Legacy Kills Innovation - And Now?
Evolution instead of expensive big bang
IT managers are faced with a dilemma: tried-and-tested systems that are difficult to maintain need to be maintained, while at the same time the pressure to innovate is increasing. This article sheds light on the modernization dilemmas and presents evolutionary approaches that combine stability and agility.
Between Stability and Pressure to Innovate: The Modernization Dilemmas of IT
Many IT managers in companies are all too familiar with the conflicting priorities: On the one hand, application landscapes have evolved over the years – often monolithic, difficult to maintain, but business-critical. On the other hand, business expectations are increasing: agility, digital innovation, cloud capability, integration of AI, and scalable infrastructures are becoming a prerequisite for competitiveness.
prerequisites
While IT is increasingly becoming a driver of innovation, operating historically grown systems ties up considerable resources. Maintenance, bug fixing, and security updates dominate everyday life. According to current analyses, up to 80% of the IT budget is spent on maintaining existing applications, leaving little room for innovation. But simply rebuilding everything? For many organizations, this is too risky and too cost-intensive.
Why Traditional Modernization Strategies Often Fail
When IT organizations face the challenge of renewing their application landscape, the strategic decisions often fall into two categories: The "big bang" of new development or simply continuing with the status quo.
The New Development - Promising, but Risky
On paper, a completely new development offers many advantages: Old habits are cut away, modern architectures and operating models can be implemented cleanly. In reality, however, the picture is different: unclear requirements, loss of know-how about old system logic, high complexity, and long implementation periods often lead to delays and budget overruns. In addition, the legacy system must continue to be operated during the transformation, including its risks and costs.
The Status Quo - Convenient but Expensive
Many companies remain stuck in the status quo. The applications are running, operations are established, and changes seem too costly. But the comfort zone is deceptive: technological debts grow, security risks increase, the integration of new services becomes a feat of strength. In the long term, persistence becomes a brake on innovation - both strategically and operationally.
A New Approach: Evolutionary Application Modernization
A third path is increasingly establishing itself between these two extremes: evolutionary modernization. It does not rely on radical cuts, but on controlled, gradual transformation, along clearly prioritized goals and with measurable added value after each stage.
This approach combines two requirements that would otherwise seem almost incompatible: operational reliability and the ability to innovate. Applications are not replaced in their entirety, but rather adapted, modularized, containerized, or supplemented in a targeted manner. Old and new components coexist temporarily - change is iterative and needs-based.
However, it should be noted that even evolutionary modernization does not completely resolve all challenges. Some technical debt remains, especially where fundamental architectural decisions are not easily reversible. Certain changes are difficult or impossible to implement, and the existing tech stack can only be changed to a limited extent. Nevertheless, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages in many scenarios, as the benefits can be realized incrementally, with high operational reliability at the same time.
The Advantages of Evolutionary Modernization at a Glance
Making Complexity Tangible: With Structure Through Change
Modernization needs more than technology - it needs structure. Successful IT organizations, therefore, rely on a methodical approach that combines technical analyses, business priorities, and strategic goals. A multi-stage plan that takes into account both technological foundations and organizational requirements has proven its worth:
Analyze inventory & prioritize problems
Which applications cause the highest costs, risks, or complaints? Where are the functional weaknesses? A detailed analysis - supplemented by telemetry data, user feedback, and operational metrics - creates transparency and identifies specific pain points.
Understanding interfaces & dependencies
The quality of the integrations is crucial. Outdated APIs, fragile data flows or missing documentation are frequent stumbling blocks. Early assessment reduces risks later on.
Identify relevant functions
Not everything that exists today has to be adopted. Many legacy applications contain unused or obsolete modules. Telemetry and feedback help to focus on value-adding functions.
Define target architecture
Which technology stacks, runtime environments or security concepts should be used in the future? Decisions on cloud strategies, authentication mechanisms and deployment processes are central to a consistent transformation.
Planning infrastructure & operation
Stability, scalability and security are only guaranteed with the right infrastructure. Whether Kubernetes, PaaS or hybrid hosting: a well thought-out architecture and governance structures create future security. Part of this step also involves designing a suitable cloud and security architecture and testing it - ideally at an early stage.
Alternatively, ready-made application platforms can make it easier to get started. Avvia Applications from Arvato Systems is an example of such a platform: a comprehensive security and data transfer hub to which own components can be connected in order to build a protected environment in the cloud. Such solutions provide a proven basis for efficiently integrating operations and security.
Start implementation iteratively
Change begins in small steps, such as containerization, refactoring individual modules, or integrating modern interfaces. Important: Every change is technically embedded, organizationally secured,, and measurably successful.
Scale & stabilize
After initial successes, the aim is to expand the findings: Automating processes, optimizing operating models, relieving teams, and following up with other applications in a targeted manner. This can be achieved, for example, by outsourcing or using Manged Services are supported in the cloud.
The Key: The Right Start
The first modernization step often determines the success of the entire initiative. It is therefore worth making a conscious choice:
Small enough to be feasible - but significant enough to bring visible benefits.
Technically manageable, with clearly documented structures and known dependencies.
Business relevant to ensure backing in the specialist area.
Strategically connectable so that follow-up projects can be directly linked to it.
A frequently used entry point is marginal applications with a high pain point - for example, due to high operating costs, low performance, or inflexible interfaces. A particularly effective lever is the connection of external partner systems, as modern functionalities can often be developed here with comparatively little development effort.
This is not just about technical integration, but also about setting up structured partner management that addresses issues such as contract design, operational security, and interface availability. This form of modernization often offers the fastest and most visible success, especially if the new functionalities are immediately noticeable in day-to-day business.
The important thing is that success must be visible and communicable - in key figures, user experience, or resources saved.
From Project to Program: Modernization as a Continuous Process
Evolutionary Application modernization is not a task with a defined endpoint, but a continuous process. The key to success lies in establishing structures and responsibilities that enable long-term learning:
DevOps-oriented operating models increase efficiency and shorten release cycles.
Automation and monitoring ensure scalability and quality.
Platform strategies reduce redundancies and promote reusability.
Cross-functional teams with high system responsibility bring business proximity and technological excellence together.
The more companies help to shape this change organizationally, the more sustainable the effect of modernization will be, not just in IT, but across the entire value chain.
Conclusion: Small Steps, Big Leverage
Digital Transformation not only demands innovation - it also requires a resilient foundation. Outdated application landscapes are often the biggest obstacle. If you want to remain fit for the future today, you have to actively shape change – but not at any price. Evolutionary application modernization shows that there is another way. Controlled. Iteratively. And successfully.
IT decision-makers who think strategically now not only create technological renewal but also secure their organization's innovative strength for the coming years. In the end, it's not the size of the steps that counts but their impact.
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