Legacy System

Legacy System

Introduction

The term “Legacy systems” is referred to those systems in an organization which has been outdated and do not meet the current standard, but cannot be eliminated from the company. It is considered as the custom software that was created in an older development language such as COBOL. It is often the intention to these systems in time to replace it. A legacy system is an old system that still provides essential business services. Legacy systems are not only application software systems. They are actually called as socio-technical systems, which include business processes, application software, system software and hardware support. Many legacy systems are widely used because they solve the problems and would be too expensive to replace. A legacy system is a computer system that has been outdated but continues to be used by the user and does not want to or cannot replace or upgraded easily.

COBOL stands for Common Business Oriented Language. Over the decades, the language expanded and adapted in each set new standards, such as COBOL-68 and COBOL-74. After Cobol 85 in 2002, the object oriented Cobol-2000 version introduced. Nevertheless COBOL in ICT generally regarded as obsolete and therefore hardly taught at the Informatics courses. It was the ICT in its infancy where there is no quality systems were used and no clear functional and/or technical documentation existed. Also recent changes such as the introduction of 10-digit bank account numbers, which the so-called 11-test is applied, which again resulted in changes COBOL expertise was needed (Bisbal, et al., 1999).

Thesis Statement

The legacy system should be changed with new system because of changing technology and the drawbacks of old system.

Discussion

A legacy system is a component of a technically obsolete content management environment. Although system functionality provides legacy business processes may be available through modern technology, the possibility of an interruption of service during the upgrade of systems can prevent migration to the use of newer systems can prevent or even given the perceived difficulty in converting to accommodate legacy content new content models and formats (Bergey, et al., 1997). The following issues are highly topical and have implications for many COBOL legacy systems:

1) Legal system changes, among them are the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Changes from the legal guidelines are already decade's backlog for computer scientists. The introduction of the new IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) guidelines currently holds financial occupied Netherlands, and the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). The new, sharper IFRS guidelines to all listed companies influence, where the major financial systems need to be adapted. Thereafter, these guidelines will apply to all other publishing enterprises required. Unlike the millennium problem and the introduction of the EURO will functionally much change in the information systems of financial services such as banks and insurance companies.

2) The rise of ERP systems in large organizations: this standard software is implemented effectively. ERP systems are longstanding legacy systems that can be replaced. This would hold true for particular front end solutions. Input and check screens are relatively easy ...