Replace Legacy Systems with Low-Code Applications

Break free to go beyond the limitations of your legacy systems

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The status quo is untenable

What have your legacy systems done for you lately?

To a certain extent, the time and expense of maintaining business-critical tools and applications is reasonable as long as the systems are still pulling their weight.

But there are a few signs that this is no longer feasible:

  • High risk

    Security breaches, lost data, outages, compliance challenges, and beyond. Legacy systems face high risks, especially if no longer supported by the manufacturer.

  • High cost

    Maintaining these systems monopolize IT resources, and developers with niche legacy expertise are increasingly hard to find. There’s also vendor lock-in and astronomical licensing fees.

  • Low reward

    You can’t stay competitive with systems that are decades old. Legacy systems obstruct revenue goals because they aren’t flexible enough to keep up with business and end user demands.

Don’t just replace. Build better than ever.

There are three ways to tackle the legacy replacement process:

  • build a new solution in house using traditional development methods
  • purchase a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) solution
  • build a custom solution in house with low-code development

    Traditional development is costly and time-intensive while commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products are too “one size fits all” for the modern enterprise.

    With these approaches, you’re simply replacing one headache for another.

    But with low-code, you can build future-proof applications that support current business processes with modern functionalities that the other options can’t touch.

    By enabling developers of all skill levels to build, low-code accelerates the time it takes to deliver custom web and mobile applications that far exceed what your legacy systems offer.

    What Can You Build with a Low-Code Platform

    Legacy system replacement strategies

    Traditional Development COTS Low-Code Development with Mendix
    Costs
    • −In-house talent and vendor fees.
    • ×Short-term, predictable licensing fees.
    • ×Long-term uncertainty due to vendor lock-in.
    • −In-house talent and vendor fees.
    Risks
    • −Unable to adjust to evolving requirements.
    • −Security risk of building custom solutions in house.
    • −Long-term stability of home-grown, non-standard solutions.
    • −Domain experts may leave your organization.
    • ×Black box solution.
    • ×No in-house expertise on how it works and why.
    • ✓Incur only the risks of customizations that you need.
    • ✓Highly automated and abstracted development delivers consistent governance and standardized security patterns.
    Time
    • ×Long, with possible in-house delays.
    • −Immediate.
    • ✓Rapid delivery with one-click deployment.
    Customization
    • −Everything is custom built.
    • ×Not possible or requires heavy development investment.
    • ✓Utilize standard, reusable components and frameworks to deliver quickly.
    • ✓Customize only what you need with an open and extensible platform.
    Ease of Maintenance
    • −Handled 100% in house.
    • ×Handled by vendor.
    • ✓Handled 100% in house with vendor and community support.
    • ✓Shared responsibility model: Vendor manages operation in the cloud; you focus on maintaining your apps.

    Replace legacy systems fast with Mendix

    Catered to the needs of modern enterprise developers, Mendix accelerates time to market with a comprehensive and integrated set of tools and services for managing the entire application development lifecycle.

    Build new, custom business applications that go beyond what you could ever imagine from your legacy systems. As you deliver new applications, you can sunset their legacy counterparts.

    • Increase developer productivity

      Empower your existing talent — no matter their skill set — to build and deploy custom business applications fast. Mendix is easy to navigate with high availability and a reliable support community.

    • Build cloud-native

      Mendix runs on an open cloud-native architecture to maximize flexibility and extensibility. No matter how your business needs and applications evolve, Mendix will run on your chosen platform.

    • Deploy anywhere in one click

      Applications built with Mendix are containerized and portable by default. With one-click, deploy your new applications to a public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud, or on-premises.

    • Integrate with ease

      Connect your new applications to existing systems and future solutions without friction. Mendix is open and extensible at every level, and supports connections to other technologies through industry-standard interfaces and protocols.

    • Minimize risk

      Build compliant, secure applications. Mendix includes a cutting-edge information security management system, as well as comprehensive security and governance features built right into the platform.

    • Avoid vendor lock-in

      Mendix is an open platform. You will own and have continued access to your data and models, with the option to export as you wish.

    Post-replacement,
    take it above and beyond

    Once you’ve officially replaced your legacy systems, low-code with Mendix opens up a brand-new world of enterprise software capabilities.

    • Scale for the long-term

      Increase the capacity and functionality of your applications based on evolving user demands and business needs. Mendix applications are easy to scale on cloud-native architecture.

    • Desktop app windows

      Explore multi-channel

      Extend the reach of your applications by opening them up to new channels. Build anything from browser-based user experiences to progressive web applications to offline-first native mobile applications.

    • Floppy disk

      Avoid obsolescence

      Within a modern platform, you can build future solutions that deliver value and make a difference for your organization. Mendix features best-of-breed technologies with no risk of obsolescence.

    • Improve continuously

      What you build today may need updating in the future. Mendix makes it easy to ensure that your applications are always delivering value with a test-and-learn approach to innovation and the ability to explore new ideas quickly.

    • Wrench and screwdriver

      Reduce maintenance

      No more resource-depleting maintenance requests. By default, Mendix features mission-critical resiliency as well as instant backup and recovery to reduce maintenance and support costs.

    Modernization success stories

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    FAQs

    • How do I know when it’s time to replace legacy systems?

      As soon as legacy systems get to the point where they are monopolizing IT resources just to maintain the status quo, it’s time to consider replacement. While legacy system replacement is a significant undertaking, the costs and time needed to keep the same outdated systems is high risk and low reward.

      Related reading: How to Modernize Legacy Applications — the Right Way

    • How do I replace legacy systems and applications?

      Replacing legacy systems involves building a new application and sunsetting the original. When creating the replacement, it’s important to consider new features and functionality that may be required, as well as demands from both end users and the business.

    • Are there other ways to modernize legacy systems?

      Yes! Replacing a legacy system is a time-intensive, resource-heavy investment, but there are many scenarios where it’s still the best option. However, other options are to extend or migrate your legacy systems.

      Extending the capabilities of your legacy system is a simpler approach than replacing, but it’s only a feasible option if your core system still operates as needed.

      Read more about extending your legacy system’s capabilities

      You can also choose to migrate your legacy applications and processes off of your core system and onto a more modern architecture. The goal is similar to replacing the system, but migration allows organizations to move at their own pace.

      Read more about legacy system migration