What Legacy Applications really cost your Business?
By Emanuel Böminghaus, Legacy Systems Expert and Managing Director, AvenDATA
By Emanuel Böminghaus
Legacy Systems Expert and
Managing Director, AvenDATA
Managing Director, AvenDATA
1. Why do Legacy Applications become a Long-Term Financial burden?
Legacy Applications are outdated IT systems that are rarely used operationally, yet continue running due to Historical, Regulatory or Technical reasons. Many companies still operate old ERP, CRM or custom-developed specialist applications solely to access archived data.
The issue: even if the system only exists as an emergency fallback, it still generates ongoing costs. Servers, databases, backups, security updates and monitoring all need to remain active. This turns legacy applications into a permanent block of fixed costs, often without delivering strategic value.
2. How Legacy Applications create both direct and indirect Costs?
The direct costs of legacy applications include Software Licences, Database Maintenance, Operating System Support and Infrastructure. Whether operated on-premises or in the cloud, database systems and specialist solutions are often expensive to licence.
In addition to this, there are indirect costs. Internal administrators, external service providers, security testing and audit preparation all contribute. In many cases, legacy systems are kept running solely for compliance reasons. For audits, auditors require revision-proof data, which may force companies to keep an entire production system operational even though only a few datasets are needed. This is economically inefficient.
3. What risks arise from continuing to Operate Legacy Applications?
In addition to financial impacts, significant risks also emerge. Outdated software often no longer receives security updates, which increases cyber risks and potential liability issues. At the same time, documentation or experienced staff are frequently missing, especially when key knowledge holders leave the company.
During carve-outs, company sales or insolvencies, legacy applications quickly become a critical factor. Without structured access to data, operational and legal uncertainties arise. Furthermore, ongoing costs prevent investment in modern systems, automation and AI.
4. How AvenDATA enables Sustainable Legacy Application Decommissioning and Cost Reduction?
Instead of continuing to operate legacy applications indefinitely, AvenDATA archives all relevant data in a structured, system-independent and audit-proof way. After the successful data migration, the original legacy system can be shut down completely.
The result: elimination of licence costs, reduced infrastructure, lower administrative effort and minimised security risks. Companies transform a permanent cost factor into a one-time project with long-term economic benefits.
Those who fully decommission their legacy applications not only create transparency and legal certainty but also free up significant budgets for future investments. This is where the strategic savings potential with AvenDATA lies.