Several hurdles can impede a company's efforts to modernize legacy IT systems, but the challenges must be met in order to reach peak operational efficiency, according to a new report entitled, Still Seeing the Shadow: Groundhog Day for Legacy Modernization.

One method of modernization identified in the report is adopting a service oriented architecture. A company must present a compelling business case, seek vendors and attain management buy-in to support the project, according to the report.

"The CIO and the IT department must be able to articulate the case for change, and to have the skills and knowledge to manage and drive this change in collaboration with the business," the report states.

In choosing to modernize, including migrating to an SOA, 70 percent of respondents based their decision on risk, 56 percent did so for cost reasons and 41 percent chose an option because it matched internal skills and resources.

A recent survey of federal IT managers suggests the U.S. government is in need of SOA to modernize its legacy systems. According to report authors Brad Bass and Mary Tobin, the government spends $36 billion annually to maintain legacy systems. Respondents said about 46 percent of their budgets are allocated for maintenance.