Banks scramble to fix old systems as IT 'cowboys' ride into sunset (2017)
The IT &#x27;cowboys&#x27; didn&#x27;t ride into sunset.<p>They were fired by banks which are&#x2F;were stupid enough to cut corners on people who know things about their infrastructure <i>before</i> migrating to more modern systems.<p>FTA:<p>&gt;One COBOL programmer, now in his 60s, said his bank laid him off in mid-2012 as it turned to younger, less expensive employees trained in new languages.<p>&gt;In 2014, the programmer [...] was brought in as a contractor to the same bank to fix issues management had not anticipated.<p>Also FTA:<p>&gt;Accenture’s Starrs said they go through a “black book” of programmer contacts, especially those laid off during or after the 2008 financial crisis.<p>&gt;The job ultimately took five years and cost more than 1 billion Australian dollars ($749.9 million).<p>So, in short: a bank fired some old people to pay a billion dollars to a contractor who would hire the same (!) people to do the job.<p>The &#x27;problem&#x27; is entirely self-made.