Decommissioning software systems: An underestimated topic
Another example of an SME success story: The Kreuzlingen-based company Data Migration Services AG specializes in decommissioning software systems. The software company sees massive cost reduction opportunities with data archiving and application historization and, as a result, enormous potential.
The figures presented by Data Migration Services AG at a recent media conference are impressive: the company has repeatedly been able to increase its sales by double-digit percentages in recent years. In 2017 alone, growth amounted to around 40 percent. JiVS software generated sales of 25 million Swiss francs last year, both directly and via partners. In 2017, for example, one of the largest energy materials groups and Lafarge Holcim opted for JiVS. The building materials giant will use it to historicize dozens of legacy systems. But one of the world's 20 largest corporations from the USA is also a prominent customer of the Kreuzlingen-based software manufacturer. The conglomerate has been using JiVS for all business lines since 2017. However, Data Migration Services still has the big growth spurt ahead of it. By 2030, founder and owner Thomas Failer expects a potential of at least two billion Swiss francs. With the goal of becoming the global market leader for historization of legacy systems and complementary solutions, Failer returned to the company on May 1, 2018. In order to tap into this potential as much as possible, the existing global partner network is to be expanded at full speed. Failer: "Customers see up to 80 percent savings potential for IT operations in the future in the historization of legacy systems. That's why the discipline must also be an integral part of migration strategies and the means of choice to provide the resources that are often lacking for urgently needed investments in innovative business models."
Challenges data protection
The reasons that market researchers see such great potential for companies in JiVS' core business are extremely pragmatic: Capgemini, for example, says that half of the largest companies could take 50 percent of their software systems out of operation. However, since the requirements of data protection laws, for example, cannot be met without historization functionalities such as those provided by JiVS, the topic has been treated rather stepmotherly in the past. Now, against the background of the new European General Data Protection Regulation, attention to this topic is likely to increase. This is because companies must be able to provide information about personal data on request, even if this data is stored in old databases that have not been migrated to new applications. The JiVS software solution ensures that access to "ancient" data is still possible; the origin of data and its further processing along the value chain can still be traced. This is also relevant in the project business and plant engineering, for example, where long runtimes often prevail. When modernizing a power plant, for example, it is of utmost importance to know exactly which parts or materials were originally installed in order to avoid errors and delays in planning and, above all, execution. The various views can be placed next to each other in the JiVS interface so that, for example, a specialist user can understand the material flow from ordering to delivery and assembly at a glance.
Migration to SAP S/4 Hana
In addition, there are the consequences that companies will face as a result of migration to the new SAP world if they do not consistently retire legacy systems. By 2025 at the latest, many companies will be confronted with the inevitable migration to S4/Hana and a proprietary database policy whose costs can no longer be justified. In the meantime, a change in thinking has therefore also set in, says Failer: "Customers, partners and market researchers assess the need for consolidation and historization of software systems as more urgent than ever." In addition to data protection compliance and SAP S/4 Hana, however, megatrends such as cloud computing or new digital business models are also the drivers, he says. "Processes and systems are changing, but data must remain available. We will use these challenges faced by companies to expand our market leadership for historization of legacy systems with JiVS."
Gartner sees JiVS as "ideal" for decommissioning software systems
Data Migration Services' growth is also astonishing in light of its organization. The company with its 20 employees has a very lean structure. Even for large international groups, sales were handled by correspondence, as it were, as Thomas Failer recounts. While other companies have an extensive sales network for global activities, Data Migration Systems can rely on well-known partners, first and foremost the system integrators from SAP. This also explains the enormous potential. But users of other ERP solutions that are reaching the end of their life cycle can also use JiVS to archive their old data stocks with reasonable effort and make them available for the new solution. Market researcher Gartner recognizes the Swiss software JiVS in its SDAAR Magic Quadrant (Structured Data Archiving and Application Retirement), saying, "If you are looking for a legacy retirement solution, we belive JiVS is ideal." and "The JiVS Approach to switch to SAP S/4HANA is game-changing." If that doesn't equate to a knighthood....
