- A quarter of central government IT systems are bogged down by legacy technology, report claims
- £200 billion in AI-induced savings being left on the table
- Modernization needs a dedicated task force and centralized procurement
Nearly a quarter of the 319 central government IT systems assessed under the Legacy IT Risk Assessment Framework are ‘rated red’, meaning not only do they use legacy technology and infrastructure, but they pose the highest operational risk of all systems, new research claims.
However, government systems only offer a sample of how widespread legacy technology could be, and other public sector organizations such as the NHS and local police forces are likely to have a higher percentage of “red rated” technology, up to 70% in some organisations, according to a Re:State report.
However, quantifying the scope of legacy technology is not as easy as it seems: 15% of public bodies admit that they cannot provide an accurate view or asset inventory of their legacy IT portfolio, highlighting significant gaps in visibility.
Legacy technology is a burden on the public sector
To further add to the complexity, Re:State criticized public bodies and government agencies for solving problems with temporary solutions.
Like bandages, these fixes tend to be applied to existing and legacy systems, creating additional complexity on top of old code, making it difficult to update at a later stage.
Since legacy hardware is particularly known for its inefficiencies and higher power consumption, failing to upgrade it comes with environmental and fiscal costs.
Financial modeling from the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) shows that this failure to upgrade could cost the UK approximately £45 billion a year in both lost productivity and unrealized savings.
The report even implies that keeping existing legacy systems functional accounts for around half of central government IT spending.
Adding AI to legacy systems is not the answer
While artificial intelligence promises to bring significant productivity improvements to administrative workloads, its implementation is not without challenges.
Fragmented technology, poor data quality and complex software layers are hampering the full rollout of AI in government, despite the Tony Blair Institute projecting the government could save £200bn in AI-related savings over the next five years.
However, Re:State does not place all the blame on public bodies and government agencies. The report also recognizes that many departments routinely extend contracts as a result of business models, which can induce vendor lock-in or make migration technically challenging or costly.
The 50-year-old Police National Computer (PNC) was cited as a key example: it has been in operation since 1974 and now houses more than five decades of highly sensitive information.
The fact that government agencies also have to outsource software contracts allows private companies to dictate their own terms, Re:State says.
Digital modernization is a long-term goal
While addressing the challenges is not an overnight task, the inquiry calls for the establishment of a digital modernization task force, similar to the recent vaccine task force, which would work across departments and engage directly with relevant ministers.
Mandatory technology impact assessments (TIAs) are also recommended, whereby logistical feasibility, lifecycle costs, legacy dependencies and cybersecurity risks should be discussed with ministers ahead of technological changes.
There are also advantages to a centralized procurement system, much like centralized purchasing under the US General Services Administration (GSA) designed to reduce procurement costs during the Trump administration.
“Technology will not stop changing and no government will ever finish modernizing,” the document concludes. “But aging systems need not inevitably become a source of lasting state weakness.
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