Many companies across the country are still relying on legacy software. However, one thing they might not realise is that it could be slowing down their potential business growth. If you are still using old applications within your business, it might be time to consider other options. If you do decide to move on from your legacy system BSPOKE Software can help with that. We will be here to guide you through the process to find a more efficient and user-friendly software solution.
What is a legacy software system?
Before going any further, let’s clarify what we mean by legacy software. When a system is referred to as a legacy system within computing, it means that it’s old and outdated. The age of the software might vary depending on its type, but legacy software is usually hard to maintain and updates are sometimes no longer possible. The software then slows down your everyday tasks and makes it hard for your business to expand. Legacy software makes it harder to adapt your business to changing technology, as it is sometimes unable to run on new machines. It can also put you behind your competitors who are able to use newer solutions.
How can legacy software can damage your business?
These are the main ways in which you’ll find legacy software damages your business and growth moving forward.
Slower time to market
The time to market is the time that it takes your company to launch a new service or product. This process begins when your product idea is first created and then ends when your product is launched to the market. However, legacy software stops companies from quickly launching products as the systems just don’t have the agility and flexibility that are needed to quickly adapt to the ever-changing markets. This leads to a loss in revenue for companies and leads to them falling behind their competition. When you don’t have the tools you need to complete processes and procedures efficiently, such as collecting money, you’ll find that you have a much slower time to market, and your competition will quickly acquire your previous customers.
Increased security risks
When working online, your number one concern as a business owner should always be security. Legacy software is prone to security breaches or malware, as they often have known weak points. Security updates for legacy systems are often no longer being created, making your business vulnerable. A legacy system is also non-compliant with current security standards, so they don’t provide you with the much-needed protection against malware. If your company does become the victim of an attack, you could lose money and will certainly lose time. Keeping security in mind should always be your top priority, which is one of the reasons we encourage you to look for new solutions away from your legacy software.
Slows down your working processes
For any business to successfully expand, you need to have software solutions that helps your team to work efficiently. Legacy software often makes simple tasks much more time-consuming than they should be. If you are working around the current restrictions of your legacy software, you might not be achieving the desired output your business is capable of. This could stop you from expanding your company in the future, due to sluggish processes. Custom software can improve productivity by streamlining processes and automating routine tasks.
Time and money spent on maintenance
One of the most common reasons companies approach us is because they are tired of dealing with an outdated system. They are more prone to failure, and they become expensive to fix and maintain in the long run. The cost of updating these systems only increases and eventually they become no longer updateable. Finding someone who is qualified to work on legacy software is also challenging, and can be very costly.
There will come a point whereby replacing the software is a more cost-effective solution than continuing to use your legacy system. When it gets to that point, we highly recommend you look at custom software, which will be built to your exact business requirements.
In Conclusion
If you are ready to replace your legacy system, we highly encourage you to look at custom software. When you update your software, you’ll find that your daily work becomes much more enjoyable, and production increases. Contact our team today to discuss custom software solutions for your business and how we can work to help your business grow in the upcoming years, thanks to a new software solution.
