In enterprise IT circles, legacy solutions are a fact of life. Organizations across industries are working to modernize, but many must determine how to handle systems that have been in use for years. Though some existing platforms may be good candidates for replacement, such as when newer options offer more features or tout lower costs, select legacy solutions remain the best choice for some use cases.
Rather than doing a forklift upgrade, it may make more sense to incorporate existing solutions into a flexible and future-ready technology stack. You might still rely on mission-critical on-premises applications, even as the organization adopts cloud and other emerging technologies. More companies are discovering that the challenge isn’t choosing between old and new; it’s how to integrate both in ways that optimize performance, security, and visibility.
Understand and Acknowledge Why Legacy Technologies Remain
In many cases, the decision to retain certain legacy systems comes down to business continuity and reliability. Some platforms, such as on-premises ERP or branch-level applications, are deeply embedded in day-to-day operations. Replacing them outright could disrupt critical workflows. Other solutions represent significant investments and, despite their age, continue to deliver good value. A rip-and-replace approach could erode that ROI while saddling the company with a new financial burden. After evaluating the options, you may discover that keeping a legacy system in place is the right strategy for your situation.
Plan to Maintain Security as Your Technology Stack Matures
Cybersecurity is one element enterprises must consider when integrating modern capabilities alongside legacy systems. Will the ongoing use of a legacy platform create vulnerabilities or introduce new threat vectors? If you’re worried that older technology could become an open door for data loss or exposure, then it’s time to explore your risk mitigation options. Many modern tools, from next-generation firewalls to secure access service edge (SASE) to managed detection and response (MDR) integration and vulnerability management, can deliver protection across different generations of technology and offer must-have visibility in environments that include legacy solutions.
Put the Emphasis on Stakeholder Participation
Even when legacy infrastructure remains, modernization projects often include changes to established workflows, processes, and the experience users have come to know. Managing these changes without jeopardizing productivity or weakening the confidence workers have in their existing toolsets is key to success. Be sure to involve stakeholders early and often to understand how the legacy systems are working today. That background is essential to ensuring that existing achievements and the fruits of past efforts not only remain intact but are made more efficient. You can drive stakeholder ownership by partnering with them to map legacy workflows to the modernization project and to understand the initiative’s business impacts. Adopting a phased approach, ideally one that allows you to run both systems in parallel, helps to measure and tune the hybrid environment according to stakeholders’ real-world use.
Integrate Modern Capabilities with Legacy Systems
With the right approach, businesses can blend cloud, analytics, and AI-driven visibility in their environments that still run on legacy technologies. Solutions such as flexible SD-WAN architecture can connect both the data center and cloud for true hybrid flexibility, while incorporating a security overlay through a managed service. Don’t shy away from pursuing lofty goals in a hybrid environment. Look for opportunities to optimize performance across legacy and modern applications, deliver reliable performance for sensitive apps, leverage advanced analytics, build a pathway toward future technology innovations, and simplify management.
Embrace the Role of Culture and Change Management
Modernizing around legacy infrastructure requires trust and thoughtfully orchestrated change management. Your external stakeholders need assurance that operations will not be disrupted, and your staff needs to trust that they can adopt new tools without friction. Deploying managed solutions that are modular and flexible enables your organization to move ahead at the right pace. A strategic approach empowers you to benefit from a mix of legacy and modern tools that’s unique to your business needs while building confidence that your architecture can seamlessly evolve to meet future requirements.
Identify the Barriers: Technology Versus People, Process, or Data
In many cases, challenges that appear to be about technology are really about visibility and control. For instance, a lack of insight into network traffic often prevents organizations from understanding where bottlenecks truly lie. Once visibility is improved, customers can better align people, processes, and security policies with their legacy and modern systems. Providing clarity on why a transformation is happening—and what the business hopes to achieve with it—can help to uncover gaps and conflicts. The organization’s strategic goals can be a North Star for data-driven decisions, ensuring that people, processes, and data interact in a way that supports transformation success.
A Strategic Approach for Measurable Business Value
Every modernization effort is expected to deliver measurable benefits. Enterprises may seek to reduce costs by easing data center bottlenecks, improve performance for business-critical apps, enhance customer experiences with seamless connectivity, or gain the flexibility to adapt quickly as requirements evolve. Importantly, businesses often want to achieve these results without abandoning the legacy systems that remain essential to their operations.
A managed services partner can help you modernize while protecting the value of legacy systems. The right tools and expert support allow you to extend your existing investments by optimizing their performance and augmenting their capabilities with newer technologies that position your business for future innovations.
Explore Hughes Managed Services and how we work with your business systems to utilize their current value and optimize to build for the future.