Business Reporter: Meeting the problem of legacy IT

Legacy IT within government is rooted in a historical focus on technology rather than the end-user, combined with a rapidly changing technology marketplace where previous systems can be rendered obsolete rapidly. The result has been a patchwork of government departments, all operating different and complex IT estates.

Managing this requires considerable time, often years. This in turn means that a clear vision and well defined strategy are key to success. This can be used to help identify where the IT estate can be rationalised, duplicate services removed, or existing capabilities enhanced to deliver an improved user-experience and reduce the overall cost base.

Unfortunately many IT systems are old and badly documented; their complexity may be under-estimated leading to digital transformations that are delayed and over budget. To avoid this, a very significant amount of investigation and planning is required at the start of any project.

None of this is easy. But the rewards of an upgraded system, agile and fit for the new future we all face, will make the effort more than worthwhile.

To learn more about managing legacy IT, read the article.

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Sources

https://business-reporter.co.uk/2020/12/09/traversing-the-terrain-of-legacy-it/