If you’re thinking “Legacy software maintenance – ARRRGGHHH!”, this article might just get you smiling again…

When you quietly utter the words “legacy software” to some senior managers, don’t be surprised if you see them suddenly wipe away beads of perspiration…

While you’re still a little puzzled at the bad mood you’ve suddenly sparked in your superiors, you’re also probably wondering just what the big deal is. After all, legacy solutions are “old, outdated software, still performing a useful job – somewhere…”, so what’s the biggie?

But that’s the clincher right there, because many old outdated systems out there, from the huge banking industry to the travel industry to various government bodies, do still play a major role in today’s world.

If you’re currently looking into maintaining a legacy system, those sweaty armpits and headache pains might just ease a little when you take into consideration some of the bigger corporations and government organizations out there. For example, did you know that the US government spends an annual $36 million (half the annual federal IT budget) maintaining applications and systems (according to a recent survey conducted by MeriTalk and the Unisys Center for Innovation in Government).

Those sorts of numbers kind of make your proposal to assign Avi the newbie programmer to “look after” the company’s legacy software a little insignificant…

But still, it doesn’t take away the fact that maintaining legacy systems is a pain. And here are a couple more reasons to make you wince…

The systems were originally created with software that no longer exists or that has morphed into something completely different. This means you’re left with software that can only be updated with old programming versions. And, of course, outdated documentation.
Over the years, different programmers have taken control or at least had some input over the legacy software. But try working out what Yossi commented in the code when Yossi no longer works at the company…

So how the heck do I turn maintaining a legacy system into something just a little more pleasurable?

In short, maintaining a legacy system can get that little bit easier by taking on one of the following options:

Building an internal team devoted to maintaining your legacy systems.

Hiring an outsource team to take on responsibility for all things legacy.

In our experience at Galil Software, we’ve seen the efforts by various companies at maintaining their own legacy software. The one word that probably sums it up perfectly: expensive. The impact on an organization’s resources can actually get quite staggering, especially if additional development is also required.

And that’s where we come in.

Galil Software has the experience and capacity to take ownership of legacy systems and can provide the perfect solution for any legacy setup. Among our many levels of service and experience, we have become cost-effective experts at:

Building Maintenance services: including the fixing of bugs and producing new builds.
Continuous Development services: including the development of new features, as per the customer request and in line with their business requirements.

The decision on maintaining your legacy system is in your hands – it’s one of mopping sweaty brows OR entrusting your system with experts…

Feel free to contact us if you need further advice or assistance regarding legacy software maintenance.