Companies often have legacy financial software acquired through acquisitions and mergers or maintained for one reason or another after deploying new solutions. These applications are often in silos and incompatible with more recent software. Moving legacy applications to a central repository streamlines access and reporting. Avoiding silos by establishing rules for moving applications to the central repository should be a part of software lifecycle management.
Many companies must retain data for regulatory or trade compliance purposes. When newer systems are rolled out, older applications often are maintained to provide access to archived data. Implementing an active data disposal program after a complete review of the company data retention policy could reduce data storage needs and the need for maintaining legacy applications.
Developing a lifecycle management plan for software should also consider staffing requirements. Maintaining skilled staff to administer legacy applications drains valuable IT assets. The value of providing a central repository for aging software is again demonstrated by preventing investment in outdated skill sets.
The opportunity cost of failure to deploy new applications is far greater than the expense of maintaining legacy software. Business success requires rolling out new technology. To do so, IT budgets must be carefully managed. Lifecycle management provides the key to unlocking IT resources for future investment.
For more information on lifecycle management, call UNICOM Engineering at 877-972-8910.