The High Cost of Maintaining a Powerbuilder Application

Some technologies struggle to keep pace with the constant influx of new platforms and languages. PowerBuilder, a tool that has been around since the early 1990s, is one such technology. While it once served as a cornerstone for developing robust business applications, it is now viewed as a legacy system. As technology advances (.NET didn't exist when PowerBuilder originally launched) and business needs evolve (try to find PowerBuilder talent, for example), maintaining these aging systems becomes both costly and complex.

By addressing the costs of maintaining PowerBuilder applications now, organizations can position themselves for greater agility, efficiency, and competitiveness in the future. The question isn't whether you can afford to modernize, but rather, can you afford not to?

Let's explore some of the factors contributing to the high cost of maintaining a PowerBuilder application and whether modernization is the right path forward.

Powerbuilder Then vs. Now

Once THE dominant force in rapid application development for enterprises, Powerbuild now occupies a unique position in the tech landscape. It's a platform with a loyal following, known for its stability and productivity, particularly in enterprise environments.

Some key features of Powerbuilder that made it a "power"-tool during its time:

1. DataWindow Technology
   The DataWindow is PowerBuilder's standout feature, offering a powerful and efficient way to handle data-centric operations. It allows developers to rapidly create and manipulate complex data presentations with minimal coding, significantly boosting productivity for database-driven applications.
2. Rapid Application Development (RAD)
   For developers familiar with the platform, PowerBuilder enables quick development of desktop applications. Its integrated development environment and visual tools allow for fast prototyping and implementation of business logic, particularly for data-intensive applications.

However, PowerBuilder faces significant challenges. The developer community is aging, with most practitioners having decades of experience and few new developers entering the field. This has led to PowerBuilder becoming a legacy technology, despite ongoing development and modernization efforts.

The Hidden Costs of Maintaining a Powerbuilder Application

While PowerBuilder has served many organizations well over the years, it's facing significant challenges and hidden expenses:

1. Scarcity of Skilled Developers. One of the most significant costs comes from the dwindling pool of PowerBuilder developers. With the average years of experience of a Powerbuilder developer being over 25 years, finding and retaining skilled personnel is both challenging and expensive. This scarcity drives up salaries and consultant fees, making even minor updates or bug fixes costly.
   
   
2. Limited Modernization Options. While PowerBuilder has made strides in modernization, it lags behind contemporary platforms in terms of cloud-native capabilities and integration with modern technologies. This limitation requires complex workarounds or additional middleware, increasing both development time and costs.
   
   
3. Security and Compliance Risks. As PowerBuilder applications age, they become more vulnerable to security threats. Updating these applications to meet modern security standards can be a complex and expensive process, potentially exposing your organization to compliance issues and data breaches.
   
   
4. Reduced Productivity and Missed Opportunities. PowerBuilder's outdated development environment and limited tooling slow down development processes. This reduced productivity translates directly into higher costs and missed business opportunities as your organization struggles to keep pace with more agile SaaS competitors.
   
   
5. Integration Challenges. As businesses adopt new SaaS solutions and cloud services, integrating these with PowerBuilder applications is difficult and expensive. This results in data silos and inefficient business processes.
   
   
6. Hardware and Infrastructure Costs. PowerBuilder applications are still running on older, on-premises infrastructure. Maintaining this hardware and ensuring compatibility with modern operating systems adds another layer of ongoing costs.
   
   
7. Dwindling Community Support and Ownership. PowerBuilder, having gone through multiple ownership changes, is now maintained by a Hong Kong based company, raising concerns about data security and the tool's future. While not banned by the federal government, its foreign ownership might attract scrutiny under the ICT Supply Chain Executive Order, limiting its use in sensitive projects. This has led to a lack of support in the PowerBuilder community to help developers. In the Tiobe Index (https://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/), a recognized index of the most popular programming languages in the industry, PowerBuilder was no longer in the top 100 languages by 2009, while languages such as Java and C# are in the top 5.

The Path Forward: Modernization Strategies

Given these mounting issues and costs, many organizations are looking for ways to modernize their PowerBuilder applications. Here are some strategies to consider:

1. Complete Rewrite: For complex applications, a complete rewrite using modern technologies like C# and .NET is one of the most effective long-term solutions but may be costly, time-consuming and risky.
   
   
2. Automated Conversion:  For a more cost-effective approach that still provides flexibility and high-quality code, explore automated conversion tools that translate PowerBuilder code to more modern languages, reducing the time and cost of migration. 
   
   
3. Hybrid Approach: Gradually replace components of your PowerBuilder application with modern microservices, allowing for a phased transition.

If you are curious about learning more on these different approaches, talk to us here at GAP. We have over 30+ years of experience migrating legacy applications, including complex Powerbuilder applications. We can help you decide which modernization strategy best suits your business needs.

Investing in the Future

While the initial cost of modernizing a PowerBuilder application may seem high, it's important to consider the long-term savings and benefits. Modern platforms offer improved scalability, easier integration with cutting-edge technologies, and access to a larger pool of development talent.

Don't let the high costs of maintaining legacy PowerBuilder applications hold your business back. Explore your modernization options today and take the first step towards a more efficient, secure, and cost-effective IT infrastructure.