69: Breaking Free from Vendor Lock-In: A New Playbook for Modernising Legacy Systems

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The CTO Playbook

Adam Horner

70 episodes

1 day ago

Join Adam Horner, a CTO with over 30 years in the tech industry, on The CTO Playbook — the podcast dedicated to helping CTOs excel. Perfect for CTOs and tech leaders navigating the complexities of their roles, each episode offers clear insights, innovative strategies, and practical advice from top leaders in tech. With Adam’s extensive experience mentoring engineers and tech leaders, and over a decade as a CTO, you’ll gain the tools and knowledge to build and refine your own CTO playbook. Whether you're tackling complex projects, fostering innovation, leading teams, or shaping your company's tech strategy, this podcast is your go-to resource. Adam’s journey from engineer to strategic CTO was challenging. He learned through the school of hard knocks, making avoidable mistakes and facing countless challenges. Often out of his comfort zone and wishing for more guidance, he created this podcast to provide the support and advice he once lacked. Tune in for engaging interviews, leadership tips, and the latest in technology strategy. Each episode is designed to help you lead with confidence and level up as a CTO. Listen now to start your journey with The CTO Playbook and build your own playbook to excel in your role.

All content for The CTO Playbook is the property of Adam Horner and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

69: Breaking Free from Vendor Lock-In: A New Playbook for Modernising Legacy Systems

The CTO Playbook

52 minutes 14 seconds

1 week ago

69: Breaking Free from Vendor Lock-In: A New Playbook for Modernising Legacy Systems

Build your own CTO Playbook at www.theCTOplaybook.com — the leadership platform built for the full CTO journey. Coaching, podcast, and community to help you lead with clarity, confidence, and strategic impact.

When your CTO dies and no one can read the code, you realize the real problem was never the software.

In this episode, I sit down with Matteo Di Battista and Marcello Modica, two Italian innovators who’ve spent decades helping companies escape the grip of outdated ERP systems. From IBM mainframes to cloud-native development, they’ve seen how technical debt and siloed knowledge can quietly strangle growth.

We get into what happens when your tech stack outlives your people, why monoliths breed fragility, and how breaking systems into small, pluggable services changes everything. It’s not just about new tools—it’s about a new kind of teamwork that keeps knowledge alive even when key players leave.

Because modernization isn’t just a tech upgrade—it’s a survival strategy.

You’ll Learn:

[00:00] Introduction

[05:32] Why monolithic ERP systems quietly trap companies in technical debt

[09:47] What happens when a CTO’s death exposes a company’s hidden knowledge silos

[12:18] The moment you know it’s time to modernize your software before it collapses

[15:44] How low-code and visual tools can close the gap between design and delivery

[18:56] Why developers are becoming replaceable, and what that means for software teams

[23:51] How building a shared development community protects both companies and clients

[26:28] The real reason developers resist change even when innovation would make life easier

[33:42] What the new network API standard means for identity, payments, and fraud prevention

[45:37] How converting old databases into REST APIs transforms legacy systems into living platforms

You can connect on LinkedIn with both Matteo and Marcello, and their work though wavemaker.com and oneclickapp.it.

Find more from Adam on LinkedIn and YouTube, and check out Adam's CTO coaching company here.