BrainBlog for OutSystems by Jason Bloomberg
Since the first enterprises replaced their aging vacuum tube systems with newfangled solid-state technology, modernization has been an expensive, risky endeavor. Over the years, as one generation of hardware and software replaced another, IT executives continued to struggle with the core challenge: leave older technology in place and make do or take the riskier path of rip and replace.
This dilemma invariably led to the increasing prevalence of legacy—essentially obsolete technology that nevertheless remains in place because IT
leadership deems replacing it as too risky and expensive to maintain – assuming the skills to do so are even available.
Today, however, the world has changed. IT is no longer simply a cost center in the enterprise. In the digital era, software has become strategically important as companies reinvent themselves as technology-driven organizations.
Prior to 2020, enterprises could carefully plan and budget modernization projects, with some projects taking years to complete. During such projects, companies would have to put any innovation efforts on hold, stifling the business’s ability to achieve its requirements and in many cases, allowing competitors to steal market share.
No longer can such forward-looking enterprises skewer themselves on the legacy dilemma. There has to be a better way of looking at modernization.
