The end of 'rip and replace'? New survey finds businesses are sticking it out with legacy tech

Date:
Thu, 17 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Description:
Despite scaling to AI, many businesses are keeping hold of older hardware, opting to upgrade existing devices wherever possible, rather than replace them.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Report finds 57% of UK organizations opted to extend legacy system use rather than replace the tech This is despite almost half of UK businesses are scaling AI Meanwhile, over three quarters of UK businesses have gone over budget on modernization, with over two thirds have paused or abandoned the process Does technological progress necessarily mean replacing old gear? New research from Ensono claims businesses are keeping hold of legacy tech, with older systems extended and upgraded to support modern applications.

This is happening while businesses scale their AI use, focusing budgets on affordable upgrades for existing PCs, laptops, and servers on one hand, and embracing AI on the other. Its a balancing act, one that is being managed by around 52% of businesses 57% in the UK, and 48% in the US. However, the driving factor for this reliance on older tech may not be smart budgeting and foresight. Across the US and UK, 61% of businesses have been forced to pause, scale back, delay, or even completely abandon IT modernization in the past
two years. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: IT modernization? Ensonos second annual State of IT Modernization Report seems
to point to a change in how IT modernization is achieved: rather than replacing old tech, businesses are upgrading. The takeaway is that IT budgets are dictating a focus on AI spending, so where possible PCs, laptops, and
some lower-end servers are increasingly being upgraded with faster, higher capacity storage and RAM.

Other key statistics in the report include the news that 71% of IT modernization projects have exceeded budgets, with workflow challenges (33%) and limitations with existing infrastructure (28%) among the roadblocks to an ROI on AI spending. You may like The changing face of technology innovation The businesses paying for AI aren't going back AI can read your legacy systems. Modernization is still the hard part

Underpinning all of this is the growth in decision makers declaring that AI
is accelerating modernization, up from 39% last year to 54%. Rediscovering legacy systems Budget demands seem to be driving the reliance on older tech within organizations striving to keep up with AI modernization. Are you a
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AI is expanding the possibilities for modernization, enterprises are discovering that legacy systems, like the mainframe, are intensely powerful, reliable and efficient sources of computing that can now be augmented and
made more agile thanks to AI," noted Brian Klingbeil, Chief Strategy Officer at Ensono.

This means that IT leaders are being forced to decide what needs to be preserved, and where to use AI investment wisely.

These systems contain decades of data and business logic that drive many businesses, says Klingbeil. The advantage will go to organizations that understand their environments well enough to distinguish what should be replaced vs. what should be augmented, and embrace new modernization methods that simply were not available even 18 months ago." Follow TechRadar on
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/the-end-of-rip-and-replace-new-survey-finds-busi nesses-are-sticking-it-out-with-legacy-tech


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