AI-powered low-code integration: Extensibility is not a myth

You've heard all about the benefits of low-code: increased development speed, productivity, agility. But if you're managing decades of legacy infrastructure, there's one burning question that keeps you up at night: how do you modernize without breaking what already works?

Those sleepless nights probably bring a familiar set of concerns:

• Will this new technology force you to abandon systems that still deliver critical business value?
• How can you build modern applications and even agents while preserving the stability your organization depends on?
• What happens when you need to evolve gradually rather than undergo a complete digital transformation overnight?
• Can you use existing investments while still meeting today's digital demands?
• Will you be able to extend what you have rather than starting from scratch?

The extension imperative: Building on what works

For many organizations, legacy systems are the backbone of business operations. These systems house decades of institutional knowledge, critical data, and proven workflows. The challenge lies in evolving these foundations to meet modern demands without sacrificing reliability or triggering costly disruption.

Traditional approaches often force an all-or-nothing decision; either completely replace legacy systems or accept their limitations. This binary choice creates unnecessary risk and expense, particularly when existing systems continue to deliver core business value.

The reality is that most enterprises need a bridge between their current state and their digital future. They need technology that can extend and enhance existing capabilities while gradually introducing modern features and user experiences.

AI-powered low-code: The evolution engine

Modern low-code platforms powered by AI offer a third alternative to legacy modernization. Rather than replacing what you have, these platforms enable you to build on top of existing infrastructure, creating new capabilities and agents that complement and enhance your current systems.

This evolutionary approach allows you to:

• Preserve existing data structures and business logic.
• Gradually introduce modern interfaces and workflows.
• Extend legacy system capabilities without disrupting core operations.
• Use AI to accelerate development while maintaining compatibility.
• Build new applications and AI agents that seamlessly integrate with established processes.

The key advantage is the platform's ability to connect to and extend your existing technology infrastructure, regardless of how complex or dated it might be, enabling modernization with speed and agility.

OutSystems: Where legacy meets innovation

OutSystems has pioneered the concept of evolution over revolution in enterprise development. Our AI-powered low-code platform enables you to extend, enhance, and evolve your legacy systems instead of discarding them, all at an accelerated pace.

Get connected

With OutSystems, your development team can use 400+ pre-built connectors specifically designed to work with legacy infrastructure that accelerate the integration process. These connectors provide seamless pathways from older systems to modern functionality almost instantly, without losing the nuances of the originals.

Our AI-powered development assistance helps teams navigate the complexities of legacy integration. The OutSystems platform can suggest optimal approaches for extending existing systems while maintaining stability and performance.

Build a custom integration when you need to

When you need to connect legacy systems that require custom integration, you can use OutSystems to create those connections in a streamlined environment. OutSystems Integration Builder offers wizard-style integration configuration so you don’t have to write a single line of code, nor do you need to worry about authorization mechanisms.

Extending your technology investment

Several key OutSystems capabilities keep your legacy systems productive and relevant.

Unlimited extensibility

The Forge repository has thousands of reusable libraries, widgets, plugins, themes, templates, and pre-built extensions specifically designed to work with existing enterprise systems. You can use these as-is or customize them to match your unique legacy requirements.

Legacy-first integrations

OutSystems enables you to connect new applications and agents with enterprise stalwarts like SAP ECC, SAP S/4HANA, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Dataverse, and SharePoint Online. These integrations work directly with the data structures and business logic of these systems.

Comprehensive database support

Native support includes SQL Server, SQL Azure, Oracle, PostgreSQL, Azure PostgreSQL, AWS Aurora, MySQL, MongoDB, and DB2 iSeries. For other database systems, you can access them through standard code or native APIs, ensuring that no legacy data source is left behind.

In addition, OutSystems Data Fabric provides a single, trusted data layer for smarter decisions, faster execution, and easier adaptation—without the pain of manual integration.

Seamless deployment

New extensions and their dependencies deploy with a single click. Once published, these extensions become reusable components that any team member can leverage for future legacy enhancement projects.

ODBC compatibility

Existing ODBC drivers provide pathways to virtually any legacy system. Once configured, these connections become reusable assets that any OutSystems application can leverage.

Custom code integration

When legacy systems require specialized handling, you can enhance components with custom code (C# or popular DLL libraries) that integrates seamlessly into the development environment, becoming reusable components for future legacy projects.

Platform extensibility

OutSystems platform APIs enable customers and partners to build specialized tools for legacy integration. Examples include connectors built by community developers that address specific legacy system challenges.

AI-powered optimization

OutSystems Mentor can analyze the complexities of legacy integration, scanning for potential issues like technical debt, security vulnerabilities, dependency conflicts, and performance bottlenecks that commonly arise when extending older systems.

Future flexibility

Should your organization ever decide to transition away from OutSystems, the platform ensures that your extended legacy systems remain functional, with options to continue using existing data, maintain it for historical purposes, or gradually migrate to other platforms.

The reality of legacy evolution

Legacy system modernization through AI-powered low-code represents a practical, risk-managed approach to digital transformation. The platform you choose should understand and work with your existing technology investments rather than requiring their replacement.

Extending legacy systems requires expertise and understanding of both old and new technologies. AI-powered low-code platforms provide the tools and intelligence to bridge this gap, but success still depends on teams who understand integration complexities, security requirements, and change management principles.

OutSystems was designed to empower professional developers to extend and evolve existing systems efficiently. The platform amplifies their expertise rather than replacing their knowledge or limiting their ability to work with established technology assets.

If you're interested in an example of how OutSystems can help you modernize your legacy systems, check out this webinar on using agentic AI and OutSystems to extend your SAP system, while reducing integration development time and addressing complex legacy scenarios.