A cost analysis of the software dilemma: to maintain or to replace

The authors develop an analytical model for determining the optimal rewriting time. They consider two rewriting strategies involving two different technologies. Several interesting propositions with managerial implications emerge from the analysis. These include the impacts of increasing maintenance requirements and unstructuredness of the technology on the optimal rewriting time, the differences in replacement times for the two technologies, and the effects of system integration requirements on replacement decisions.<
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