Technical debt. Business value. Non-functional requirements. Extensibility. Functional requirements. Business processes. Skills shortages. Systems of record. Systems of differentiation. New market entrants. Cloud. Hybrid cloud. Containerization. Refactoring. Non-invasive modernization. And on… No, I’m not keyword stuffing, nor do I think the end is nigh for Gartner (just to clear that up), but I have spent most of today trying to … Read More
Legacy Systems – What’s In A Name?
Legacy systems. Legacy applications. Legacy modernization. Application migration. Legacy migration. Application modernization. Lift and shift. Wrapping, and now containerization are all terms used (and options available) when faced with an old(er) piece of software that is no longer fit for purpose (we’ll come back to what we mean by this later in the post). But are they all the same … Read More
What United Really Should Have Learned From Cavemen
We’ve all seen it – the horrific treatment of a passenger being removed from a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Louisville to make space for crew. [Quick segue – if you haven’t seen the video, please leave a comment below letting us know how you managed to avoid it and then maybe others of us can learn ‘disconnection’ from … Read More
Oracle Forms Modernization – Get Started Today!
The clock is ticking for Oracle Forms Modernization. Extended support for Oracle Forms and Reports versions 12 ends in 2025. Premier support will end in two years. Here is the Oracle Lifetime Support Policy for Forms and Reports 12c. Oracle Information-Driven support Are you still running a stack to support Forms and Reports based applications? You’re not alone, but the … Read More
Too Good To Be True?
I have a confession to make. Well, two actually. Firstly, I am new to the legacy modernization space. This is only the end of my second year pondering and wondering why so many make such a meal of something that, frankly, isn’t that difficult. There, I said it. This really isn’t that difficult. Certainly not as difficult as most people … Read More
When and Why Legacy Modernization Using COTS Solutions Fail
There have been some high profile (and costly) failures recently with companies who tried to take one or more legacy systems and “modernize” them using a “Package” approach – i.e. they replaced the functionality of those legacy systems by purchasing a COTS (commercial-off-the-shelf) solution. First up this year was the report that the Defense Department has spent tens of billions … Read More
When and Why Technology-Enabled Transformation Beats Rewriting
“I have a team of developers that I have fought to justify for the past few years so there’s no way I’m “outsourcing” this transformation project. Even suggesting it is off the table.” “We’re a software company, this is our product. Heck, there’s no way I’m having someone else modernize it.” Ring true? Both are natural responses and, in some … Read More
Still Thinking About Rewriting Your Legacy Application?
Earlier in the year I started a thread on rewriting applications. That first post highlighted some of the major barriers to successfully rewriting applications, namely: the lack of an accurate specification; the difficulty in testing given the lack of said specification; the lost customer feedback already built into the legacy application and the likely damage to customer satisfaction during the … Read More
Legacy Systems – How to Eat an Elephant
And so it continues. Those old legacy systems continue to eat 75-80% of IT budgets and prevent the business achieving its goals. Applications written in a language long forgotten, running on outdated hardware adding cost and convenient security loopholes for Hackers, Inc., continue to soak up resource and provide a formidable barrier to success. But do they? Really? If you … Read More
Linear Thinking in a Non-Linear World
I was watching BBC News last night and several, seemingly unrelated, stories were presented in the manner of mainstream news today – with heavy reliance on the soundbite: “Immigration in the UK is causing a drain on the country’s resources.” “Immigration is being used by unscrupulous employers to drive wages down.” “Forecasters are predicting lower living standards driven in part … Read More
