An outdated device that a person or company has
invested money in or is seen as an essential part of their system. Usually the
term legacy device is used when referring to any device that is not
Plug-and-Play compatible (i.e. in reference to
older ISA devices).
Strategies for Preserving Legacy Terminal Devices (PDF) For the biggest enterprises, the sheer number of such devices, and the cost of replacing them, is vast. There is also the substantial cost of the resources required to install the replacement devices and retrain staff. There is therefore a massive incentive to prolong the lifetime of these legacy devices.
