creating an environment that flexes with change rather than breaks. It's about uniting disparate business units with reference-able sets of data to exchange management and customer information more freely. It's about uniting customer touch points using technology to enhance the customer experience. It's about sticking up the periscope and harnessing big data to look at a panoramic view of the market. Most importantly, it's about understanding the changing customer, and staying one step ahead of them before competitors do it first.

As the phrase goes, "there are none so blind as those who will not see". CEOs need to make space for a new chair in the boardroom, and fill it with a sector-savvy CIO that understands how to marry customers with technology. Those that choose to address legacy systems just to prevent them breaking will achieve just that, and no more. Albeit functioning, they will steadily be trampled on by fleet of foot enterprises that are either wide-awake or awakening to the lure of cheese...before it moves.

Richard Clark is head of business development at Xuber