How to Modernize Your Legacy IT System with No-Code

The looming barrier to your innovation may just be the foundation of your IT infrastructure - your legacy system. But, simply knowing this isn’t enough. Before getting deterred by the daunting task of completing one major overhaul, there are a few points to consider. First, you need to look at your current situation.

Is your IT team preoccupied with fixing bugs and struggling to make changes to your legacy system? Are you experiencing the high costs of making any updates? Will these costs no longer justify maintaining the same system in the future.

You most likely need to rethink your IT infrastructure. While replacing outdated systems can pose risks and be costly, eventually it will be necessary. The cost of maintaining it will outweigh replacing your legacy system or the entire system will need to be replaced anyways.

Fortunately, there’s a no-code solution for you. Simply read on, because this is where your digital transformation begins.

You understand the need for change

The initial step is understanding the purpose and value of modernizing your legacy system. Sure, your system is still running as it did before, but that won’t last forever. There are multiple factors of your legacy system that will make it vulnerable in the future.

These factors include:

• The high costs of maintaining old hardware
• The need to change multiple blocks of code in order to make one update
• The vendor of this system no longer supporting it
• Your staff in charge of the legacy system leaving or retiring
• Having greater risk of hacks and breakages
• The inability to integrate new technology to your legacy system.

You know that at some point, it’ll be necessary to replace your legacy system and there’s a fine line between weighing the costs of maintaining your current system and replacing it entirely. Rather than risking the moment you reach that point, you want to find solutions that provide a smoother transition. You also want to work more efficiently and economically. You have the foresight to see that modernizing your IT infrastructure is a necessary task.

Now, bring your team together

Your software engineers understand the need for modernization is led by overarching business demands. Your software designers understand how your legacy system is impacted by incremental development practices. Your IT manager understands how technology and business objectives align to influence the modernization processes.

If you take the initiative to make a difference in your organization, you need to bring everyone on board. It may take some time and persuasion to achieve this but as long as everyone is seeking the same goal, then all you need to do is encourage everyone to be open to a new asset for your organization. Change starts with the tipping point, the point at which the forces for change outweigh the forces against change.

When your team has their foot in the door, you can begin to make the next step. Collaborate with your team to identify the main pain points of your legacy system. With a list of pain points, you and your team can conduct a cost-benefit analysis that will determine whether to replace specific parts of your system or update them. After you’ve prioritized your modernization task list, you can see what changes will provide the most value, the soonest.

Then, introduce a no-code platform

Once your team is on board, you can introduce the tool to build applications with and how they can use it. A no-code platform enables users, known as citizen developers, to build applications rapidly using a drag-and-drop interface. Without the need to code, applications are built with more ease and flexibility. Departments can collaborate on applications with a no-code platform because the process is more intuitive. Once you have an idea, you can immediately start building a proof of concept. You make progress faster and already get closer to the solution without relying on another developer.

Building with no-code enables the process of transforming your IT infrastructure because it focuses on incremental change. Applications are built quickly and more effectively because they can be easily iterated throughout the process. A no-code platform, such as Betty Blocks, facilitates collaboration and iterative application development, which are key aspects in modernizing your legacy system in a manageable way.

Finally, start building and testing solutions

The beauty of a no-code platform is the risk-free approach it provides to building applications and to modernizing your legacy system. The platform fits into every IT landscape and as you start building with the platform, you can easily receive and carry out feedback from colleagues. This way, everyone is aligned with the project goal throughout the process. Along with this collaboration, you can make changes to the application at any point and test it again. This flexibility allows you to reach the most effective solution that is closest to addressing the paint point.

Upgrading the behemoth that is your legacy system can seem like a huge undertaking, but with incremental steps, you can achieve your innovation goals. The sooner you get started, the easier it will be to manage your IT infrastructure in the future.

As industries become increasingly connected by technology, digital transformations are necessary for all organizations to operate optimally. For many companies, your business relies on it. With the no-code platform, a Betty Blocks’ partner or your citizen developers, you can modernize your legacy system and achieve your digital transformation.

Interested in how the Betty Blocks platform can work for you? We'd love to personally show you: