Nexablog

A large percentage of outsourced, onshore and offshore resources, are skilled in XML, Java and other Internet-based languages and development techniques, meaning their ability to tinker with and add features to 3GL/4GL applications is limited at best and that cost savings of such as model is neutralized. Adding to the conversation is the acknowledgment that more than 200 million lines of COBOL code are currently in use while another five million are being written each year. This presents a challenge given the waning number of students studying computer science and the shrinking number of experts in legacy applications.

According to Gartner, “interviews conducted with IT sourcing managers across the Gartner client base hint at what’s to come: Many have seen price hikes of 10% to 15% in certain skills during the past year.” (more…)

Here are some considerations when you want to modernize your enteprise application to Enterprise Web 2.0.

Legacy applications have architectural limitations that prohibit their ability to support large scale deployments. They often necessitate servers and technicians at each location with continuous client software maintenance and service, all creating redundant headcounts, resources and costs.

Application modernization toward an open, web architecture can address these technology limitations as they relate to the demands of globalization and will create new opportunities in terms of people and delivery. First, regarding the architectural limitations of legacy technologies, modernization toward an open, web architecture supports centralized deployments and zero-client installation which significantly lessens the need for local technicians, eliminates client software maintenance needs, and supports a reduction in hardware and infrastructure –consequently lessening energy requirements. From a pure software development perspective, adopting a loosely coupled architectural Web approach can reduce the time to execute a change request by 90 percent.

Secondly, modernization with Internet-based technology creates new methods of delivery and new ways to carve the resources pie. In terms of people, transformation toward an open, standardized application platform allows better utilization of a global workforce, especially from countries such as China and India. In terms of delivery, the lack of skilled IT resources against the demand will drive innovation and investment in new delivery models such as SaaS, IT process automation, and Internet-based service offerings that lessen reliance on human resources to resolve issues that can be solved in other ways.