Fortunately, back in 1999, the Air Force decided that it needed to begin Web-enabling its standard base supply system (SBSS). The SBSS is a series of inventory, accounting and order management systems that control the flow of supplies from the warehouse to deployment in the field. "Now anybody with a laptop and a browser can access the supply system and access parts status," says Lt. Col. Jon Dittmer, chief of the Air Force’s supply systems division at Maxwell Air Force Base in Gunter Annex, Ala.

A growing number of businesses are facing the same problem as the Air Force?getting creaky legacy systems to work in a new Web-based world. With ultratight budgets strangling new systems deployments, scores of software vendors have stepped forward and are offering tools that promise to bring out-of-touch legacy systems into the Web age.

For many CIOs, the software has arrived not a moment too soon, as they look for a cost-effective way to address the growing clamor?from customers, employees and business partners?for Web-based information access. "For many organizations, the goal right now is getting through the night," says Dana Stiffler, a senior analyst at AMR Research, a technology research company based in Boston.

CIOs looking to leverage a legacy system into the Web era face a number of critical challenges, including planning the proper approach, locating software, retraining staff and addressing long-term viability issues. Yet one overriding benefit can make all of those headaches endurable, says Stiffler. "It’s undeniable that you can save a lot of money right up front," she notes.

One Size Fits None

The first question a CIO dealing with a legacy system must answer is whether a particular system even needs to be Web enabled. Systems that don’t require a lot of user interaction are the least suitable candidates. "If there’s a lot of number-crunching data, as in financial services, then it’s not really worth Web enabling," says Stiffler.

But when contending with legacy systems that could benefit from Web enabling, CIOs face two basic approaches: low-cost/stop-gap and higher-cost/longer-lasting. Picking the most appropriate path requires a great deal of advance planning. "It’s not a one-size-fits-all decision," says Tyler McDaniel, director of application strategies for the Hurwitz Group, a technology research and consulting company in Framingham, Mass.