Legacy system Integration: Step into Modernization and Efficiency
Modern businesses demand faster, more efficient and increasingly productive services based on the latest tech solutions to stay competitive. Especially for financial service providers, customers expect easy access to information and services on the go, be it a business or an individual. Most banking, insurance and wealth management service providers already use some digital system to manage their processes and data. One might wonder why so many of the customer facing processes for many financial service providers seem to be high effort interactions for customers, often requiring painful paperwork and physical visits.
About legacy system
The capability of a software system is dictated by its purpose and technology available to aid that purpose. In the financial sector, the back-office systems that generally handle internal record keeping, were not designed to efficiently support customer or agent-facing processes. These were primarily desktop applications that were built with internal users in mind as catering to external users over the internet was challenging due to slow internet connectivity. Later, with the rise of cloud computing, organizations gained the ability to serve both internal and external users through a unified system. As a result, these back-office systems are classified as legacy systems.
Why integrate legacy applications?
Integrating legacy system applications enable businesses to achieve automation, data integration, back and forth system communications, and shortening turnaround times, speeding up the entire system to enhance productivity. Having an integrated ecosystem will only accelerate the service process, ensure customer satisfaction, increase upselling and secure your bank into the future.
Key issues with legacy system usage
Limited Concurrent User Support:
Legacy back-office systems were not designed to handle multiple users simultaneously, leading to performance issues for applications that directly access and save data.
Need for Middleware:
To enhance performance, middleware is often required to orchestrate data processes, ensuring responsiveness and efficiency, which are crucial for end customers.
Limited External Connectivity:
Legacy systems were not designed for extensive external connectivity, often featuring APIs with complex communication protocols that complicate integration.
Complexity with Modern Applications:
Modern applications are often built with different and more modern communication protocols. As a result, communication between a legacy system and a modern application can become quite complex.
Data Synchronization:
Data synchronization between legacy and new system can be achieved through a message-based two-way system that queues updates, but implementing this often requires feature development in the legacy system that companies may resist or find technically unfeasible.
SELISE’s strategy to address legacy system integration
Legacy system integration is often seen as a purely technical problem. At SELISE, we specialize in legacy system integration, data migration, and digital banking services. Currently, we are managing 21 ongoing projects across the insurance and banking sectors, many of which involve connecting legacy systems to new platforms.
With experience in many such implementations, we understand that success is driven by delivering the expected value to users. Integration with a legacy system, be it for data or a process, is important and useful if it meets the user expectations. From that perspective, the system integration strategy should be one of diversification based on business needs.
For example, insurance self- service, when a user updates contract details, this information can usually be pushed to the legacy policy management system at the end of the day, without causing any disruption. As long as the self-service app reflects the update, the user experience remains seamless. However, when it comes to premium payments, real-time synchronization is crucial. Any delay could impact late payment fees, which are calculated by the core system. In this case, a message-based synchronization system ensures payment data is updated instantly while reducing system load.
By analysing each synchronization requirement through a business lens, we can optimize performance and ensure both legacy and modern systems work harmoniously. Failure to take these considerations into account may result in an integration that “technically” works, but fails to meet business objectives, leading to frustration and misalignment between the teams involved.
Should a legacy system be replaced or rebuilt?
Replacing or rebuilding legacy system comes with its own layer of complexities. Data migration, employee onboarding and training are few to mention. Legacy systems, while outdated, often have a track record of reliability, much like an old model of an aircraft that has all its quirks figured making it a better choice in a safety critical use case like commercial jet. However, there comes a point when maintaining such systems no longer makes economic sense, especially if it starts hindering the organization’s ability to innovate and leverage modern technologies like business analytics, AI, and machine learning. At that point, replacing the legacy system becomes a strategic necessity to unlock future value and growth.
Integrate your legacy system with SELISE
Our solution bridges between the old and the new system without any data loss and operational hindrance.
Join the transformation and achieve efficiency with SELISE.