Aug - Sept 2003,    V1   E2   
LEGACY MAINTENANCE & MODERNIZATION
- the Real Soft advantage



The challenge in any Legacy maintenance or modernization effort is to ensure flawless functionality of existing real time applications.

This involves three important parameters:
  • Review of existing     technical     documentation; Re-    establishing new     standards
  • Mining of business     rules & their     functional linkages
  • Passionate     knowledge of the     company's vision;     exploring new     ground for fresh     services - either     incremental     enhancement or a     complete re-    engineering


    • Real Soft's practised expertise ensures a smooth path to Legacy management without disturbing current operations, and thus offers the exact & cost-effective solution to fit your needs.

    Real Soft's LMS practice offers a host of advantages:
  • Proven methodology
  • Leading edge     products in solution     mix
  • Multi-vendor     approach for best-of-    breed services
  • 24X7 support
  • Onsite + offshore     model


    • Real Soft's Legacy rejuvenation strategy comprises these steps:
  • Problem definition
  • Goal definition
  • Gap analysis
  • Prioritization
  • Alternate     rejuvenation     strategies
  • Recommendation


    • A typical engagement with a customer includes:
  • Platform Integration
  • Data Integration
  • Component     Integration
  • Application     Integration
  • Process Integration
  • B2B Integration

    • Real Soft, Inc. is a US-based global software solutions company with an impressive track record of providing value-added services to Fortune 500 companies.
    It follows an unique collaborative approach in mapping technology & innovation to challenging business environments to offer services, as:
  • Application Software     Development
  • 24X7 Application     Maintenance Support
  • System Re-    engineering
  • Product Development
  • Migration of     Legacy Systems
  • Business Process     Outsourcing
    •  

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    Dear friend,

    Welcome to The Real Times, our bi-monthly update on technology driven happenings at our end. We have chosen Legacy systems as the theme for this issue. While Legacy systems have remained as resourceful as ever, the evolving business and technology environment has created new possibilities for higher efficiency.

    While transition is necessary, it needs to be gradual. Therefore, Maintenance of existing Legacy applications is equally critical. In this context, we would like to quickly take you through an enlightening mix of articles. We hope it adds to your perspective. If you have a point of view to add, kindly write to us.

    Happy reading!

    Regards - Edit Team, Real Soft, Inc.

      A Legacy of Issues and Challenges

    Despite the availability of more cost-effective technology, about 80% of IT systems are running on legacy platforms. Constant technological change often weakens the business value of legacy systems, which have been developed over the years through huge investments, causing considerable disadvantages to organizations. Several options exist. quick fixes such as screen scraping and legacy wrapping to permanent, and more complex solutions such as automated migration or replacing the system with a packaged product.

    Read the full article | by Federico Zoufaly from developer.com
      
      The Legacy Continuum

    It may seem attractive to scrap your entire stuff and start from scratch, yet there are strong reasons to preserve, maintain and migrate from the legacy systems of your company. This article highlights the problems faced by real life companies in grappling with the problem. A quick glance through each of the cases and the course of action taken by each shall serve as an object lesson to Information Managers.

    Read the full article | by Simone Kaplan from Darwinmag
      
      Maintaining the Mainframe legacy

    Here's an extremely insightful reality check on the state of IT systems across Global 1000 corporations. A majority of their vital business operations are on legacy systems and are struggling to maintain and enhance those applications - but with fewer resources. More than 30 billion Cobol transactions occur daily - that's more than the total number of Web page hits on any given day!

    The fact is that maintaining legacy applications is expensive and time consuming. Gartner Group estimates that between 60-80% percent of an average company's IT budget is spent on maintaining existing mainframe systems and applications. Just how does one get a good deal?

    Read the full article | by Charles Dickerson from ZD Net

    Also study a related topic - 10 keys to successful Outsourcing | Authored by Anthony Tardugno from Tech Republic
      
      Business Rule Mining: Some Fundas

    Business Rule Mining is one of the major fields of legacy modernization - the process of extracting business rules from program code and restating them in business terms. BRM is employed in situations as:

  • Application documentation and code maintenance
  • Accelerating and improving the quality of system re-engineering efforts.
  • Enhancing a Data Quality effort
  • Fast Track Rules Engine Deployment from COBOL
  • Package Implementation


    • Business Rule Mining can be broken down into four distinct phases: archeology, program inspection, data analysis and rule integration.

    Read the full article | by Grace Van Etten from The Data Administration Newsletter
      
      Why Now is the Best Time

    Despite the contracted economy, now is the best time to modernize or migrate legacy systems to meet the demands imposed by the Web. The expense of legacy system maintenance is bilking companies for more than it would cost to migrate to thin-client systems or connect legacy apps to Web front ends. Thanks to new tools and techniques, migration costs have come down.

    Read the full article | by Kevin Murray from CIO
      
      Endnote: Avoidable Heritage!

    There are some pertinent issues that matter when a company inherits a Legacy environment. Some are:

  • High maintenance costs
  • Difficult to modernize
  • Difficulty in understanding
  • Risk of resource attrition
  • Withdrawal of platform support by vendors


    • How we can help: Real Soft has accumulated several person years of experience and insight into the transitioning of Legacy systems. Real Soft analyses each of the above points in the overall scenario, and offers the most appropriate solution for the best results.
      

    © 2003 Real Soft, Inc. If you do not wish to receive this ezine, or you have received this message in error, simply send a reply to this email with Unsubscribe in the subject line. Readers may note that contents are filtered from third party sources. All Brand Names & Trademarks are acknowledged.