Putting application modernization losses into actual time and dollars

According to Gartner, “...it might take an enterprise 12 months and cost an average of $67,000 to retrain a COBOL developer in Java. It’s a combination of training costs, software costs and lost productivity...”

However, it goes on to say...“You can drastically impact these numbers with RAD [rapid application development] tools,” for example, Blechar says. Companies can decrease the complexity of moving to SOA in other ways, including:
1. use of architectural RAD tools,
2. purchasing some outside components of an SOA,
3. using packaged products or
4. outsourcing the most complex development aspects of a project."

Here's the full article.