The Refinery的动态

“Ditch your legacy systems!” ??? You’ve heard it before, right? But what if that advice is costing you more than you think? ?? I keep seeing articles telling manufacturers to "ditch their legacy systems!" The latest one from Code District makes the case that old systems are holding businesses back and should be replaced with modern solutions. ? I don’t buy it. Yes, some legacy systems come with challenges—technical debt, outdated interfaces, lack of vendor support. But that’s only part of the story. What these articles always miss is the massive value these systems provide. If something has been running your business for years (or decades), there’s a reason for that. It works. It’s been refined and adapted to fit your exact needs. Tearing it out isn’t just a technical decision—it’s a full-scale operational upheaval with hidden costs in retraining, workflow disruption, and unexpected failures. The article does recommend a phased approach to replacement, which is better than a rip-and-replace mindset. But I’d argue an even smarter approach: integration, not replacement. Instead of throwing away what already works, why not extend it? APIs, middleware, and smart integrations can often give you 80% of the benefit at a fraction of the risk and cost. Before you decide to scrap your legacy system, ask yourself: ?? What problem are you really trying to solve? ?? Can this be solved through integration instead of replacement? ?? What’s the true business cost (not just the software cost) of change? Legacy isn’t a bad word. The right system is the one that delivers business value, whether it’s 30 years old or built last week. What do you think? Have you seen companies waste money replacing systems when integration would have been enough??