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Legacy Applications Threaten Digital Transformation for IBM i Shops

More than half (67 percent) of IBM i users admitted to keeping legacy IT applications running simply because the historical data they hold is still useful according to new research SoftLanding Systems, a division of UNICOM Global.

However 60 percent believe retaining these systems can hold back digital transformation initiatives because they are difficult to integrate with more modern systems.

According to Jim Fisher, SoftLanding Operations Manager, organizations should ideally have a process for identifying older applications as they approach end of life and retiring them while moving the valuable historical data to a secure accessible store which can be easily integrated with modern applications.

"The challenge for many enterprises is that there’s often no one person or team with a remit to take on this task," explained Fisher. "Only 37 percent of IBM i users who took part in our survey could identify a designated person or team with responsibility for retiring legacy systems, regardless of the platform that they run on. As a result, many obsolete systems continue to live on long after being actively updated with new data, typically because they hold many years of historical information needed for compliance, or for operational reasons such as handling customer queries."

Respondents to SoftLanding Systems’ survey highlighted how retaining legacy systems could hamper digital transformation in three other ways:

■ Content or data from aging or legacy systems is often difficult to convert into new digital formats (48 percent

■ Aging or legacy applications are difficult for today’s end-users to manage without additional training (43 percent)

■ Aging or legacy applications monopolize IT resources that could be better used on newer systems that support digital transformation (33 percent)

"Any digital transformation strategy must include plans for how you are going to handle the existing legacy set up," said Fisher. "If you can find an effective way to decommission these systems you can free up valuable IT resources that can then be ploughed into new digital initiatives."

"If you can move the legacy data into a secure content repository, you can actually make it more accessible both to end users and new applications," he continued. "This is an important consideration for organizations that want to limit the risks inherent in data access and, at the same time, make significant strides towards meeting regulatory compliance such as the GDPR."

70 percent of the survey sample said that the aging applications they are keeping alive after they have stopped being updated with new data included in-house applications; 22 percent said they included off-the-shelf packages; while 37 percent said they included modified off-the-shelf systems.

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Legacy Applications Threaten Digital Transformation for IBM i Shops

More than half (67 percent) of IBM i users admitted to keeping legacy IT applications running simply because the historical data they hold is still useful according to new research SoftLanding Systems, a division of UNICOM Global.

However 60 percent believe retaining these systems can hold back digital transformation initiatives because they are difficult to integrate with more modern systems.

According to Jim Fisher, SoftLanding Operations Manager, organizations should ideally have a process for identifying older applications as they approach end of life and retiring them while moving the valuable historical data to a secure accessible store which can be easily integrated with modern applications.

"The challenge for many enterprises is that there’s often no one person or team with a remit to take on this task," explained Fisher. "Only 37 percent of IBM i users who took part in our survey could identify a designated person or team with responsibility for retiring legacy systems, regardless of the platform that they run on. As a result, many obsolete systems continue to live on long after being actively updated with new data, typically because they hold many years of historical information needed for compliance, or for operational reasons such as handling customer queries."

Respondents to SoftLanding Systems’ survey highlighted how retaining legacy systems could hamper digital transformation in three other ways:

■ Content or data from aging or legacy systems is often difficult to convert into new digital formats (48 percent

■ Aging or legacy applications are difficult for today’s end-users to manage without additional training (43 percent)

■ Aging or legacy applications monopolize IT resources that could be better used on newer systems that support digital transformation (33 percent)

"Any digital transformation strategy must include plans for how you are going to handle the existing legacy set up," said Fisher. "If you can find an effective way to decommission these systems you can free up valuable IT resources that can then be ploughed into new digital initiatives."

"If you can move the legacy data into a secure content repository, you can actually make it more accessible both to end users and new applications," he continued. "This is an important consideration for organizations that want to limit the risks inherent in data access and, at the same time, make significant strides towards meeting regulatory compliance such as the GDPR."

70 percent of the survey sample said that the aging applications they are keeping alive after they have stopped being updated with new data included in-house applications; 22 percent said they included off-the-shelf packages; while 37 percent said they included modified off-the-shelf systems.

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According to Auvik's 2025 IT Trends Report, 60% of IT professionals feel at least moderately burned out on the job, with 43% stating that their workload is contributing to work stress. At the same time, many IT professionals are naming AI and machine learning as key areas they'd most like to upskill ...

Businesses that face downtime or outages risk financial and reputational damage, as well as reducing partner, shareholder, and customer trust. One of the major challenges that enterprises face is implementing a robust business continuity plan. What's the solution? The answer may lie in disaster recovery tactics such as truly immutable storage and regular disaster recovery testing ...

IT spending is expected to jump nearly 10% in 2025, and organizations are now facing pressure to manage costs without slowing down critical functions like observability. To meet the challenge, leaders are turning to smarter, more cost effective business strategies. Enter stage right: OpenTelemetry, the missing piece of the puzzle that is no longer just an option but rather a strategic advantage ...

Amidst the threat of cyberhacks and data breaches, companies install several security measures to keep their business safely afloat. These measures aim to protect businesses, employees, and crucial data. Yet, employees perceive them as burdensome. Frustrated with complex logins, slow access, and constant security checks, workers decide to completely bypass all security set-ups ...

Image
Cloudbrink's Personal SASE services provide last-mile acceleration and reduction in latency

In MEAN TIME TO INSIGHT Episode 13, Shamus McGillicuddy, VP of Research, Network Infrastructure and Operations, at EMA discusses hybrid multi-cloud networking strategy ... 

In high-traffic environments, the sheer volume and unpredictable nature of network incidents can quickly overwhelm even the most skilled teams, hindering their ability to react swiftly and effectively, potentially impacting service availability and overall business performance. This is where closed-loop remediation comes into the picture: an IT management concept designed to address the escalating complexity of modern networks ...

In 2025, enterprise workflows are undergoing a seismic shift. Propelled by breakthroughs in generative AI (GenAI), large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP), a new paradigm is emerging — agentic AI. This technology is not just automating tasks; it's reimagining how organizations make decisions, engage customers, and operate at scale ...

In the early days of the cloud revolution, business leaders perceived cloud services as a means of sidelining IT organizations. IT was too slow, too expensive, or incapable of supporting new technologies. With a team of developers, line of business managers could deploy new applications and services in the cloud. IT has been fighting to retake control ever since. Today, IT is back in the driver's seat, according to new research by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) ...

In today's fast-paced and increasingly complex network environments, Network Operations Centers (NOCs) are the backbone of ensuring continuous uptime, smooth service delivery, and rapid issue resolution. However, the challenges faced by NOC teams are only growing. In a recent study, 78% state network complexity has grown significantly over the last few years while 84% regularly learn about network issues from users. It is imperative we adopt a new approach to managing today's network experiences ...

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From growing reliance on FinOps teams to the increasing attention on artificial intelligence (AI), and software licensing, the Flexera 2025 State of the Cloud Report digs into how organizations are improving cloud spend efficiency, while tackling the complexities of emerging technologies ...