How can you update outdated IT systems and applications?

Updating outdated IT systems and applications can be a daunting task for any IT operations team. Outdated systems can pose security risks, performance issues, compatibility problems, and high maintenance costs. However, updating them can also involve significant planning, testing, budgeting, and communication. How can you update outdated IT systems and applications without disrupting your business operations and user experience? Here are some tips to help you.

1 Assess your current systems

Before you start updating your IT systems and applications, you need to have a clear picture of your current IT environment. This includes identifying the hardware, software, network, data, and security components of your systems, as well as their dependencies, interconnections, and usage patterns. You also need to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your systems, and how they align with your business goals and user needs. This will help you prioritize the most critical and beneficial updates, and avoid unnecessary or risky changes.

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2 Choose the right update method

When updating your IT systems and applications, the scope, complexity, and urgency of the updates will determine the best methods to use. Patching is a common method which involves applying small fixes or enhancements to existing systems and applications, without changing their core functionality or architecture. This is usually quick, easy, and low-risk but may not provide significant improvements. Upgrading involves replacing existing systems and applications with newer versions that offer better features, performance, security, or compatibility; however, this is usually more costly, time-consuming, and risky than patching. Lastly, migrating involves moving existing systems and applications to a different platform such as a cloud service, a different operating system, or a different vendor. This can offer more flexibility, scalability, efficiency, or innovation to your IT environment but can also pose more challenges in terms of compatibility, integration, data transfer, and user adoption.

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Timothy Poppleton

Technical Author, Project/ Change/ Infrastructure Management, PMO
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Ture, the more legacy the system is the more critical the right update process becomes. In line with this is the need to effectively protect the legacy system and its data. Just in case the update fails for any reason. Also remember that if the update is successful changes to normal operations, e.g. patching, monitoring, backup cycle, etc., may also be required. One additional challenge when updating a legacy system/ application(s) is the inter-dependency(ies) that they may have with other systems. As upgrading one legacy application may have knock on implications due to these inter-dependency(ies).

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3 Plan and test your updates

Once you have chosen the right update method for your IT systems and applications, you need to plan and test your updates carefully. This includes defining the scope, objectives, timeline, budget, roles, and responsibilities of your update project, as well as the potential risks, issues, and contingencies. You also need to test your updates in a controlled environment, such as a sandbox or a staging server, before deploying them to your production environment. Testing will help you verify the functionality, performance, security, and compatibility of your updates, and identify and resolve any errors or bugs.

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Timothy Poppleton

Technical Author, Project/ Change/ Infrastructure Management, PMO
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It is critical to plan and test any legacy upgrade process. In part to ensure that your rollback process will work successfully, to meet your organisations change and service delivery requirements. It is important to plan, test, etc., any inter-dependences that are associated with the legacy product that is being updated. As these legacy applications may be adversely impacted, even if the legacy upgrade is successful. So, the validation steps post the upgrade, etc., need to cover more than the legacy system being upgrades. Remember monitoring, patch and relates service checks, service catalogue updates, operational guidance, etc., may also need to be revised/ updated as a result of a successful legacy upgrade/ update.

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4 Communicate and train your users

Updating your IT systems and applications can have a significant impact on your users, both internally and externally. Therefore, you need to communicate and train your users effectively to ensure a smooth transition and adoption. This includes informing your users about the reasons, benefits, and schedule of your updates, as well as the expected changes and impacts on their workflows and processes. You also need to provide your users with adequate training and support on how to use the updated systems and applications, and how to troubleshoot any issues or problems.

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5 Monitor and evaluate your updates

After you have deployed your updates to your production environment, you need to monitor and evaluate their performance, security, and user satisfaction. This includes collecting and analyzing data and feedback on the availability, reliability, speed, functionality, and usability of your updated systems and applications, as well as the incidents, errors, or complaints that arise. You also need to compare the actual outcomes and benefits of your updates with the expected ones, and identify any gaps or areas for improvement. This will help you optimize your IT environment and plan for future updates.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Nik Kotov

CEO, Amp Dynamic | Forbes 30u30 & YC Alum
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Some line of business applications simply cannot be upgraded or updated. In those cases, especially where it's a critical part of the business, one of the options with an outdated application is to isolate it on a segmented network. This allows you to increase your overall security standing since many older applications have vulnerabilities that can be exploited.

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How can you update outdated IT systems and applications?

1

2

3

4

5

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1 Assess your current systems

2 Choose the right update method

3 Plan and test your updates

4 Communicate and train your users

5 Monitor and evaluate your updates

6 Here’s what else to consider

IT Operations

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How can you update outdated IT systems and applications?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Assess your current systems

2 Choose the right update method

3 Plan and test your updates

4 Communicate and train your users

5 Monitor and evaluate your updates

6 Here’s what else to consider

IT Operations

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