Systems or technologies that have grown outdated – or “old” – in terms of their functionality are commonly called “legacy systems”. A lot of people like playing it safe and depending on these, with one thing on their minds: “Legacy systems have lasted for so long – surely they work!”

We have to address the elephant in the room: legacy systems are not all that great, and we have facts to prove it. According to ComputerWeekly.com, legacy systems hold back about 90% of businesses.

The reason is obvious: in a time as digitised and automatic as ours, legacy systems are finally running into obsolescence – meaning it’s time you departed from them.

Here are some reasons why our statement stands:

 

Difficulty of maintenance

Although legacy systems last very long, they consistently need maintenance, which tends to be a lot more expensive than replacing entire softwares and/or hardware. Moreover, the parts needed are sometimes not even available due to their outdated-ness; with mobile devices like smartphones, tablets etc. become more popular, old PCs become a thing of the past.

This kind of obsolescence is even more clear as old legacy professionals retire, and young professionals train in new computer languages. Once their profession becomes impossible to replace, businesses depending on legacy systems won’t function.

 

No compatibility, no integration

Modern business models cannot function without a business software that can integrate everything – inventory management, customer relationship management, sales, loyalty program, and more. However, legacy systems are not advanced enough to support such sophisticated softwares. Furthermore, legacy systems are almost never compatible with other POS hardware, thereby limiting back office functions – a critical part for operational efficiency.

This implies that a business relying on a legacy system has taken five steps backward in the business race.

 

Lack of understanding

Businesses function for the customers, by the employees – installing a POS system that neither of the two understand is pointless.

Apart from not being able to integrate with modern software, legacy systems fall behind because they cannot integrate with easy-to-use interfaces like touch screens. This ruins their overall appeal and simplicity; employees have to be extensively trained before they can get their hands on the monster system. Customers, however, get an outdated and underwhelming experience. This ultimately restricts vital functions like customer service, employee scheduling, sharing data, analysing reports and more.

 

Vulnerabilities

Older systems hardly had to deal with security breaches like advanced hacks of today’s times, therefore they are not built to defend themselves in case of an attack. This keeps your entire business at a vulnerable position: without a proper security mechanism, theft or pilferage alerts, your business will constantly be at a risk of being compromised.

The most major disadvantage of legacy systems lies beyond all the aforementioned points. Once your competitor launches an app well-integrated into their modern POS software, you cannot compete – simply because you don’t have an advanced back-end system. Now you’ve fallen behind in the race.

However, that does not mean you have lost. You can invest in better cloud-based POS systems like Oscar, a POS software in Karachi. This POS system provides you with every function needed to keep your store up and running like a winning machine, all at a reasonable price.

In the business world, old systems only keep you and your business in the past. So, once your retail store accepts modern systems, you can excel without anyone holding you back.