The truth is, the technology your firm relied on just a few years ago might not be the best solution for your needs today. Legacy applications—including software that’s become outdated either because of a lack of continued vendor support, an incapacity to meet the your needs, or incompatibility with new systems—can really hold your firm back.

These legacy systems are usually pretty high-maintenance and often involve complex patching and alterations.

But updating these applications is always much easier said than done. Many company leaders often don’t understand how much work is involved, or what the particular challenges will be.

First of all, a massive tech overhaul usually comes with a hefty price tag. And because your team is used to the status quo, it can also be a highly disruptive process. In fact, according to a MIT study, 62% of respondents said integrating legacy systems was their biggest challenge in deploying multi-cloud infrastructure.

While there are always challenges in updating your firm's legacy technology, doing so will lead to greater efficiency and cost savings down the line.

Here’s what you need to know before making a major software switch:

1. Get your team on board early

One of the top challenges in updating legacy applications is user acceptance.

When your team is used to doing things a certain way, a massive upheaval isn’t likely to be taken lightly. Legacy users are typically settled with their systems, including creating their own shortcuts and processes in or around the system.

This means before you update, you need to plan considerably for the change and ensure that the reason for it is well communicated to your team and clients alike. Legacy applications have all kinds of tentacles that aren’t anticipated in the upgrade process.

If you can forecast the areas of complexity and difficulty and overcome them early on, the likelihood of success improves dramatically.

To do this, 'acceptance testing' is a must. Also known as 'beta testing', the main purpose of this testing is to validate the software against prevailing business requirements.

Without clearly communicating the change, beta testing, and getting everyone on board, you’re not going to get the efficiencies or productivity gains that you set out to achieve in the first place.

2. Foster a progressive company culture

Legacy change comes from the top, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be some pushback from your team.