CaRD LSR Viewer: answers without the legacy system
Keeping a legacy system alive just to answer two questions a year is the most expensive form of retention there is — and the least safe, because nobody patches it any more.
The system goes, the ability to answer stays
The CaRD LSR Viewer is a read-only web front end on the data of a retired SAP system. The data is extracted from the legacy system and held in a database of its own; the viewer presents it the way it is actually needed — not as a table dump, but as a tile per enquiry case: documents and postings, master data, purchase orders and deliveries, HR master data and payroll results, time records, archived documents.
What usually derails decommissioning projects is the awkward data. Payroll results sit in cluster tables that cannot simply be read. Spool lists and print output sit in a format of their own. Documents sit in ADK archive files because they were archived before the shutdown. Attachments hang off objects through the attachment list, document management or ArchiveLink. The viewer brings a dedicated reading route for each of these — otherwise a remnant of the old system stays standing after all.
For finance there is a data model of its own with analytical tiles: balances, open items, balance sheet and profit-and-loss views. That makes “what was on this account on that date?” answerable without SAP — experience says that is the question shutdowns otherwise get stuck on.
Data protection is built in rather than bolted on: personal fields are masked, and how much is visible depends on the role of the person signed in. An own ArchiveLink content server is part of the solution as well, so archived documents stay addressable long after the source system is gone. The product view is on card-lsr.com; for the methodological view of a decommissioning project, see System decommissioning.
At a glance
- Read-only — nothing in the legacy content is changed
- A tile per enquiry case instead of table dumps
- Payroll results and time records out of cluster tables
- Spool lists and print output as readable text
- ADK archive files are read as well
- Masking of personal data per role
Why this matters
What a legacy system left running actually costs.
- Maintenance, database, operating system and support keep running — for a handful of enquiries
- A system without security updates is an open risk inside your own network
- The knowledge of how to find anything in it retires with your colleagues
- In an audit the answer has to come in days, not weeks
- Postponing the shutdown once more never makes it cheaper
The awkward data
This decides whether you can really switch off.
- Payroll results and time records from cluster tables
- Spool lists and print output in readable form
- ADK archive files from earlier archiving runs
- Documents from attachment list, document management and ArchiveLink
- Documents with their links, not just as isolated records
Financial analyses
The questions a shutdown otherwise gets stuck on.
- Account balances as at a key date
- Open items with clearing reference
- Balance sheet and profit-and-loss views
- Document lines with reference to the header
- Analysable without SAP and without rebuilding the transactions
Data protection
Retaining does not mean showing everything to everyone.
- Masking of personal fields
- Visibility depends on the role
- Enquiries remain possible without opening the whole estate
- Access is traceable
- Your deletion policies stay implementable
Documents stay reachable
The part considered last when switching off.
- An own ArchiveLink content server as part of the solution
- Archived documents stay addressable even without the source system
- Attachment list and document management are read as well
- Downloads straight from the enquiry interface
- Filing optionally on modern storage — see ArchiveLink connector
Searching the estate
People who never operated the legacy system can answer questions too.
- Search across tiles and fields instead of table names
- Optional assisted search and summaries
- Language models run in your own house, not at a provider
- Suggestions stay reviewable — evidence rests on the original data
- Optional; the classic search remains unchanged
Frequently asked questions
What happens to the legacy system?
It gets switched off. The data is extracted beforehand and transferred into a database of its own; the viewer works exclusively on that. Maintenance, licences, database and operating effort for the legacy system fall away — along with the security risk of a system nobody updates any more.
Can anybody change the old data with it?
No. The viewer is read-only throughout. That is not a setting but the way it is built: there are no functions to change, post or delete. For evidential purposes that is the precondition.
Are payroll results and time records included?
Yes, and that is one of the reasons the solution exists. This data sits in cluster tables that cannot readily be read — which is exactly why HR systems are often the last ones left standing. Payroll results and time records are decoded and presented as readable analyses.
What about documents that were already archived?
They stay reachable. ADK archive files from earlier archiving runs are read, and an own ArchiveLink content server is part of the solution, so archived documents remain addressable even when the source system is gone. On request the content afterwards sits on modern cloud storage.
How is data protection handled?
Personal fields are masked, and how much somebody sees depends on their role. That matters more than it first sounds: a retired system often contains decades-old HR data, and it must not become more widely accessible simply because answering enquiries is now more convenient than it used to be.
What does the path there look like?
Three steps. First a survey: which data exists, which enquiry cases have to be served, which retention periods are running. Second, extraction and building the enquiry interface with the tiles required. Third, the cross-check against the still-running legacy system — only then is it switched off.
Does this match your project?
Talk directly to our consultants — no detours.