# Infor VISUAL and XA Legacy System Risk Assessment > Source: https://netray.co/tools/infor-visual-xa-legacy-risk-assessment > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: Free Tools ## Short answer Ten questions that score how exposed your VISUAL or XA system is on support, skills, hardware, customisation and integrations. ## Category erp-migration ## Erp Infor VISUAL ## Industry Discrete Manufacturing ## Audience - CIO - IT manager - Plant manager - Controller ## Tool **Kind:** assessment **Questions:** #### How current is your vendor support and maintenance arrangement? **Options:** ##### Active vendor support on a supported version **Score:** 10 ##### Partial or third party support **Score:** 6 ##### Self supported with no formal contract **Score:** 2 ##### Not sure **Score:** 0 #### How many people can fix the system if something breaks? **Options:** ##### Three or more with documented knowledge **Score:** 10 ##### Two **Score:** 6 ##### One key person **Score:** 2 ##### Nobody in house, relying on contractors **Score:** 0 #### What is the state of the server hardware and operating system? **Options:** ##### Supported and under warranty **Score:** 10 ##### Supported but ageing **Score:** 6 ##### Out of support but running **Score:** 2 ##### Unknown or single point of failure **Score:** 0 #### How heavily customised is the system? **Options:** ##### Mostly standard with a few documented changes **Score:** 10 ##### Moderate and documented **Score:** 6 ##### Heavy and partly documented **Score:** 2 ##### Heavy and undocumented **Score:** 0 #### How are integrations (EDI, shipping, CAD, banking) handled? **Options:** ##### Supported, monitored and documented **Score:** 10 ##### Working but fragile **Score:** 5 ##### Custom scripts known by one person **Score:** 2 ##### Manual re keying between systems **Score:** 1 #### How do you recover from a failure? **Options:** ##### Tested backup and restore within the last year **Score:** 10 ##### Backups run but restore never tested **Score:** 5 ##### Backups irregular **Score:** 2 ##### No reliable backup **Score:** 0 #### How well does the system support current security expectations (patching, access control, audit)? **Options:** ##### Patched, role based access, reviewed regularly **Score:** 10 ##### Some gaps known and planned **Score:** 6 ##### Shared logins or no patching **Score:** 2 ##### Customers or auditors have raised findings **Score:** 0 #### How much of the business runs on spreadsheets outside the ERP? **Options:** ##### Very little **Score:** 10 ##### Some planning and reporting **Score:** 6 ##### Most planning and costing **Score:** 2 ##### Core processes depend on spreadsheets **Score:** 0 #### Can the system support your growth plans and customer requirements? **Options:** ##### Yes with no major changes **Score:** 10 ##### Mostly with workarounds **Score:** 6 ##### Limited, causing lost opportunities **Score:** 2 ##### No **Score:** 0 #### Is there an agreed roadmap for the system? **Options:** ##### Yes, funded and scheduled **Score:** 10 ##### Agreed in principle, not funded **Score:** 5 ##### Discussed informally **Score:** 2 ##### No plan **Score:** 0 **Bands:** #### High exposure **Min:** 0 **Max:** 35 **Verdict:** A failure or the loss of one person could stop operations. Treat risk reduction as urgent. **Recommendations:** - Test a full restore this month and document the steps - Document the two or three processes only one person understands - Start a formal options study: upgrade, replace or wrap with a modern layer - Secure a hardware and support fallback #### Elevated exposure **Min:** 36 **Max:** 60 **Verdict:** The system works, but several single points of failure and undocumented items put you at risk. **Recommendations:** - Inventory customisations and integrations - Cross train a second administrator - Budget for a roadmap decision within the year - Move spreadsheet dependencies into governed reports #### Manageable with watch items **Min:** 61 **Max:** 80 **Verdict:** You are in reasonable shape. Keep documentation current and track the weakest answers. **Recommendations:** - Fix the lowest scored question first - Review security and patching quarterly - Confirm the roadmap and review at budget time #### Healthy **Min:** 81 **Max:** 100 **Verdict:** Your legacy system is well supported and documented. Keep reviewing as the business and technology change. **Recommendations:** - Repeat this assessment each year - Keep the restore test on a schedule - Capture knowledge from long tenured staff ## Content **Intro:** Running VISUAL or XA is not a problem in itself; running it without support, documentation or a recovery plan is. This assessment scores ten areas of exposure and gives a band with concrete next steps you can take to your leadership team. **Sections:** #### How to use the assessment **Body:** Answer for the system as it is today, not as you would like it to be. Involve the IT person who supports it and one business owner, because their answers often differ. Export the result and keep it with your budget papers. Repeat it yearly to show a trend rather than a single snapshot. **Bullets:** - Answer with both IT and a business owner present - Be honest on backups and restore tests - Repeat annually #### What the score measures **Body:** Each question scores up to ten points across support, skills, hardware, customisation, integrations, recovery, security, spreadsheet dependency, fit for growth and planning. The final score is shown as a percentage of the maximum. It is a prompt for discussion and not a verdict on whether to replace the ERP, because a stable system with a good recovery plan can be perfectly sound. #### Acting on the result **Body:** Start with the lowest scoring answers, especially recovery and key person risk, because they are cheap to improve. Then decide on the larger path: stay and stabilise, upgrade, replace, or wrap the legacy system with a modern reporting and AI layer that reads its data. Each has trade offs in cost, disruption and capability. **Bullets:** - Fix recovery and key person risk first - Cost the options over several years - Do not wait for a failure to decide **Cta:** If the result worries you, we can help scope the options, including a read only AI layer over the existing system that reduces dependence on individual experts. **Faq:** #### Does a low score mean we must replace the ERP? **Answer:** No. A low score points to exposure, and many risks such as restore testing, documentation and cross training can be fixed without replacement. Use the score to prioritise actions before making a bigger decision. #### Is the same assessment valid for VISUAL and XA? **Answer:** The questions apply to both because they cover support, skills, hardware, customisation and recovery. The details differ, for example SQL Server for VISUAL and IBM i for XA, but the risk categories are the same. #### Who should answer the questions? **Answer:** Ideally the system administrator together with a business owner such as the plant manager or controller. IT tends to know the technical state, while the business knows the workarounds and spreadsheets. #### How often should we repeat it? **Answer:** Yearly is enough for most sites, and again after any major change such as staff departure, hardware change or a significant customer requirement. Compare scores over time to see whether risk is rising or falling. ## Search terms legacy erp risk assessment, infor xa end of life, mapics legacy risk, infor visual support risk, legacy erp modernization assessment, should we replace our erp, erp technical debt assessment --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json