Managing Legacy Systems: Insource vs Outsource

Should our company outsource legacy systems maintenance? This is a question I hear a lot when talking to business owners.

Progress means change. But what happens when your company’s growth outpaces your legacy systems?

Perhaps you launched your business on a solid technology foundation years ago. But now your customers expect more and your employees are frustrated with system limitations – everyone is asking for more features, more flexibility, more integration.

Or, your internal development resources stress over kludgy workarounds and band-aid solutions just to maintain basic operations. While they scramble to react to the latest system crash or outage. Or worse yet, your sole IT resource who kept the system running, leaves the company for a new role.

What to do? Should you just keep throwing more resources at an aging infrastructure, replace it, or is it time to seek outside expertise?

Let’s examine the pros and cons when deciding whether to outsource the maintenance of legacy systems.

The Cost Equation

Bringing specialized talent in-house full time is expensive - you’re paying for the that person’s salary, benefits, ongoing training and more. If you can find someone of the same caliber and have exactly 40 hours of work for them every week, every year, it is likely to be cheaper to hire a full-time employee rather than outsourcing.

However, legacy systems needs fluctuate. Routine maintenance one week, urgent upgrades the next. If you have projects that don’t require full-time attention or requires a mix of expertise that one person can’t provide, outsourcing is a going to be the more viable option. Outsourcing offers predictability and flexibility. An in-house resource can leave gaps in niche skills. While a team offers flexibility. The right skills, on demand, for each unique situation. With outsourcing, you only pay for time invested in directly maintaining your systems. And reduce the risks of skill mismatches. No more guessing if one employee has the entire skillset needed.

Availability You Can Rely On

Employees get sick. Take vacations. Employee turnover means starting over. What’s your backup plan?

With outsourcing, you can actually get greater availability – some companies even have resources in multiple time zones to be on call when the system goes down. This also means not having to worry about people being out of town, sick or unavailable, because there is another person behind them to take on the work.

Could your business afford days or weeks of downtime from a key employee departure? Partnering with an outsource company who has a bench of developers, who has familiarity with your business and systems, gives you scalable capacity to keep things moving when it really matters.

Hiring and Training

Recruiting skilled IT talent takes time. Even more so when your company isn’t a tech company hiring “just another programmer” or vetting a candidates when you don’t have the tech expertise. Have you found a rockstar, or someone lacking the chops?

Even with a successful hire today, technology changes rapidly. Beyond understanding your current technologies, it’s a matter of finding someone who not only grasps your system’s roots but can adapt, ensuring your system stays current with the latest changes. Ongoing training is necessary, but if you don’t have the time or experience in leading a team of programmers, figuring out training is just another task that will never get done.

Outsourcing simplifies hiring. Your partner is there to make sure the project gets done, providing fully vetted specialists. At Code Pros, we use Topgrading methodology to build a talented team (it’s a very thorough process - just read the 600-page book!). Ongoing training keeps skills sharp and relevant.

With outsourcing, no more gambling on candidates or struggles figuring out internal training. Gain a turnkey team purpose-built for your legacy environment. And incentives keep them focused on efficient, timely delivery.

Motivation and Productivity

Employees are motivated to keep their job, and they do that by completing assigned tasks. Outsourced developers are motivated to finish projects. Your goals become their goals.

We’ve seen examples of in-house employees filibuster projects if they are disinterested, unsure how to approach the work or don’t want to do it “that way”. Outsourced developers are solution focused. This brings alignment, accountability and a different way of thinking. Imagine someone asking, “how can we get the software from where it is, to where it needs to be?”.

The Pros Outweigh the Cons

Legacy systems don’t have to hold your business back. The right maintenance partner helps you regain control and confidence. You focus on innovation while they handle essential upkeep.

Outsourcing comes with great benefits, including less cost to complete projects, a greater range of experience to address the entirety of the projects, the alignment with your business goals and motivation to get things done.

Don’t manage systems alone. Schedule a consultation to map out a custom roadmap for your needs. Discover how outsourcing can help propel - not just maintain - your company’s foundations. The first step toward advancement starts with a conversation.