Why system decommissioning is part of IT strategy?

By Emanuel Böminghaus, Legacy Systems Expert and Managing Director, AvenDATA

By Emanuel Böminghaus

Legacy System Expert,
Managing Director at AvenDATA

Many companies talk about digitalization, process automation and modern IT platforms. However, in reality, these initiatives are often slowed down by outdated systems, overloaded data structures and complex legacy IT environments. The underlying issue is usually the absence of clear decisions to systematically decommission and archive legacy applications.

Legacy Systems as a Barrier to Innovation

Many companies operate dozens of legacy applications alongside their current IT systems outdated ERP instances, old document management platforms and obsolete HR or CRM solutions. These systems are technically outdated, costly to maintain and difficult to support or integrate. Yet they are often kept running solely for access to specific data or documents.

These legacy systems act as a burden. They increase complexity, fragment data structures and consume resources across IT and business departments. Each legacy system delays the rollout of new software, complicates interface landscapes and reduces overall IT agility. Without decommissioning, modernization remains incomplete.

Data Decommissioning is Essential for Digitalization

Digital transformation isn’t just about adopting new tools it requires critically evaluating and systematically dismantling outdated structures. To implement modern cloud platforms, automated workflows or AI-driven analytics, organizations need clean data sources and a streamlined system architecture.

This is where archiving plays a key role. It offers a legally compliant, long-term alternative to operating legacy systems. Relevant information is extracted, consolidated and made centrally accessible independent of the original system. Access is preserved, but the legacy burden is removed.

Strategically freeing up IT Resources

Active data decommissioning through archiving offers not only technical benefits but also organizational advantages. Maintenance efforts, licensing costs and security measures for legacy systems are eliminated. IT staff are relieved and can focus on strategic tasks. Business departments retain access to legacy information without needing to operate outdated interfaces, spreadsheets or printing tools.

The earlier archiving is initiated, the cleaner and more cost effective the transition becomes. Data can be selectively extracted, standardized, and transferred into a cross system structure for documentation, analysis or compliance purposes.

Archiving belongs in every IT Roadmap

Strategic IT planning today must treat archiving not as a secondary obligation, but as a core element of the overall strategy. Every system shutdown, migration or carve-out should be accompanied by a well defined archiving concept from the start. This is the only way to align operational needs, legal retention requirements and modern IT architectures.

Conclusion: Archiving is not about Managing the Past, but Enabling the Future

Many companies hold on to legacy systems unnecessarily due to uncertainty, habit, or underestimating the value of professional archiving. However, those who strategically integrate archiving into their IT roadmap create space for innovation, efficiency, and digital progress.

Archiving is not about passively storing data it’s about actively shaping the future of IT, with reduced complexity, lower costs, and greater freedom for true digital transformation.

Planning to archive a legacy system?