Legacy COBOL Code: A Ticking Time Bomb for Businesses

COBOL, the venerable programming language that has powered mission-critical business systems for decades, is now being likened to a form of technical debt that many organizations are struggling to address. Despite its age, COBOL remains one of the most widely adopted computer languages in history, with an estimated 220 billion lines of code still in active use.

However, the continued reliance on COBOL is causing a host of problems for businesses, much like the use of asbestos in construction. As the workforce skilled in maintaining and updating COBOL systems dwindles, organizations are faced with the daunting task of migrating their critical applications to more modern technologies. This process is often complex, time-consuming, and fraught with risks, making it difficult to remove COBOL from many organizations' IT infrastructures.