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Upgrading Your Legacy Systems

John Dickinson
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System Analysis and Identification

(Page 2 of 5) Step One: Analyze the Current System Look very carefully at your legacy systems before making any decision to replace them with new ones. Be careful to evaluate what the system is actually doing, rather than just the technology being used to do it. "It's best to start by looking at applications rather than just technology," warns Hewlett-Packard distinguished technologist Bruce Michelson, "because that's where the trigger always is." In most cases, the legacy system is still performing a useful function. As one wag put it, "A legacy system is one that actually works." It's likely, however, that the legacy system does not work as quickly or as well as newer systems might. Sluggish, trouble-prone systems lead to user unhappiness and put a crimp on business productivity. It could be that a virus or other malware is to blame, or the software may simply be running on older, slower hardware. Legacy systems may also no longer properly meet user needs, if they ever did. A program may need new features or access to new data, or it may need to be scaled to new products or a larger staff. For example, "We are busting at the seams," says IT director Elias Martinez of 5.11 Inc., whose business of selling tactical armor for law enforcement and military use is growing rapidly. "We don't know how we are going to sustain our growth with the systems we have today." Identify Orphan Software Another scenario is a system running on an old hardware or software platform that is no longer supported by its manufacturer - or understood by anyone on staff. Ask Santa Cruz County , Calif., IT systems analyst Gerry Doan, who supports a 500person department: "We were facing a system running on a DOSand Fox-based platform that no one knew much about, and the only guy who did understand it was about to retire." Of course, even packaged products such as operating systems and office productivity software can eventually achieve legacy status. Upgrading to new versions may enable new staff functionality or greater productivity. And new applications software may require moving to newer operating systems. Finally, the normal computer-refresh cycle may require retiring

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legacy systems. "We normally replace about 80 of our systems every year," says Hans Keller, CTO of the National Aquarium in Baltimore, "and when we started the process at the beginning of 2006 it seemed that our timing called for considering a changeover from Windows XP and Windows 2000 to Windows Vista for this batch of systems."
Page 3: Understanding How Current Systems Are Being Used Previous Page | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Next Page Back Issues Must Reads & IT Trends

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Continued See more from John Connect directly with John: Bio | Contact

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