[corbezzoli]

> At some point you have to get with the times.

Nobody wants to spend money and risk everything. There are so many industries where "getting with the times" is absolutely out of the question due to legal issues, as well as momentum. Aviation, healthcare, banking, …

[jeroenhd]

And, as this lawsuit shows, not getting with the times exposes the company to repercussions as well. I doubt a business would prefer their own schedule over one set by the court.

ING Belgium found out the hard way, and I doubt this change to their systems was cheap. They were forced to alter a system that was due to be replaced (though that didn't happen in the expected timeline, surprise surprise) when they could've rolled out this change over a long period of time somewhere in the last two decades.

[davedx]

That portrays it as if all the risk is on changing the system.

Banks probably have to deal with a constant level of customer support if they don't store names properly. Credit checks probably go wrong, sometimes in ways that incur real financial losses on them.

There is very real risk in refusing to make your software match reality.

[iSnow]

If someone brings this up, I am actually happy if legislation forces them to do it. More often than not, it is possible and companies end up with better systems.