GOTO is a vendor independent international software development conference with more that 90 top speaker and 1300 attendees. The conference cover topics such as .Net, Java, Open Source, Agile, Architecture and Design, Web, Cloud, New Languages and Processes

Presentation: "Mature Legacy Seeking Sexy New Technology for Fun and Profit Extracting Gold from Legacy Code"

Track: Large and Legacy / Time: Monday 10:20 - 11:10 / Location: Store Sal, BORA BORA

In this talk we describe the huge opportunity for innovation in Legacy systems! We argue there has never been a better time for creative legacy renovations which leverage new hot technologies – languages; data bases; web; cloud and Agile practices. Many talented developers turn up their noses or run away in fear from what they see as baroque environments with arcane tool chains. Talent panic often pushes for a grand rewrite using modern technology. Sadly experience shows the grand rewrite has too much risk and way too little business value. Hence given legacy investments the only option is innovation!

We illustrate legacy innovations via several case studies spanning a wide spectrum of legacy systems including: mainframe IT; Unix products; military systems; telecom; data banks and multi-vendor EAI and EAP applications. We explain the appropriate practices, teams, and tools to achieve high impact renovations by inserting new technology. We discuss appropriate investments in training, tooling and practices for different legacy environments. We look at approaches to ensuring lasting high value relationships between legacies and bleeding edge technology.

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Dave Thomas, Father of OTI, CEO of Bedarra Corp.

Dave Thomas

Biography: Dave Thomas

Dave Thomas has a wide spectrum of experience in the software industry as an engineer, professor, consultant, architect, executive and investor. Dave is founder and CEO of Bedarra Corporation; which provides virtual CTO and CEO, business mentoring and seed investment to emerging companies. Recently formed Bedarra Research Labs undertakes speculative research on applications of emerging software technologies.

Dave is best known as the founder and past CEO and president ofObject Technology International Inc. (formerly OTI, now IBM OTI Labs)and led the commercial introduction of object and component technology.The company is often cited as the ideal model of a software technologycompany.

He was also the principal visionary and architect for IBM VisualAgeSmalltalk and Java tools and virtual machines including the initialwork on popular multi-language Eclipse.org IDE. OTI pioneered the useof virtual machines in embedded systems with Tektronix shipping thefirst commercial products in 1988. He was instrumental in theestablishment of IBM's Pervasive computing efforts and in particularthe Java tooling.

Dave is an adjunct research professor at Carleton University, and the University Of Queensland and is widely published in the software engineering literature. He is a popular humorous albeit opinionated keynote speaker. Dave remains active in various roles within the technical community including ECOOP, AOSD, Evolve, and Agile Development Conference, Agile/XP Universe and OOPSLA Onward. He is a founding director of the Agile Alliance and most recently a founder of Open Augment Consortium. Dave writes expert columns in Otland Online in Germany, and the Journal Of Object Technology in Switzerland where he also serves on the editorial board.

Dave is member of GOTO Aarhus Program Advisory Board