Grow your business at your own pace

Javier Solis, Technical Director, Dumas Contracting

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, the ability to adapt and innovate is critical to maintaining a competitive advantage. However, for many organizations, especially those in the financial sector, this evolution is hindered by legacy systems – technology infrastructure that is outdated, monolithic, has limited integration options and is often difficult to maintain. While once advanced, these systems have become barriers to progress, hindering the implementation of new technologies, processes and business models, resulting in slow product delivery cycles. Integrating these legacy systems with modern solutions and evolving at your own pace requires a strategic approach that leverages a combination of integration platforms and DevSecOps practices.

Legacy system challenges

Legacy systems are often developed years ago using outdated technology and architecture, designed to meet the specific business needs of that time. However, as businesses grow, customer expectations change, and new technologies emerge, these systems cannot keep up with the demands of the modern business environment. They lack flexibility, scalability, and the ability to adapt to new market trends.

Trying to replace these legacy systems with entirely new solutions can be a daunting task. The costs, risks, and disruptions associated with such efforts can prevent organizations from making the leap, leading to a cycle of inertia. Instead, a more pragmatic approach is to integrate these legacy systems with newer, more agile technologies to enable a gradual transition.

The role of integrated platforms

Integration platforms act as a bridge between legacy systems and modern applications. They facilitate the exchange of data and processes between disparate systems, enabling organizations to leverage existing investments while integrating new capabilities. These platforms provide a standardized way to connect systems, applications and services, reducing the complexity of integration and enabling organizations to evolve their operations over time and adapt to unforeseen circumstances. We are all very familiar with the COVID-19 crisis and the disruption to global supply chains and how adaptability is being tested to help businesses adapt quickly to a rapidly changing world.

NumberIntegrating platforms and DevSecOps practices provides a practical way to modernize business operations without disrupting existing processes

Integrating legacy systems with modern applications through an integration platform can provide the following benefits:

1. Ensure business continuity: Integrated platforms ensure that existing business processes continue to function smoothly when new systems are introduced, new regulations are put in place, or a disruptive environment requires a rapid change in the direction of the product portfolio to adapt to the new environment.

2. Ensure data accessibility: Integration enables legacy systems to share and receive data consistently with new applications, ensuring a resilient, unified and accurate data ecosystem.

3. Speed ​​to market: By integrating existing functionality with innovative capabilities in small incremental iterations, organizations can deliver new products and services faster.

4. Cost-effectiveness: Consolidating legacy systems is more cost-effective than full replacement because it leverages existing investments.

Embrace DevSecOps to achieve security evolution

Growing your business while dealing with legacy systems also requires a focus on security and agility. This is where DevSecOps (a combination of development, security and operations practices) comes into play. DevSecOps emphasizes integrating security practices into the entire software development life cycle, ensuring security is not an afterthought but an integral part of the process. We hear about cyberattacks and data breaches all the time. DevSecOps is designed to reduce and ideally prevent situations where a lack of control during deployment can lead to our companies falling victim to cybersecurity breaches or accidental data exfiltration.

When dealing with legacy systems, implementing DevSecOps practices is critical to a smooth transition. These practices include:

1. Continuous integration and deployment: Automate the process of integrating and deploying code changes into production for faster, more reliable updates.

2.Safety automation: Implement automated security checks at every stage of development to identify vulnerabilities and reduce risk.

3. Cooperation: Facilitate cross-functional collaboration between development, security, and operations teams to ensure a holistic approach to security.

4. Monitoring and feedback: Continuously monitor applications and systems for security vulnerabilities and performance issues and incorporate feedback into the development process.

in conclusion

In an era of rapid technological advancement, legacy systems can pose significant challenges to a company’s ability to innovate and grow. However, completely replacing these systems is not always feasible. Integrating platforms and DevSecOps practices provides a practical way to modernize business operations without disrupting existing processes. By strategically integrating legacy systems with modern applications and adopting security-focused development practices, organizations can evolve at their own pace, ensuring competitiveness, security, and agility in a dynamic business environment.