Healthcare 5-year savings: $340K–$890K (Highest ROI due to extreme breach costs ($10.93M avg). Even modest breach probability reduction through modern infrastructure justifies migration. Source: WebPulse cost model.)
The 5-Year Migration Math
WebPulse modeled the total cost of ownership for legacy vs. modern stacks across 13 industries. The model factors in hosting costs, security patching labor, plugin/module maintenance, compliance audit overhead, and breach probability × average breach cost. In every single industry, migration pays for itself within 18 months. The only variable is how much you save.
Why Education Waits Longest
Education institutions have the lowest breach costs (FERPA penalties are modest compared to HIPAA or PCI DSS), the longest procurement cycles, and the smallest IT budgets relative to organizational size. The ROI is positive but the urgency is low — until a breach happens. Post-breach, education migration becomes an emergency project at 3x normal cost.
The Universal Finding
Across all 13 industries, the 5-year cost of staying on legacy exceeds the cost of migrating by a minimum of 2.4x. The frameworks are different, the compliance requirements vary, the migration complexity differs — but the math always favors moving. The question every industry faces isn't whether to migrate but how fast.
