Siloed data centres and aging infrastructure often lack the scalability and automation needed to enable digital innovation that delivers business results. For many CIOs, these environments are a growing drag on IT budgets and make integration with modern devops and data platforms increasingly complex.
A recent IDC survey found that 47% of organisations that overspend on digital infrastructure cite excessive technical debt as the cause. This often leaves enterprises trapped between stretching their current systems and embarking on costly migrations, a binary approach that can slow progress and compound technical debt.
AWS is helping break this deadlock by providing CIOs with a scalable, secure foundation to modernise incrementally, integrate cloud-native capabilities, and reduce technical debt without disrupting core operations.
The cost of holding steady
Legacy systems do more than slow day-to-day operations. They make integration with modern platforms increasingly difficult and tie up resources in costly maintenance. As Linda Ivy-Rosser, vice president and research director at Forrester, observes, many CIOs are still managing cost by keeping the core “as is,” holding on to an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mindset. Yet she stresses that even when legacy systems are retained, “some level of modernization has to occur, and you still have to pay down technical debt.”
This mindset reveals a common trap: viewing the options as either stretching existing legacy systems or risking wholesale replacement.
Why the binary view stalls progress
The perception of modernisation as a binary choice – replacing infrastructure wholesale or holding steady with legacy systems – is itself a barrier to progress. Both extremes carry risks: Full replacement can be costly and disruptive, but maintaining outdated platforms compounds technical debt and limits access to modern data, AI, and analytics. This narrow lens is a key reason many transformation programs stall.
A third way: Integration over replacement
The alternative is a more pragmatic route that balances continuity with progress. VMware Cloud™ on Amazon Web Services (AWS) allows enterprises to run legacy and modern workloads side by side, giving CIOs the ability to safeguard mission-critical systems while modernising selectively.
According to Foundry’s recent Cloud Computing Study, 70% of organisations now default to cloud-based services when upgrading or purchasing new technical capabilities. This signals a shift toward using modern tools in new areas rather than overhauling everything at once, reducing the perceived risk of disruption and creating a clear, repeatable pathway to transformation that is both phased and operationally manageable across teams.
Incremental modernisation also enables CIOs to target investment where it matters most, such as integrating AI and automation into specific processes. It helps improve platform compatibility, reduces future risk, and provides visible progress that resonates with boards and senior stakeholders. Innovation can move ahead without the need for wholesale migration and enterprises can demonstrate tangible value at each stage.
Strategic takeaway
CIOs are not limited to keeping outdated systems or risking disruptive change. By integrating legacy and modern workloads, they can reduce technical debt, unlock innovation, and keep critical services running. With AWS and VMware working together, enterprises can modernise selectively at their own pace, avoid stagnation, and position IT as a driver of competitiveness in the AI era.
Innovate with AWS and VMware now.