What psychological attitude do IT professionals have towards legacy systems?

84.7% of respondents reported that they feel a strong aversion or fear towards systems they would prefer not to touch, and feel gloomy when requests for modifications come in.

How consistent are the system documentation and the actual system?

Approximately 50% of companies reported that their documentation is 'almost completely inconsistent' or 'non-existent.' Including partial inconsistencies, about 80% of companies find their documentation unreliable.

What risks are associated with the departure of specific veteran staff members?

More than 70% of cases report risks due to dependency on specific individuals, with 15.6% indicating that there is a risk of multiple critical systems, including core systems, shutting down.

What are the main technical factors that make legacy systems 'undesirable to touch'?

The primary factors include the transformation into spaghetti code due to years of modifications, the occurrence of unexpected bugs from fixes (due to unclear impact scope), and the black-boxing of systems due to lack of documentation.

Which company conducted this survey and what related product do they offer?

The survey was conducted by NTT Data Business Brains Co., Ltd. They offer a no-code cloud database called 'Slopebase' and support the de-black-boxing of systems.

AI News NQ Analysis

84.7% of Companies Have Systems IT Admins 'Want to Avoid Touching'! Survey on Legacy System Reality

NQ Score 87/100

N1 Content Completeness 5

Key facts

84.7% of Companies Have Systems IT Admins 'Want to Avoid Touching'! Survey on Legacy System Reality
A survey by NTT DATA Business Brains revealed that 84.7% of IT staff manage legacy systems they would prefer not to touch. With 80% reporting a mismatch between documentation and reality, and 70% facing system failure risks upon veteran retirement, the crisis in IT maintenance is severe.
Source: PR TIMES
Date: Tue May 19 2026 21:30:02 GMT+0900 (Japan Standard Time)

Direct answer

A survey by NTT DATA Business Brains revealed that 84.7% of IT staff manage legacy systems they would prefer not to touch. With 80% reporting a mismatch between documentation and reality, and 70% facing system failure risks upon veteran retirement, the crisis in IT maintenance is severe.

Citation: 84.7% of Companies Have Systems IT Admins 'Want to Avoid Touching'! Survey on Legacy System Reality (Tue May 19 2026 21:30:02 GMT+0900 (Japan Standard Time)), PR TIMES
Source: PR TIMES
Date: Tue May 19 2026 21:30:02 GMT+0900 (Japan Standard Time)

AI Summary (NQ-processed)

A survey by NTT DATA Business Brains revealed that 84.7% of IT staff manage legacy systems they would prefer not to touch. With 80% reporting a mismatch between documentation and reality, and 70% facing system failure risks upon veteran retirement, the crisis in IT maintenance is severe.

AI Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What psychological attitude do IT professionals have towards legacy systems?: A: 84.7% of respondents reported that they feel a strong aversion or fear towards systems they would prefer not to touch, and feel gloomy when requests for modifications come in.
Q: How consistent are the system documentation and the actual system?: A: Approximately 50% of companies reported that their documentation is 'almost completely inconsistent' or 'non-existent.' Including partial inconsistencies, about 80% of companies find their documentation unreliable.
Q: What risks are associated with the departure of specific veteran staff members?: A: More than 70% of cases report risks due to dependency on specific individuals, with 15.6% indicating that there is a risk of multiple critical systems, including core systems, shutting down.
Q: What are the main technical factors that make legacy systems 'undesirable to touch'?: A: The primary factors include the transformation into spaghetti code due to years of modifications, the occurrence of unexpected bugs from fixes (due to unclear impact scope), and the black-boxing of systems due to lack of documentation.
Q: Which company conducted this survey and what related product do they offer?: A: The survey was conducted by NTT Data Business Brains Co., Ltd. They offer a no-code cloud database called 'Slopebase' and support the de-black-boxing of systems.