Whoever retains a grown Legacy Application often pays more in total for hours, onboarding, risks, and hidden efforts than for a targeted modernization.
Legacy Software refers to older applications, often grown over years, that are based on outdated technologies like Delphi, Visual Basic, Access, Java, or older .NET versions, but are still in use.
Technical debt consists of non-visible costs that arise when software is extended over years but is never fundamentally overhauled. Old structures, missing documentation, and complex dependencies slow down further development and increase ongoing operating costs.
Many companies have been operating grown software for years. It runs, but at what cost? Anyone who honestly sums up all the hours, risks, and downtimes quickly realizes: the true costs are often far above what a targeted modernization would cost. A real example from a Swiss industrial company shows how much accumulates over decades.
What is really in a Legacy Application?
|
Key Figure
|
Value
|
Details
|
|---|---|---|
|
Development Time
|
30 Years
|
pure development and maintenance time
|
|
Working Hours
|
~23,000 Hours
|
exclusive of Support and Maintenance
|
|
Lines of Code
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~1.5 Million
|
corresponds to approximately 41,000 A4 Pages
|
|
Reading Time
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~450 Hours
|
to understand the Code
|
|
Investment
|
~3.5 Million CHF
|
conservatively calculated at 155 CHF/h
|
These figures come from a conservative estimate of an existing application. If you add all the indirect costs (training, failures, loss of knowledge), the amount continues to rise.
Even without new features, such software costs tens of thousands of Swiss francs every year, just to maintain the status quo.
Patrick Büchler, CEO soxes AG
Whoever has invested in software over decades has already created a strong foundation: clear processes, functional workflows, and valuable domain expertise in the code. Modernization does not mean discarding all of that, but rather lifting it onto a sustainable foundation for the future.
The following values result from the model calculation for the application considered:
Model Calculation Modernization
|
1.
Key Figure
|
2.
Details
|
|---|---|
|
Historical Total Hours
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~23,000 hours
|
|
Productive Development Share
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~30% = 5,030 hours
|
|
Efficiency Gain Modern Tools
|
10–30 %
|
|
Additional Effort (PM, QA, Doc)
|
+25 %
|
|
Hourly Rate
|
100 CHF
|
|
Estimated Total Costs
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~945,000 CHF
|
|
With Security Reserve
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~1.8 Million CHF
|
Thus, the modernization costs are only at around one-third of the original total investment of about 3.5 million CHF.
However, the actual gain is not just in the savings, but in the operation afterward:
Companies that modernize their systems not only reduce costs long-term but also dependencies, while simultaneously gaining speed of innovation.
In short: A targeted modernization replaces effort with efficiency and opens the way to the future, up to AI applications, because you now have structured access to the data of the old application. Modernization thus turns a growing cost block back into a manageable investment asset.
How do I recognize that my Software has become too expensive?
If Maintenance, adaptations, and failures cost more annually than 15 % of the original development value, a Modernization review is worthwhile. Frequent Bugs, long release cycles, or increasing induction times are also warning signs.
What is more expensive: Continuing or risking stagnation?
A Modernization costs significantly less than the risks of stagnation. One hour of production downtime can easily cost over CHF 100,000 in industry, which is more than an entire Modernization project requires in a month.
Can a Modernization take place step-by-step without disrupting operations?
Yes. With a modular approach, systems are renewed in stages, while ongoing operations remain stable. Thus, Data, interfaces, and processes remain available at all times.
What happens to my existing Code and my Data?
The existing Logic is analyzed, documented, and, where useful, reused. This reduces the effort for new development and the specialist departments retain their accustomed processes.
How long does a Software Modernization take?
Depending on the size and complexity, a project lasts between 6 and 18 Months. Through a step-by-step approach, initial improvements can be productively utilized after just a few Weeks.
What Risks are there with Modernization?
The greatest Risks lie in an unclear codebase and missing Documentation. Through a preceding analysis and stabilization phase, these Risks are minimized and the project scope can be planned transparently.
We know from experience: the first big mistake is a big-bang project. Instead, we rely on a controlled, staged replacement:
This way, business continuity is maintained, data integrity and security are guaranteed, and the company can decide at any time which parts have priority.
Direct number
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Sofia Steninger
Solution Sales Manager
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