Chapter 12. If You Never Kill Anything, You Will Live Among Zombies
And They Will Eat Your Brain
The night of the living legacy systems
Corporate IT lives among zombies: old systems that are half alive and have everyone in fear of going anywhere near them. They are also tough to kill completely. Worse yet, they eat IT staff’s brains. It’s like Shaun of the Dead minus the funny parts.
Despite being a reality in corporate IT, living legacy systems are becoming more difficult to justify in a world that’s changing faster and faster. It’s time to put some zombies to rest.
Legacy
Legacy systems are built on outdated technology and are often poorly documented but (ostensibly) still perform important business functions. In many cases, the exact scope of the function they perform is not completely known. Ironically, most legacy systems generate a lot of revenue because otherwise they would have been killed a long time ago.
Note
When discussing what sets modern “digital” companies apart from traditional ones, “lack of legacy” regularly comes up as a key factor.
Systems fall into the state of legacy because technology moves faster than the business: life insurance systems often must maintain data and functionality for decades, rendering much of the technology used to build the system obsolete. With a bit of luck, the systems don’t have to be updated anymore, so IT might be inclined to ...
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