Issue Legacy systems force agents through interfaces that cap their autonomy

Summary

Deloitte names legacy system integration as the first of three infrastructure obstacles to realising agentic AI. Traditional enterprise systems were designed for transactions driven by people, not for interaction with autonomous software. Most agents therefore still reach those systems through application programming interfaces and conventional data pipelines. These routes create bottlenecks and cap how autonomously agents can operate. Deloitte also cites Gartner, which links the failure of many agentic projects to legacy systems lacking real-time execution, modern interfaces, modular design and secure identity management. The chapter adds that agents may also extend the life of legacy systems, pointing to a hybrid path where only critical processes are selectively modernised.