The risks of legacy technology are many, and we will explore these below, but before we do that, we will explain what legacy technology is.
What is legacy technology?
Legacy technology is outdated computing software and/or hardware that is still in use. While the software may still meet the needs it was originally designed for, there may be several reasons it has become obsolete. For example,
- It is no longer supported/no updates are available.
- It is incompatible with modern formats.
- It cannot be changed/ or there is no scalability.
- It cannot integrate with other systems.
- There is a lack of qualified developers.
- It is inefficient (with long load times etc.)
The risks.
To keep up with changing times, a modern company needs to be flexible, and manage risk, and legacy technology that has become obsolete is a risk. The reason it has become obsolete poses a risk in itself, but there are other apparent risks too. For example,
- With a legacy system it is unlikely that you will be able to comply with some regulations requirements e.g., GDPR.
- You may also find that work processes become slower and inefficient, and you will miss out on the great features to improve and automate processes that are offered with cutting-edge technology.
- If you continue to use outdated legacy technology, but your competitors don’t, you might find that your competitors get ahead of you and it costs you money in inefficiencies, loss of revenue due to competition and costs associated with higher software maintenance and downtime.
- Cyber security threats are increasing every day and becoming more and more powerful. Older systems may be more vulnerable to security threats and may not have or be able to have the necessary safeguards to protect sensitive data.
The benefits of SaaS software vs. legacy technology.
It’s important for organisations to regularly assess their technology systems including legacy technology and determine whether they are still meeting the needs of the business. Indeed, reviewing your legacy technology and making the switch to cloud, subscription-based software will enable you to remain flexible, competitive and reduce risk, but really, the difference boils down to configuration and customisation. For owners/users of legacy technology, the stability and familiarity are often hard to let go. Whereas users of software as a service (SaaS) would likely never go back.
There are many benefits to SaaS software for example,
- Quick and simple implementation.
- Lower costs.
- Easily scalable and easy to integrate with other systems.
- Continually upgraded to stay ahead of legislation, security etc.
- Easy to use.
Legacy systems on the other hand, can still play a crucial role in a company’s operations and may contain valuable data that needs to be preserved. In these cases, it may be necessary to maintain the legacy system while also implementing modern solutions to address limitations. However, this can be costly, and doesn’t address the data security issues. The best solution is to implement modern solutions that you can migrate the data records from the legacy system to.
Alphatec provides a number of SaaS software solutions, to meet the needs of many industry sectors, and to provide solutions within claims management, case management, health and safety incident management, field service management, time recording and insurance management. All our cloud-based solutions are competitively priced, easy to use, continually enhanced and upgraded, and possess all the beneficial attributes as highlighted above.
You can find out more about Alphatec’s history, read case studies and other news stories by exploring our website. If you know what you are looking for then request a demo, but equally we can provide consultancy and advice so do get in touch to see how we can help you.