It can also become a liability and introduce cost, though: For example, if your old program requires emulation to run on a modern OS, or some file conversion pr

It can also become a liability and introduce cost, though: For example, if your old program requires emulation to run on a modern OS, or some file conversion process, or network isolation. All these things fall under maintenance costs that you probably don't factor into your calculation. Your "enshittified" competitor won't have these, and may very well deliver a higher net value, all considered.