The data in legacy information systems represents the results of years of organizational operation. The value of this asset is often incalculable since these applications and data are critical to your day-to-day operations of your business. Unfortunately this data is locked in a proprietary mainframe technology and archaic user interfaces make the systems unattractive to use and hard to learn. Application development and maintenance suffers from lack of modern tools, languages and frameworks. Skills in older languages such as COBOL are diminishing as experienced staff approach retirement.



The ideal situation would be to have the following three fundamental changes take place:

1. The organization's data transformed to a modern relation database designed to meet the current and future needs of the organization.
   
   
2. A state-of-the-art database enables the use of modern reporting and query tools to allow easy access to valuable corporate information without costly and lengthy programming efforts.
   
   
3. The user interface transformed to a modern graphical user interface. The application code transformed to a new, object-oriented, programming language.
   
   

There are limited options that provide the changes needed, and some present considerable risk and cost elements that may not be acceptable.

For example, if you can find a 'commercial, off the shelf' (COTS) package that is affordable and practical to implement then this option should be seriously considered. However, strategically important mission critical applications, by their very nature are tailored to the unique requirements of an organization and therefore cannot be replaced by standardized packaged solutions without extensive customization. Packaged solutions often require major shifts in how the organizational processes flow which can increase the implementation costs significantly.

Or, you may re-write the legacy application in a modern development language using new tools. Although this may initially appear to be an attractive option, the scope of such a project cannot be underestimated. Projects to reengineer decades of legacy information systems will take years to complete, require hundreds of man-years of effort at a huge cost and risk to the organization. The IT landscape is littered with failed attempts to undertake projects of this magnitude.

Or, you can adopt the Inglenet "soft landing" approach. Our approach is to liberate the system from legacy technology restrictions while reducing the variables. By taking a phased approach we reduce risk and focus on achieving specific goals on a timely basis. Click on the "Our Approach" label to the right to read more on our unique process.