Fixing the foundations: legacy technology

The conversation started with a simple question: what actually is a legacy system?

For me, the tipping point is when your technology stops serving your organisation’s goals, and your organisation starts having to change its goals to serve the technology.

When a system stops enabling your mission and starts blocking it – whether that’s by making data impossible to access, creating unmanageable security risks or making simple changes incredibly slow and expensive – you have a legacy problem.

This led to what I believe is the most important point during the discussion: to be successful and make the right decisions, you have to foster a culture of innovation that is completely focused on the core business and user outcomes.

Too often, the conversation starts with “Do we need a new IT system?”. That’s the wrong question. The question we should always ask is “what problem are we trying to solve for our users?”.

The question we should always ask is “what problem are we trying to solve for our users?”.

By framing it this way, we shift the focus from the tech itself to the people we’re serving.

At the Government Property Agency, we’ve seen this work first hand. We had a recurring issue with our audio-visual (AV) systems for high-profile meetings. The temptation might have been to rip everything out and start again. Instead, we started with user research.

By understanding the specific pain points, we were able to make a targeted improvement to our existing design. The outcome was delivered by improving, not replacing, and we’ve had great feedback from the users.

Getting the most value from what you have is crucial. Look at services like GovWifi and GovPrint – we didn’t invent wi-fi, we just created a clever, secure layer to connect existing systems, adding huge value for civil servants across the country.

So, how do you balance this with the need to innovate for the future?

You have to create the space to experiment safely. We’re currently piloting a new, more cost-effective tech blueprint for smaller government buildings. We’re testing it at a small scale, learning lessons and proving the value before we even think about a wider rollout.

My one top tip is to obsess over the user outcome, not the technology.

My one top tip is to obsess over the user outcome, not the technology. Start small, deliver value quickly and often, and most importantly, bring our people on the journey.

The people who use our systems every day are our greatest asset. If we empower them and build a culture that prizes solving their problems, innovation will start to take care of itself.

It was great to discuss this important topic with the panel and everyone who came along, asking brilliant questions. It was a great reminder that when it comes to fixing our digital foundations, the most powerful tools we have are collaboration and a relentless focus on our users.