Research notes

Before we suggest anything to a firm, we study its sector. Each note sets out what the public record shows, what waiting costs the business, the options weighed and the benchmark we would set. Every figure is checked against its source.

Banking

Lenders, NBFCs and banks: replacing core-adjacent systems, unsupported software, outages and the regulator’s view.

Fear of a failed system replacement

Research note 1

Lenders Do Not Fear Their Old Systems. They Fear One Weekend.

Research note 2

Before You Ask What a Replacement Costs, Ask What It Is Worth.

Research note 3

"Nothing Will Be Lost" Is a Promise. A Benchmark Is Something You Can Check.

Issue study (a public case)

When Replacing the System Is the Biggest Risk

Unsupported software and hardware

Research note 1

Unsupported Software Is Now a Board Matter. Most Firms Cannot Say Where It Is.

Research note 2

Your Software's Maker Has Set the Date. The Plan Can Still Be Yours.

Research note 3

"Accepted Again" Is Not a Plan. A Shrinking Register Is.

Issue study (a public case)

When the Maker Stops Fixing the Software

Outages at peak load

Research note 1

Every Outage Was Resolved. The Record Is What the Regulator Reads.

Research note 2

Your Busiest Days Are Your Growth Days. Old Systems Fail on Them.

Research note 3

Know Which Part Gives Way First, and Move It Before the Next Peak

Issue study (a public case)

When the Busiest Day Brings the System Down

Healthcare

Hospitals, payers and pharma: old clinical and billing systems, data rules and what the public record shows.

Cannot exchange records with other systems

Research note 1

Hospital Systems Rarely Pass Records to Each Other. The Connection Is Usually a Person.

Research note 3

Sharing One Record Should Not Mean Replacing Every System. Here Is the Benchmark We Would Set.

Retail

Retailers and marketplaces: peak-day outages, old order and stock systems, and the cost of standing still.

Systems that do not connect

Research note 1

Retail Systems Rarely Share What They Know. The Connection Is Usually a Person.

Research note 3

Every Crossing Between Your Systems Should Have an Owner. Here Is the Benchmark We Would Set.

Wrong or unreliable data

Research note 1

Retail Figures Are Not Wrong by Accident. Each One Is Made Wrong Somewhere.

Research note 3

Before Old Data Moves, Someone Should Write Down Where It Cannot Be Trusted.

Manufacturing

Manufacturers: ERP replacements, plant systems nobody can change, and supplier and tax deadlines.

Replacement goes wrong at go live

Research note 1

Manufacturers Keep Their Old Applications for One Reason. It Is the Go-Live Day.

Research note 2

A New System Can Pass Every Test and Still Miss the Old One's Rules.

Cannot connect machines and systems

Research note 1

The Plant Says One Number and the ERP Says Another. The Public Record Says That Is Where AI Pilots Stop.

Research note 3

Off the Clipboard Starts With Counting the Copies.

Logistics, travel and hospitality

Carriers, airlines and hotels: scheduling and booking systems, outages and joining old systems to new partners.

Systems fail under load

Research note 1

Every Booking System Has a Ceiling. Most Firms Learn Theirs in the Busiest Week.

Research note 2

The Weeks That Earn the Year. More Servers Are One Answer of Four.

Research note 3

The Day the Plan Changes Is the Day That Counts. Here Is the Benchmark We Would Set.

Issue study (a public case)

Could Not Keep Up With the Changes

Too slow and costly to replace

Research note 1

The Old System Still Works. That Is Why the Replacement Never Starts.

Research note 3

Finished Should Mean Matched. The Benchmark We Would Set for a Replacement.

Software and SaaS vendors

Software companies: inherited code, release paths, security obligations and products customers still run.

Few developers for the old technology

Research note 1

Software Firms Say They Cannot Hire for Their Old Technology. What Holds Them Back Is How Few People Can Read the Code.

Research note 2

The Advert Has Been Open for Months. A Software Firm Can Stop Waiting for the Old Skill.

Desktop only or dated user interface

Research note 2

You Were Told a Web Version Means Rebuilding the Whole Product First. It Can Reach the Web One Module at a Time.

Government and public sector

Councils, departments and agencies: case and benefits systems, failed replacements and accessibility rules.

Unsupported hardware and software

Research note 1

Nobody Can Say How Much of Your Department Runs on Unsupported Systems. Here Is What the Public Record Shows.

Research note 3

The Fix for Your Old Systems Is Too Big to Fund as One Project. Here Is the Benchmark We Would Set.

Scarce skills for cobol and assembly

Research note 1

The People Who Understand Your Oldest System Are Retiring. Here Is What the Public Record Shows.

Research note 2

A Public Service Should Not Rest on a Retirement Date. Four Ways Forward, Weighed.

Research note 3

Every Question About Your Old System Waits for One Person. Here Is the Benchmark We Would Set.

Issue study (a public case)

A Dwindling Number of People

Telecom

Operators: billing and network-support systems, quality-of-service rules and security obligations.

Locked to legacy vendors

Research note 1

Most Operators Say They Depend on Their Legacy Vendors. What Few Hold Is Their Own Record of What They Run.

Research note 3

Tied a Little Tighter Every Year. Where Your Dependence on a Vendor Is Now, and Where It Should Be.

End of life hardware

Research note 1

Operators Know Which Servers Are Old. What Nobody Has Written Down Is What Runs on Them.

Research note 2

Spares Buy Time, Not a Way Off. Four Ways to Deal With Servers Past Their Support, Weighed.

Education

Universities and schools: student records, examinations, separate systems and the regulator’s deadlines.

Too many separate systems

Research note 1

The Fees Office Says Paid and the Examination Section Says Due. Here Is What the Public Record Shows About Separate Systems.

Research note 3

Your Systems Are Already Joined, by Scripts, Files and Spreadsheets. Here Is the Benchmark We Would Set.

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