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By: Jim Fowler
Company: Software AG
Published: March 2008
The term "modernization" has once again achieved buzz-word status in the IT industry. The term became very popular around Y2K and then went back into hibernation. Now nearly every major software vendor uses the term somewhere in their marketing, and major analyst firms such as Gartner and Forrester are devoting more and more ink to it. And it's no wonder. A group of CIOs surveyed by Gartner in 2008 reportedly named "legacy application modernization" as the fourth highest overall in a list of technology priorities.
But like any other term with billions of dollars swimming around it, modernization (especially "legacy modernization") has taken on some unexpected connotations. This paper explains what's at stake when organizations contemplate modernization, describes how some vendor solutions portrayed as "modernization" are actually risky and radical substitutes, and then proposes a reasonable way forward that is both modern and moderate.
Core systems are those custom-built systems that support the vital, high-volume data processes unique to a particular enterprise. Core systems are one-of-a-kind and often give organizations a competitive advantage in the marketplace. These systems are typically comprised of millions of lines of code and can support billions of transactions per day.
Core systems are like DNA. DNA is a basic building block of life that contains in its structure all of the history of an organism. The DNA also tells the cells how to behave; it tells the organism how to grow and how to function and is the unique map to that organism’s identity. Core systems are the same. Within these systems – which have been added-to and modified for years or even decades – is data that represents the history of how the organization has evolved. And these systems also embody the unique combination of data and business rules that differentiate an organization and help maintain the organization’s competitive edge in the marketplace.
But even the most finely-crafted DNA is not perfect. Defects and flaws creep in over time, and it can fail to help the organism successfully adapt to a changing environment. So if a company's core systems are its DNA, it is not enough to simply preserve the core systems and move them forward. Core systems must also be improved and enhanced to help the organization better adapt to new challenges.
The key to application modernization is preserving the organization's investment in its core systems as an expression of its unique DNA, while at the same time enabling the new capabilities the business needs to successfully meet stakeholder demands. Application modernization uses the organization's core systems as a launch pad for the future, rather than wasting precious enterprise resources (i.e., time and money) trying to re-create them.
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