PHOTO: Alex Motoc Tried but true legacy systems can be like old friends. Sure, they may walk a little slower and need to rest more often, but they still have your back when you need them. So saying goodbye to them is always a tough choice. Nostalgia aside, it may also simply not make financial sense to rip and replace your legacy system. It can be costly â not only in terms of the expense of new systems, but the risk involved when the transition to new systems causes downtime or unhappy customers. Companies therefore need to carefully weigh the pros and cons when deciding whether to invest in legacy system modernization or to send it to the scrap heap.