Across industries, I see leaders frustrated by the same problem: 80-90% of their IT budget is spent maintaining legacy technology. At Thoughtworks, we are supporting clients to finally flipping that ratio through reverse engineering legacy mainframes and then forward-engineering them into modular, microservice-based, high-performance systems. In my recent interview with Forbes India, I discussed this and more around how we're helping our clients adopt and maximize value from AI by using it to create new experiences, optimizing processes and operations like supply chain or financial forecasting. Thank you Payal Ganguly for a thoughtful chat as we navigate the largest inflection point in how software gets built. Read the full interview: https://lnkd.in/e_YJ6bzJ
Jason Co
3mo
This is great. Thoughtworks has always been one of the few firms that actually understands how to unwind legacy systems the right way - reverse-engineering what exists before forward-engineering what comes next. Most companies underestimate how hard that first part really is. One thing I keep seeing across orgs (no matter the size): before anyone gets to modularization, microservices, or modernization, they’re missing a clear, trustworthy understanding of the architecture they already have. Years of drift, missing documentation, repos all over the place - no one actually knows how the system works anymore. That’s the problem we’ve been focused on with Syntaxa.ai. It analyzes repos, maps the real architecture, surfaces risks, dependencies, config issues, and gives teams a reliable picture of what they’re starting from. No hype - just clarity before decisions get made. Thoughtworks + a tool like Syntaxa is a strong combination: expert modernization paired with a clear view of the current system. Helps teams move faster and with fewer surprises. Really appreciated this post - and the interview.
Thanks for sharing your insights, Mike. With any new digital technology, early adopters often advance without fully mitigating cyber risks, while more cautious stakeholders can become immobilized by the potential threats. Our role is to empower both groups to capitalize on the significant opportunities AI presents, without compromising on security.
Clara Fletcher
3mo
It’s so true! There are so many companies running old ETL processes and code that was written by people no longer even at the company. Forget all the front end AI agents, it’s the back end cleanup that has the real enterprise opportunities right now.
Great read, Mike Sutcliff. Your point about legacy estates consuming most of the technology budget reflects what many sectors are facing. Some hope AI will let them leapfrog a generation or two, yet that becomes untenable given the underlying architecture. In my recent M&A due-diligence work for VC and PE funds, I have seen some firms chase AI out of fear of missing the gold rush rather than to solve a defined need. Without purpose, governance and clarity of outcomes, this tendency to put the cart before the horse will very likely create a new version of legacy. Your interview highlights this reality at exactly the right moment.