The continuous evolution of technology has made it challenging for newer applications to function correctly on legacy platforms, particularly when it comes to data and analytics. And you hear it every day — data is the driving force of today’s economy. But the data economy cannot be sustained if the information that it depends on continues to be tied up in processing or if users cannot easily access it and get the information they need. Users are not willing to wait — they need to make decisions now.
Incompatibility is a key reason organizations look to modernize their legacy systems. While you can often cobble together a solution that will extend the use of existing systems, in many cases, it’s probably better to consider upgrading to new systems to avoid other hurdles, such as complex integrations and / or security issues.
Today’s enterprise needs to be agile in how it gathers, manages and distributes data to create new business opportunities. Migrating to the cloud delivers a flexible, extensible and scalable framework that allows companies to address changing business and technological requirements much more efficiently, while still providing new value for the enterprise.
Cloud solutions are used because they deliver a more secure, highly available and self-service technology that reduces the burden on IT resources. Several additional benefits support future business success that are worth considering when upgrading your legacy platforms.
Enhanced security reduces the risk
Security for legacy platforms has traditionally been addressed using third-party tools. While that allows organizations to adopt the best options out there, it also means more assets to manage, integrate and maintain. Unfortunately, when you employ these tools and components, it impacts your ability to deliver new functionality to users in minutes, not to mention the risk of not getting it right. Cloud vendors typically offer a much higher level of system security than most organizations can or will build out on their own. Leading cloud platforms have invested millions in their advanced security procedures that their customers can benefit from.
Business growth and scalability
Legacy systems require lengthy planning and development cycles, whereas cloud platforms have been optimized to enable new business with a sense of urgency and scalability previously unknown. Because of this flexibility, cloud platforms are a better fit for our always-on, real-time needs.
As a business grows and the demand increases, a cloud environment is better suited to manage this change because of its built-in integration capabilities and the set of services it offers.
Data creates new insights
Because IT teams have been tasked with taking a much more strategic role in the organization and being asked to help build new business and revenue models, they are also turning to the cloud.
There’s no question that the volume of data available today is the precursor to new business models. But to be able to use that data to deliver smart decisions, it has to be collected and distributed in business intelligence dashboards that allow for deeper insights.
Cloud platforms are typically equipped with natively-built data analytics functionality that enables a deeper understanding of customer behavior.
For many businesses, now is the time to consider the state of your enterprise systems. Some characteristics suggest a system is genuinely obsolete. And while some systems might not qualify as obsolete, they may be in a state where it’s no longer cost beneficial to maintain them, or the costs should be calculated in terms of missed opportunities. Also, it’s important to note that another critical challenge with legacy architectures is that you don’t get the same high-level benefits using modern agile practices like DevOps.
