Dated/Legacy Software Systems That Aren't Integrated - How Do You Handle?

searcher profile

January 24, 2020

by a searcher from University of Akron in Raleigh, NC, USA

Can anyone provide perspective on how you have or would address a company that has inefficient operations and more employees necessary due to outdated, legacy software systems that aren't integrated and create more manual work?

Have you explored integration or automation options?
What factors would you consider in deciding to maintain status quo, try to automate certain tasks, opting to integrate the systems or completely replacing them?
Any insights from someone that has specifically gone through with a software integration solution?

Thanks
Mike

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commentor profile
Reply by an investor
from University of California, Berkeley in Moorestown, NJ 08057, USA
To me it sounds like you've found a great opportunity to unlock additional value through some smart operational management. A while back there was someone on this forum who offered IT due diligence services- might be a good idea to find someone like that to review the situation and determine if it's fixable and how much it would cost to do so. And of course, if you buy the company, wait a few months before starting to change everything.

Having been through many IT projects in my corporate career, my advice is don't rush, do things a piece at a time if possible, and make sure you have good Project Management, metrics and reporting. Also don't neglect the human factors. Be as transparent as possible with your plans, and make sure everyone who will stay and use the new systems is adequately trained.
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Reply by a searcher
from University of Southern California in 1 World Way, Los Angeles, CA 90045, USA
We run into these types of systems a lot in the logistics industry - home built or legacy systems created by two guys in a garage. The key is to get a very clear understanding of the key functions of the software and see if there is a functional replacement on the market vs having to create it completely from scratch. Additionally, be sure that if it is a customer-facing system that a new system fulfills all of the customer requirements even if the technology is old. For example, in our industry EDI is very commonplace and better technology exists, but our customers aren't there yet with their own systems.


You can also look at Gartner reports for specific software categories. As others have said before, hiring a software developer and giving them clear guardrails is definitely a viable solution.
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