
Experience Talks São Paulo: modernizing legacy systems with AI gains a new chapter in the paulista capital
After the success of the Belo Horizonte edition that gathered more than 30 leaders on 04/09, Experience Talks landed in São Paulo on 04/15. The exclusive Squadra event brought together 20 leaders from large organizations to deepen the debate on how artificial intelligence is unlocking the potential of critical systems and transforming technological past into value for the future of business.
The meeting in the São Paulo capital further enriched the discussions initiated in BH: legacy is not just old code, it is a barrier that limits scalability, increases operational risk, drains teams' innovation capacity, and does not keep pace with business speed.
The dichotomies of legacies
"Legacy systems usually tell the company's story, but they can also compromise" - Romulo Cioffi, Chief AI and Innovation Officer at Squadra
As the market accelerates its digital transformation, legacy systems represent both a basis for business continuity and a challenge for the adoption of new technologies essential for innovation.
60% to 80% of IT budget is allocated to maintaining these systems;
53% of companies in Brazil still struggle to integrate legacy systems with new technologies.
There are risks and opportunities involved in the decision to modernize or not, just as they also exist when legacy becomes unsustainable and the decision is between modernizing or replacing it with a completely new system. Regarding this, we have an article on our blog that can help with the decision:
👉 Legacy systems: modernize or replace?
MRS Case: the social proof of modernization in critical scenarios
As in the Minas Gerais edition, the highlight of the event was the sharing of the MRS Logística success case. The project exemplifies the application of AI, through Genius, in the modernization of a mission-critical system, with emphasis on:
Complexity overcome: modernization of a C++ system, with over 300,000 lines of undocumented code, in just 90 days;
Turing bot Jack: the role of turing bot Jack as an AI orchestrator to assist the team in mapping and safely converting technologies and architecture;
Comparative QA: the use of identical scenarios compared side-by-side to ensure that the new software strictly adhered to the legacy rules.
For more details about this journey, you can access the complete case:
👉 Transforming challenges into innovation with Genius: AI applied to railway logistics
Genius: the platform that enables change
According to Haroldo Santos, Delivery Director at Squadra:
"AI has allowed us to modernize much more safely" - Haroldo Santos
In the complex scenario presented here in the previous chapter, the application of AI through Genius truly made a difference. According to Liliane Braga, Delivery Manager at MRS Logística, "without Genius, it would have been impossible." If you want to delve deeper into the role of AI in modernizing legacies, we have two materials that add a lot to this discussion:
📚 Artificial intelligence in legacy modernization: transforming the past into a strategic asset
🎬 A chat about legacy modernization through AI at APIX Experience Talks
After the talk, the debate extended to a networking dinner, where leaders could exchange experiences about their own digital transformation challenges. The event reaffirmed that modernizing is not about changing technology, it is about ensuring that the business is ready to scale efficiently and safely, ready for the future.
"A system developed with current technology, designed to evolve" - Fernando Germano, railway operations specialist at MRS
Want to transform your legacy into a foundation for the future? Discover Genius and talk to one of our specialists.


