Legacy Information System Migration: A Brief Review of Problems, Solutions and Research Issues

The widespread use of computer technology over several decades has resulted in some large, complex systems that have evolved to a state where they significantly resist further modification and evolution. Although these Legacy Information Systems pose considerable problems (brittleness, inflexibility, isolation, non-extensibility, lack of openness, etc.), they may also be mission-critical: if one of these systems stops working the business may grind to a halt. Thus for many organisations, decommissioning is not an option. An alternative solution is Legacy System Migration that has recently become an important research and practical issue. Legacy System Migration is a relatively new field of research and few comprehensive methods or practical experiences have been reported. This paper provides a brief overview of existing research and practise when dealing with Legacy Information Systems, and in particular of the area of Legacy Information System Migration.