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Home News Commentary Video Slideshows Reports Tech Centers IW Mobile RSS Subscribe Newsletters Events White Papers Software Security Cloud Mobility Social Business Big Data Windows Global CIO Government Healthcare Education Financial SMB More Welcome Guest | Log In | Register | Benefits MORE INSIGHTS Webcasts Data Virtualization: A Win-Win for Business & IT Unlock the Value of Your Enterprise Apps with Smart Process Apps More >> White Papers Rule-Driven Profiling: A Next Generation Approach to Vulnerability Discovery System Z: Making Great Security Even Better More >> Reports Cloud Collaboration Tools: Big Hopes, Big Needs Strategy: The Next Phase of Meaningful Use More >> Start The Discussion Tweet Tweet 0 0 S S submit Mail Print FEATURE Upgrading Your Legacy Systems System Analysis and Identification (Page 2 of 5) Step One: Analyze the Current System Look very carefully at your legacy systems before making any decision to replace them with new ones. Be careful to evaluate what the system is actually doing, rather than just the technology being used to do it. "It's best to start by looking at applications rather than just technology," warns Hewlett-Packard distinguished technologist Bruce Michelson, "because that's where the trigger always is." In most cases, the legacy system is still performing a useful function. As one wag put it, "A legacy system is one that actually works." It's likely, however, that the legacy system does not work as quickly or as well as newer systems might. Sluggish, trouble-prone systems lead to user unhappiness and put a crimp on business productivity. It could be that a virus or other malware is to blame, or the software may simply be running on older, slower hardware. Legacy systems may also no longer properly meet user needs, if they ever did. A program may need new features or access to new data, or it may need to be scaled to new products or a larger staff. For example, "We are busting at the seams," says IT director Elias Martinez of 5.11 Inc. , whose business of selling tactical armor for law enforcement and military use is growing rapidly. "We don't know how we are going to sustain our growth with the systems we have today." Identify Orphan Software Another scenario is a system running on an old hardware or software platform that is no longer supported by its manufacturer - - or understood by anyone on staff. Ask Santa Cruz County , Calif., IT systems analyst Gerry Doan, who supports a 500- person department: "We were facing a system running on a DOS- and Fox-based platform that no one knew much about, and the only guy who did understand it was about to retire." Of course, even packaged products such as operating systems and office productivity software can eventually achieve legacy status. Upgrading to new versions may enable new staff functionality or greater productivity. And new applications software may require moving to newer operating systems. Finally, the normal computer-refresh cycle may require retiring John Dickinson See more from John Connect directly with John: Bio | Contact 0 Like Share Share Don't miss each day's hottest technology news, sent directly to your inbox, including occasional breaking news alerts. How to Choose a SaaS Vendor - E2 Conference Boston Desktop Virtualization: Getting It Right from the Start - Interop Las Vegas Virtualization Crash Course: Servers, Desktops and Private Clouds - Interop Las Vegas • When Networks Attack: Big Data Security Tackles Incident Response - Interop Las Vegas Five Essential Steps to Mitigating Insider Threats - Interop Las Vegas More Live Events>> Subscribe to InformationWeek Get InformationWeek Daily Follow InformationWeek UPCOMING EVENTS Live Events WebCasts THIS WEEK'S ISSUE Search
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Page 1: 1

Home News Commentary Video Slideshows Reports Tech Centers IW Mobile RSS Subscribe Newsletters Events White Papers

Software Security Cloud Mobility Social Business Big Data Windows Global CIO Government Healthcare Education Financial SMB More

Welcome Guest | Log In | Register | Benefits

MORE INSIGHTS

Webcasts

Data Virtualization A Win-Win for

Business amp IT

Unlock the Value of Your Enterprise

Apps with Smart Process Apps

More gtgt

White Papers

Rule-Driven Profiling A Next

Generation Approach to Vulnerability

Discovery

System Z Making Great Security

Even Better

More gtgt

Reports

Cloud Collaboration Tools Big

Hopes Big Needs

Strategy The Next Phase of

Meaningful Use

More gtgt

Start TheDiscussion

TweetTweet

0 0 StumbleUpon

Submitsubmit

Mail Print

FEATURE

Upgrading Your Legacy Systems

System Analysis and Identification

(Page 2 of 5)

Step One Analyze the Current System

Look very carefully at your legacy systems before making any decision to replace them with new ones Be

careful to evaluate what the system is actually doing rather than just the technology being used to do it

Its best to start by looking at applications rather than just technology warns Hewlett-Packard

distinguished technologist Bruce Michelson because thats where the trigger always is

In most cases the legacy system is still performing a useful function As one wag put it A legacy system

is one that actually works Its likely however that the legacy system does not work as quickly or as well

as newer systems might Sluggish trouble-prone systems lead to user unhappiness and put a crimp on

business productivity It could be that a virus or other malware is to blame or the software may simply be

running on older slower hardware

Legacy systems may also no longer properly meet user needs if

they ever did A program may need new features or access to

new data or it may need to be scaled to new products or a larger

staff For example We are busting at the seams says IT

director Elias Martinez of 511 Inc whose business of selling

tactical armor for law enforcement and military use is growing

rapidly We dont know how we are going to sustain our growth

with the systems we have today

Identify Orphan Software

Another scenario is a system running on an old hardware or

software platform that is no longer supported by its manufacturer -

- or understood by anyone on staff Ask Santa Cruz County

Calif IT systems analyst Gerry Doan who supports a 500-

person department We were facing a system running on a DOS-

and Fox-based platform that no one knew much about and the

only guy who did understand it was about to retire

Of course even packaged products such as operating systems

and office productivity software can eventually achieve legacy

status Upgrading to new versions may enable new staff

functionality or greater productivity And new applications software

may require moving to newer operating systems

Finally the normal computer-refresh cycle may require retiring

John Dickinson

See more from John Connect directly with John Bio | Contact

0

Like ShareShare

Dont miss each days hottest technology news sent

directly to your inbox including occasional breaking

news alerts

How to Choose a SaaS Vendor - E2 Conference

Boston

Desktop Virtualization Getting It Right from the Start -

Interop Las Vegas

Virtualization Crash Course Servers Desktops and

Private Clouds - Interop Las Vegas

bull When Networks Attack Big Data Security Tackles

Incident Response - Interop Las Vegas

Five Essential Steps to Mitigating Insider Threats -

Interop Las Vegas

More Live Eventsgtgt

Subscribe to InformationWeek

Get InformationWeek Daily

Follow InformationWeek

UPCOMING EVENTS

Live Events WebCasts

THIS WEEKS ISSUE

Search

M Subscribe by email S RSS

Sort by oldest first

Start TheDiscussion

TweetTweet

0 0 StumbleUponSubmit

submit

Mail Print

legacy systems We normally replace about 80 of our systems every year says Hans Keller CTO of the

National Aquarium in Baltimore and when we started the process at the beginning of 2006 it seemed that

our timing called for considering a changeover from Windows XP and Windows 2000 to Windows Vista for

this batch of systems

Page 3 Understanding How Current Systems Are Being Used

laquo Previous Page | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Next Page raquo

Related ReadingNews

Commentary

Google Opens Compute Engine To Cloud Customers

Prototype British Police Car Rivals Batmobile

Anonymous Seizes North Korean Twitter Flickr Feeds

HP Cloud Evangelist Were All About OpenStack

More Newsraquo

Most Popular

On the Web

Anonymous Hits North Korea Via DDoS

Anonymous 10 Things Weve Learned In 2013

Cell Phone Inventor Talks of First Cell Call

CIOs Must Innovate Or Go Home

More Popularraquo

Video

Slideshow

Facebook Home You Are the Product Being Sold

Microsoft Eyes Outlook For RT Office For iOS

Facebook Home + HTC First Not About Hardware

HP Cloud Evangelist Were All About OpenStack

More Videosraquo

Informationweek DiscussionsStart the Discussion

Real-time updating is paused (Resume)

Showing 0 comments

ABOUT THE AUTHORContinued

See more from John Connect directly with John Bio | Contact

0

Like ShareShare

Login or Register to Comment

Back IssuesMust Reads ampIT Trends

Back IssuesMust Reads ampIT Trends

In this issue

The Right Health ITPriorities Regulatoryrequirements dominate ourresearch shows The challengeis to innovate with technologynot just dot the is and crossthe ts

Tech Is Just One FactorReal change takes much morethan technology

And much more

Read the Current Issue

Whats this

More raquo

Whats this

More raquo

Subscribe to Digital

Read the Cover Story

Download This Issue

The Business Value of Hybrid Cloud -Based

Compromise Intelligence Monitoring and Threat

Mitigation

Learn How Neustar Technology Can Block DDoS

Attacks

Simple Cost-Effective Messaging and Collaboration

for Medium-Sized Businesses

Email marketing in a complex world

Advanced Threat Landscape What Organizations

Need to Know

Cloud Collaboration Tools Big Hopes Big Needs

Strategy Cybersecurity on the Offense

Strategy Smartphone Smackdown Galaxy Note II vs

Lumia 920 vs iPhone 5

Strategy How to Pick Endpoint Protection

Best Practices 6 Security Services Every Small

Business Must Have

CURRENT HEALTHCARE ISSUE

FEATURED WHITEPAPERS

FEATURED REPORTS

VIDEO

Subscribe to RSS

Transform your business with Big Data solutions from EMC

WebEx Meetings - Unlimited online meetings with up to 3 people - free

HR and finance apps built from the cloud up wwwworkdaycom

The Top 25 Fortune 100 Companies Use NetScout - Find Out Why

The Top 25 Fortune 100 Companies Use NetScout - Find Out Why

The Top 25 Fortune 100 Companies Use NetScout - Find Out Why

The Top 25 Fortune 100 Companies Use NetScout - Find Out Why

Healthcare IT Intelligence Direct To Your Inbox - Subscribe Now

Premier Research App For IT Pros - TechWeb Digital Library

Register Today For The Most Timely Security Insights

RESOURCE LINKS

WATCH BobMetcalfe PlansEthernets 40th

WATCH CES2013 Its AWrap

WATCH Intelshows off eyetracking andgesture

View All Videos

FEATURED UBM TECH SITES InformationWeek | Network Computing | Dr Dobbs | Dark Reading

OUR MARKETS Business Technology | Channel | Electronics | Game amp App Development

Working With Us Advertising Contacts | Event Calendar | Tech Marketing Solutions | Corporate Site | Contact Us Feedback

Terms of Service | Privacy Statement | Copyright copy 2013 UBM Tech All rights reserved

InformationWeek Home News Commentary Video Slideshows Software Security Cloud Mobility Social Business

Personal Tech Windows Education Global CIO Government Healthcare Financial SMB

About Us Contact Us Customer Support Current Issue Back Issues Site Map Reprints Editorial Calendar

Page 2: 1

M Subscribe by email S RSS

Sort by oldest first

Start TheDiscussion

TweetTweet

0 0 StumbleUponSubmit

submit

Mail Print

legacy systems We normally replace about 80 of our systems every year says Hans Keller CTO of the

National Aquarium in Baltimore and when we started the process at the beginning of 2006 it seemed that

our timing called for considering a changeover from Windows XP and Windows 2000 to Windows Vista for

this batch of systems

Page 3 Understanding How Current Systems Are Being Used

laquo Previous Page | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Next Page raquo

Related ReadingNews

Commentary

Google Opens Compute Engine To Cloud Customers

Prototype British Police Car Rivals Batmobile

Anonymous Seizes North Korean Twitter Flickr Feeds

HP Cloud Evangelist Were All About OpenStack

More Newsraquo

Most Popular

On the Web

Anonymous Hits North Korea Via DDoS

Anonymous 10 Things Weve Learned In 2013

Cell Phone Inventor Talks of First Cell Call

CIOs Must Innovate Or Go Home

More Popularraquo

Video

Slideshow

Facebook Home You Are the Product Being Sold

Microsoft Eyes Outlook For RT Office For iOS

Facebook Home + HTC First Not About Hardware

HP Cloud Evangelist Were All About OpenStack

More Videosraquo

Informationweek DiscussionsStart the Discussion

Real-time updating is paused (Resume)

Showing 0 comments

ABOUT THE AUTHORContinued

See more from John Connect directly with John Bio | Contact

0

Like ShareShare

Login or Register to Comment

Back IssuesMust Reads ampIT Trends

Back IssuesMust Reads ampIT Trends

In this issue

The Right Health ITPriorities Regulatoryrequirements dominate ourresearch shows The challengeis to innovate with technologynot just dot the is and crossthe ts

Tech Is Just One FactorReal change takes much morethan technology

And much more

Read the Current Issue

Whats this

More raquo

Whats this

More raquo

Subscribe to Digital

Read the Cover Story

Download This Issue

The Business Value of Hybrid Cloud -Based

Compromise Intelligence Monitoring and Threat

Mitigation

Learn How Neustar Technology Can Block DDoS

Attacks

Simple Cost-Effective Messaging and Collaboration

for Medium-Sized Businesses

Email marketing in a complex world

Advanced Threat Landscape What Organizations

Need to Know

Cloud Collaboration Tools Big Hopes Big Needs

Strategy Cybersecurity on the Offense

Strategy Smartphone Smackdown Galaxy Note II vs

Lumia 920 vs iPhone 5

Strategy How to Pick Endpoint Protection

Best Practices 6 Security Services Every Small

Business Must Have

CURRENT HEALTHCARE ISSUE

FEATURED WHITEPAPERS

FEATURED REPORTS

VIDEO

Subscribe to RSS

Transform your business with Big Data solutions from EMC

WebEx Meetings - Unlimited online meetings with up to 3 people - free

HR and finance apps built from the cloud up wwwworkdaycom

The Top 25 Fortune 100 Companies Use NetScout - Find Out Why

The Top 25 Fortune 100 Companies Use NetScout - Find Out Why

The Top 25 Fortune 100 Companies Use NetScout - Find Out Why

The Top 25 Fortune 100 Companies Use NetScout - Find Out Why

Healthcare IT Intelligence Direct To Your Inbox - Subscribe Now

Premier Research App For IT Pros - TechWeb Digital Library

Register Today For The Most Timely Security Insights

RESOURCE LINKS

WATCH BobMetcalfe PlansEthernets 40th

WATCH CES2013 Its AWrap

WATCH Intelshows off eyetracking andgesture

View All Videos

FEATURED UBM TECH SITES InformationWeek | Network Computing | Dr Dobbs | Dark Reading

OUR MARKETS Business Technology | Channel | Electronics | Game amp App Development

Working With Us Advertising Contacts | Event Calendar | Tech Marketing Solutions | Corporate Site | Contact Us Feedback

Terms of Service | Privacy Statement | Copyright copy 2013 UBM Tech All rights reserved

InformationWeek Home News Commentary Video Slideshows Software Security Cloud Mobility Social Business

Personal Tech Windows Education Global CIO Government Healthcare Financial SMB

About Us Contact Us Customer Support Current Issue Back Issues Site Map Reprints Editorial Calendar

Page 3: 1

Subscribe to RSS

Transform your business with Big Data solutions from EMC

WebEx Meetings - Unlimited online meetings with up to 3 people - free

HR and finance apps built from the cloud up wwwworkdaycom

The Top 25 Fortune 100 Companies Use NetScout - Find Out Why

The Top 25 Fortune 100 Companies Use NetScout - Find Out Why

The Top 25 Fortune 100 Companies Use NetScout - Find Out Why

The Top 25 Fortune 100 Companies Use NetScout - Find Out Why

Healthcare IT Intelligence Direct To Your Inbox - Subscribe Now

Premier Research App For IT Pros - TechWeb Digital Library

Register Today For The Most Timely Security Insights

RESOURCE LINKS

WATCH BobMetcalfe PlansEthernets 40th

WATCH CES2013 Its AWrap

WATCH Intelshows off eyetracking andgesture

View All Videos

FEATURED UBM TECH SITES InformationWeek | Network Computing | Dr Dobbs | Dark Reading

OUR MARKETS Business Technology | Channel | Electronics | Game amp App Development

Working With Us Advertising Contacts | Event Calendar | Tech Marketing Solutions | Corporate Site | Contact Us Feedback

Terms of Service | Privacy Statement | Copyright copy 2013 UBM Tech All rights reserved

InformationWeek Home News Commentary Video Slideshows Software Security Cloud Mobility Social Business

Personal Tech Windows Education Global CIO Government Healthcare Financial SMB

About Us Contact Us Customer Support Current Issue Back Issues Site Map Reprints Editorial Calendar

Page 4: 1

FEATURED UBM TECH SITES InformationWeek | Network Computing | Dr Dobbs | Dark Reading

OUR MARKETS Business Technology | Channel | Electronics | Game amp App Development

Working With Us Advertising Contacts | Event Calendar | Tech Marketing Solutions | Corporate Site | Contact Us Feedback

Terms of Service | Privacy Statement | Copyright copy 2013 UBM Tech All rights reserved

InformationWeek Home News Commentary Video Slideshows Software Security Cloud Mobility Social Business

Personal Tech Windows Education Global CIO Government Healthcare Financial SMB

About Us Contact Us Customer Support Current Issue Back Issues Site Map Reprints Editorial Calendar


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