Data-driven insights on market growth, ROI, security imperatives, and the technologies reshaping how enterprises modernize aging database infrastructure
The legacy modernization market has reached $24.98 billion in 2025, yet Fortune 500 companies still operate software over two decades old. This disconnect between investment and adoption creates both risk and opportunity for enterprise IT teams. DreamFactory's automatic API generation addresses this modernization gap by instantly creating secure REST APIs from legacy databases—enabling organizations to expose data through modern interfaces without replacing existing systems. As the market projects growth to $56.87 billion by 2030, understanding the statistics driving these trends is essential for strategic planning.
Key Takeaways
- Legacy modernization delivers 288-362% ROI — Organizations investing in mainframe modernization report exceptional returns, making modernization a financial imperative rather than optional upgrade
- 62% of organizations still rely on legacy systems — Despite documented risks, most enterprises continue operating aging infrastructure that limits agility
- 98% see benefits from modernization — Nearly all organizations experience improvements in one critical area including security, reliability, or scalability
- Government spends 80% of IT budgets on maintenance — The U.S. GAO reports most federal IT spending goes to keeping old systems running rather than innovation
- GenAI reduces modernization costs up to 70% — Automated code analysis and conversion tools dramatically lower the barrier to modernization
The Imperative of Modernizing Legacy Systems: Market Size and Growth
1. Legacy modernization market valued at $24.98 billion in 2025
The $24.98 billion market size reflects urgent enterprise demand for modernization solutions. Organizations can no longer delay addressing aging infrastructure as competitive pressures intensify. DreamFactory's database connectors enable organizations to modernize data access without full system replacement.
2. Market projected to reach $56.87 billion by 2030 at 17.92% CAGR
This projected growth signals sustained investment in modernization through the decade. The compound annual growth rate exceeds most enterprise software categories, indicating executive prioritization of legacy transformation.
3. Application modernization services projected to reach $98.38 billion by 2034
The broader application modernization market will grow to $98.38 billion at 16.80% CAGR, encompassing database, application, and infrastructure modernization initiatives.
4. Data migration market size was $9.378 billion in 2024
The data migration segment alone represents a $9.378 billion opportunity, projected to reach $34.57 billion by 2035 at 12.59% CAGR.
The Current State: Why Organizations Still Run Aging Systems
5. 70% of Fortune 500 companies operate software over two decades old
McKinsey reports (citing TechRadar) that the majority of large enterprises continue running decades-old systems. These systems often contain critical business logic and data that cannot be easily replaced.
6. 62% of organizations still rely on legacy software systems
A 500+ IT professionals survey reveals that most organizations maintain legacy dependencies despite known limitations. This persistence creates ongoing security, scalability, and integration challenges.
7. ~220 billion lines of COBOL code remain in production
Legacy programming languages still power critical infrastructure, with 220 billion COBOL lines running production workloads globally. DreamFactory enables these systems to expose data through modern REST APIs without code rewrites.
8. 95% of ATM card swipes use COBOL code
Financial infrastructure depends heavily on legacy systems, with nearly all ATM transactions processing through COBOL-based applications. This reality makes API-based modernization essential for financial services.
On-Premises and Hybrid Cloud: Data Control in Database Migration
9. Cloud deployments captured 67.78% revenue share in 2024
While cloud adoption dominates the modernization market, regulated industries increasingly require hybrid approaches. DreamFactory's self-hosted deployment model supports on-premises, customer-managed cloud, and air-gapped environments where data sovereignty is mandatory.
10. Cloud database market valued at $22 billion in 2024
The cloud database and DBaaS market reached $22 billion, projected to grow to $109.1 billion by 2034 at 19.5% CAGR. Organizations must balance cloud benefits against compliance and control requirements.
11. Relational databases held 53.6% market share in 2024
Traditional SQL databases continue dominating enterprise environments. DreamFactory supports over 20 databases including SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Snowflake—generating REST APIs from existing schemas without data movement.
ROI and Financial Impact: The Business Case for Modernization
12. Mainframe modernization delivers ROI between 288% and 362%
The Kyndryl modernization survey documents exceptional returns from modernization investments. This ROI range makes legacy transformation one of the highest-return IT initiatives available.
13. Organizations expect to save $13 billion collectively from AI/GenAI use
Survey respondents project $13 billion in savings over the next three years from AI-assisted modernization and operations.
14. Banking institutions achieve 30-40% infrastructure cost reduction
Research shows financial services organizations reduce infrastructure costs by 30-40% through cloud migration. Customer implementations demonstrate similar savings through API-based modernization.
15. 50% faster time-to-market for new features after modernization
A banking case study documents halved time-to-market following modernization. This speed advantage compounds over multiple release cycles.
16. Companies with high interoperability grew revenue 2.5x faster
Research found that organizations with strong system integration capabilities significantly outpace competitors in revenue growth. API-based modernization directly improves interoperability.
Security Imperatives: Protecting Enterprise Data
17. 43% of IT professionals cite security vulnerabilities as major legacy concern
The Saritasa survey identifies security as the top technical concern with legacy systems. DreamFactory's security features include automatic SQL injection prevention, role-based access control, and multiple authentication methods.
18. Vulnerability exploitation as breach vector increased 180% year-over-year
The Verizon 2024 DBIR reports vulnerability exploitation nearly tripled as an attack vector. Legacy systems with unpatched vulnerabilities present prime targets.
19. Healthcare data breaches cost $9.77 million on average
The IBM breach report documents healthcare's highest breach costs. HIPAA compliance requirements make secure API access to legacy health systems critical.
20. 94% state modernization plans are highly influenced by regulatory compliance
Kyndryl survey data shows compliance requirements drive the vast majority of modernization decisions. DreamFactory's granular access controls support GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 compliance requirements.
Challenges and Barriers: What Holds Organizations Back
21. 50% delay modernization because "current system still works"
Half of organizations postpone modernization citing functional adequacy of existing systems. This "if it ain't broke" mindset ignores accumulating technical debt and security risk.
22. 48% identify complexity as top organizational challenge
Research shows nearly half of organizations struggle with modernization complexity. Configuration-driven approaches like DreamFactory reduce complexity by eliminating custom code.
23. 70% of organizations struggle to find multi-skilled modernization talent
The talent shortage affects most organizations attempting modernization. Automated API generation reduces dependency on scarce specialized developers.
24. U.S. accumulated technical debt reached ~$1.52 trillion in 2022
The IT-CISQ quality report quantifies the massive technical debt burden enterprises carry. API-based modernization addresses debt without full system rewrites.
25. U.S. government spends roughly 80% of IT budgets maintaining legacy systems
The GAO reports federal agencies allocate most IT spending to maintenance rather than innovation. This pattern extends across regulated industries where legacy systems dominate.
Taking Action on These Statistics
The data makes clear that legacy database modernization is no longer optional for competitive enterprises. Organizations maintaining aging database infrastructure face:
- Security vulnerabilities cited by 43% of IT professionals as major concerns
- Talent shortages affecting 70% of organizations attempting modernization
- Technical debt accumulating to $1.52 trillion across U.S. enterprises
- Compliance pressure influencing 94% of modernization decisions
DreamFactory addresses these challenges through configuration-driven API generation that produces secure, documented REST APIs from over 20 database types without requiring custom code. With 50,000+ production instances processing over 2 billion daily API calls, the platform enables organizations to modernize data access while preserving existing database investments.
For organizations ready to modernize legacy database access without full system replacement, request a demo to see how automatic API generation transforms your modernization strategy.