> Much of the system was so old that it was hard to find anyone who knew how it actually worked, and it’s maintenance had been outsourced to some of the typical IT outsourcing companies of the time.
Some years ago, I worked on an antitrust case involving a firm that had outsourced relevant systems. Multiple times, to different IT firms. And there was literally nobody left who knew how they worked.
After considerable negotiation, they agreed to provide documentation. And what that ended up being was a report by IT company 2 about their understanding of what IT company 1 had done with the firm's systems. Because, I gather, IT company 1 had evaporated.
Some years ago, I worked on an antitrust case involving a firm that had outsourced relevant systems. Multiple times, to different IT firms. And there was literally nobody left who knew how they worked.
After considerable negotiation, they agreed to provide documentation. And what that ended up being was a report by IT company 2 about their understanding of what IT company 1 had done with the firm's systems. Because, I gather, IT company 1 had evaporated.
And yes, the core of it was COBOL.