Legacy Systems timebomb. What ‘timebomb’? Re-use and defuse…

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This article raises some interesting – and some very familiar – points. Many of them I agree with, some of them less so.

I certainly concur that putting the right people in the right places is just good business sense. For any forward-thinking organization, underpinning future business strategy depends on recruiting, retaining and developing the next generation of talent.

This is particularly true for enterprises with significant investment in legacy applications and it’s an area we have addressed ourselves. But this is where our paths diverge slightly.

To recap Mark Rockwell’s concerns, any business that allows IT staff with core business app knowledge to leave the business without being replaced by developers with the right skills is looking at the potential for organization-wide impact. For “legacy IT systems”, I read ‘COBOL applications’. And I disagree with the apocalyptic scenarios he is using.

For sure, a so-called ‘skills gap’ could affect business continuity and compromise future innovation prospects.  It is – or should be – a concern for many organizations, including the federal agencies that Mark calls out. But he quotes a CIO, speaking at the President’s Management Advisory Board who likens the potential, albeit more slow-burning impact to the Y2K bug.  The IT industry knows about the so-called skills crisis just as it knew about the Y2K bug. By preparing in the same diligent and focused fashion it’s highly likely that the crisis will fizzle out leaving the apocalyptic headlines high and dry. Now is the time to modernize legacy applications.

Fewer people, more challenges

Now, safely into 2015, the modern CIO has plenty of other challenges. Addressing the IT Backlog, meeting tough compliance targets and developing a smarter outsourcing strategy all add to the In Tray. Meanwhile, organizations must support the evolving needs of the customer – that means delivering news web, mobile and Cloud-based services quickly and in response to new user requirements.

There always a right way to do things; the key is to distinguish it from the many alternatives. For owners of so-called legacy IT, modern development tooling offers many benefits. Modernization enables easier maintenance of well-established applications, and will support the business as it looks to innovate.

In addition, contemporary development environments (IDEs) make supporting core business systems easier.  With a wider array of development aids at their fingertips to accelerate the build, test and deploy process, more programmers than ever can support organizations in filling these skills shortfalls.

Why rewrite – just re-use

These game-changing modern tools help organizations proactively develop their own future talent today and extract new value from older business applications, while providing a more contemporary toolset for next gen developers.

How ‘modern’ are these modern tools?  Next generation COBOL and PL/I development can be easily integrated within Visual Studio or Eclipse environments, reducing development complexity and delivery time.  The Visual Studio and Eclipse skillsets acquired through local universities are quickly applied to supporting those ‘archaic’ core business systems that have quietly supported processes for many decades yet are – suddenly – no longer fit for purpose.

But of course, they are perfectly able to support organizations meet future innovation challenges. The key is embracing new technology through modern development tooling. It is this ‘re-use’ policy that helps IT to confidently address skills concerns, build an innovation strategy – and support trusted business applications.

Late in the piece, the writer references the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act. For government agencies facing these multiple compliance challenges, the modern tooling approach offers a low risk, low cost and pragmatic process to delivering value through IT.

This stuff works

Micro Focus can point to a significant body of work and an order book full of happy customers. The Fire and Rescue Department of the City of Miami, for example – their modernization program halved their IT costs.  The Cypriot Ministry of Finance being another example where 25 year old COBOL-based Inland Revenue payment and collection system was given a new lease of life through Micro Focus technology.

So – can you hear a ticking sound? Me neither.

To learn more about modern development tooling in support of core business applications, visit: www.microfocus.com