The Old Software Story

The ask

Today was a big one — a meeting with their biggest client. The whale that kept the business going. More than Peter would like to admit.

He walked through the big double doors, barely seeing the tall ceiling. A doorman handed him a pass. “STT is on Level 11.” Peter took it and made for the elevator, his mind already somewhere else.

In the meeting, Tony offered Peter a seat.

“I guess you’re wondering why I asked you in?” said Tony.

Peter had assumed it was something to do with negotiations for the next contract — a contract they’d managed to keep for nine years. Hopefully they could make it an even ten. Or twenty!

“We had a meeting with the board, and there are a few things we need added to the contract,” Tony began. He went on to explain that Legal and Marketing needed Peter’s company to report on more information than he was currently required. That meant recording more information and producing some more reports for the customer.

While Peter was glad they were asking for more — because, as we all know, more means more money and more profit — he was also feeling a little sick. How was he going to collect this extra information and turn it into a report?

The system

Later that day, Peter met with Trish, his boss, and explained the situation. Trish slumped in her chair and let out a quiet sigh. She sat silently for a second — it felt like minutes to Peter.

“What if we had a spreadsheet and entered the extra data that way?” asked Trish. “Tim’s great with numbers, an Excel wiz. He could mash it together so we can make the report.”

Peter wasn’t sure if that was a question or a statement. He thought for a second. Would that work?

“Nah, we’d need to pull in the current data too,” Peter replied. “We’d have to export the data from the current system and then mash them together. Tim’s good, but he’s supposed to be the Marketing Manager, not the Spreadsheet Wrangler.”

Not to mention they weren’t sure how they’d get data out of “the system” anyway.

The problem was that “the system” was an application the previous CEO and the IT Manager had built themselves. It handled all the orders, did all the tracking, and produced the reporting for customers. It covered the entire business. It was great, because it followed the processes that were the cornerstone of their success. The only issue: the IT Manager had left. He’d retired when the internet became “a thing,” and Trish was now sitting in the former CEO’s seat.

The search

“Could we get Derek to come in and make some changes?” asked Trish.

Peter shook his head. A few years ago — maybe a decade ago — they’d called Derek up to add a few small changes. He’d been too busy playing with the grandkids and wasn’t interested. It didn’t seem likely he’d be interested now, years later.

“How about we find an expert in whatever he used to build the program?” suggested Peter. He was fairly certain they had a “source code,” which sounded like something out of the Matrix.

“Yeah, that sounds like a plan. See if you can find someone.”

Peter had his mandate.

Peter did a quick Google search. It seemed just about anyone who’d worked on that sort of system was retired, or should be. If they did pick up the phone, they charged hundreds of dollars just to come in and have a look. They knew there weren’t many people around who could help — they knew they had a niche market.

A few days later, Trish asked Peter, “How did you go finding someone?”

“Not good, I’m afraid. They either charge like wounded bulls or they’re retired.”

“Oh,” said Trish. This wasn’t as easy as she’d thought.

“How are you going?” asked Peter, sensing the lull in the conversation.

“Well, more bad news, I’m afraid. I just spoke with the new IT guy. Seems we can’t install new laptops — the latest Windows won’t run ’the system,’ so they’re looking for creative ways to keep it running. Apparently we’ve got a lot of Digital Debt now.”

The turn

Peter realised he had to change tack. He didn’t need someone to keep it on life support. They needed a modern solution. Something that worked on the Internet. Peter returned to his desk. He sat in his chair and pulled it in close. His search for upgrading old software led him to Ocom. As he read through their website he realised this was the answer. They took existing systems and made more modern versions. All the while preserving the years of historical data they had already collected.

Ocom met with Peter, Trish, and the IT guy. They signed an NDA, took a copy of the “source” and some data, and got to work.

Once word got out that “the system” was finally being replaced, Peter’s inbox filled up. Improvements people had wanted for years. “Bugs” they’d quietly worked around. Things he’d never even heard of. It was dawning on him just how long this had been coming — this was well overdue.

The new normal

Ocom didn’t rip the old system out overnight. They built the new one alongside it and ran the two side by side, so Trish could watch them agree, line for line, until she finally slept through the night. The tired old machines gave way to new ones. And when STT’s contract came up for renewal, the new system did everything Legal and Marketing had asked for. They signed for another four years.

Then the requests Peter used to dread turned into things he could just say yes to. Phil from Sales wanted an app to hand customers — “an awesome marketing tool,” he’d called it. A few months on it existed, and the sales team wouldn’t stop talking about it.

Six months later, Peter was waiting on another client when his phone pinged: the latest changes were live from Ocom. No time to read them — the meeting was about to start.

Halfway through, the client mentioned they’d need different information now, something about new regulatory requirements. Peter didn’t even flinch. He let out an easy sigh, sank into his chair, and said, “Yeah, we can do that.”