Rating: 
Summary: Neat, pragmatic ideas for a messy business
Review: Bill has filled this book with tremendous value for any one working with existing systems of any kind. He builds in the flexibility of approach by mapping many common and not-so-common methods and strategies through his exploration of specific case studies. Chapter 3 is a valuable item on its own - rarely have I seen such a thorough and clear examination of all the different 'movements' in IT in the last 10 years. Nice job, Bill.
Rating:
Summary: Neat, pragmatic ideas for a messy business
Review: Bill has filled this book with tremendous value for any one working with existing systems of any kind. He builds in the flexibility of approach by mapping many common and not-so-common methods and strategies through his exploration of specific case studies. Chapter 3 is a valuable item on its own - rarely have I seen such a thorough and clear examination of all the different 'movements' in IT in the last 10 years. Nice job, Bill.
Rating:
Summary: He's done it again!
Review: Bill Ulrich has done it again. He's taken complex technical topics and rendered them into easily grasped themes. As companies wrestle with the challenges inherent in enabling their new Web-centric systems to communicate with their legacy systems, they'll need the insights to be found in this book. If you're looking to get the most bang for your technology dollar, this is a great place to start!
Rating:
Summary: A WONDERFUL BLUEPRINT FOR THE FUTURE
Review: Bill Ulrich has remarkable insight !! As he points out, any system that has been production enabled is a legacy system (whether it was installed ten days ago or ten years ago). Thus it is relevant to ask, not only how can old systems be integrated into the current enterprise, but also how can NEW systems be designed so they can be easily integrated into the future enterprise. Bill discusses every aspect of this daunting and ongoing task.......from budgeting, to design, through analysis, and on into implementation........including an extremely meticulous discussion of methodologies, tools and services !! This is "must reading" for all IT professionals who want to create enduring data processing systems.
Rating:
Summary: A WONDERFUL BLUEPRINT FOR THE FUTURE
Review: Bill Ulrich has remarkable insight !! As he points out, any system that has been production enabled is a legacy system (whether it was installed ten days ago or ten years ago). Thus it is relevant to ask, not only how can old systems be integrated into the current enterprise, but also how can NEW systems be designed so they can be easily integrated into the future enterprise. Bill discusses every aspect of this daunting and ongoing task.......from budgeting, to design, through analysis, and on into implementation........including an extremely meticulous discussion of methodologies, tools and services !! This is "must reading" for all IT professionals who want to create enduring data processing systems.
Rating:
Summary: No silver bullets when dealing with legacy systems!!
Review: Corporations have been trying to retire legacy systems for the past couple of decades. Each new technology (be it client/server, ERP packaged apps, etc) were supposed to put the nail in the coffin for legacy systems. Yet, legacy systems continue to thrive despite attempts to retire them. One reason why they continue to exist is that in many instances, they support business processes in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible. Bill's book views this area more as a transformation effort (evolution) rather than wholesale legacy replacement (revolution). This book is a must read for IT departments as they struggle to remain relavent in an era of outsourcing. The strategies outlined in this book will help the IT department become a partner with functional business units in delivering solutions that address burning business problems. The focus shifts to providinig measurable value to the business as opposed to implementing unified and elegant technologies.
Rating:
Summary: No silver bullets when dealing with legacy systems!!
Review: Corporations have been trying to retire legacy systems for the past couple of decades. Each new technology (be it client/server, ERP packaged apps, etc) were supposed to put the nail in the coffin for legacy systems. Yet, legacy systems continue to thrive despite attempts to retire them. One reason why they continue to exist is that in many instances, they support business processes in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible. Bill's book views this area more as a transformation effort (evolution) rather than wholesale legacy replacement (revolution). This book is a must read for IT departments as they struggle to remain relavent in an era of outsourcing. The strategies outlined in this book will help the IT department become a partner with functional business units in delivering solutions that address burning business problems. The focus shifts to providinig measurable value to the business as opposed to implementing unified and elegant technologies.
Rating:
Summary: We give it to our clients
Review: I read Bill Ulrich's book and was delighted to see that he was clearing laying out strategies that we were dealing with as we worked with our clients. We now make Mr. Ulrich's book part of our mandatory reading for our consultants and have purchased copies for distribution to some of our key clients. This has helped both our consulting teams and our clients in planning and project executiion.
Rating:
Summary: We give it to our clients
Review: I read Bill Ulrich's book and was delighted to see that he was clearing laying out strategies that we were dealing with as we worked with our clients. We now make Mr. Ulrich's book part of our mandatory reading for our consultants and have purchased copies for distribution to some of our key clients. This has helped both our consulting teams and our clients in planning and project executiion.
Rating:
Summary: Finally Some Quality Attention to Legacy Systems!
Review: IT trends come and go, but each new technology adds more legacy systems to application portfolios. Legacy systems account for a disproportionate share of IT spending, yet few authors tackle the subject, and even fewer offer actionable advice for capturing and extending the value of those systems. William Ulrich's Legacy Systems Transformation Strategies is a long overdue reference guide for IT professionals seeking to modernize the legacy war horses in their corporate portfolios. Relying on many years of experience in the trenches, Ulrich offers many approaches and options for supporting today's business requirements from data mining to application modularization and EAI (enterprise application integration). He provides concise and practical techniques for all aspects of legacy transformations including planning, data rationalization and business rule capture and reuse. If you own, manage, or support legacy systems, invest in this book! You won't regret it.
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