One in four UK government computer systems are running on outdated technology — with taxpayers footing the bill for any failures
A quarter of central government IT systems are bogged down by legacy tech, report claims£200 billion in AI-induced savings are being left on the tableModernization needs a dedicated taskforce and centralized procurement
Nearly one-quarter of the 319 central government IT systems evaluated under the Legacy IT Risk Assessment Framework are ‘red-rated’, which means not only that they use legacy tech and infrastructure, but they pose the highest operational risk of all systems, new research has claimed.
However, government systems only provide a taste of how widespread legacy tech could be, with other public sector organizations like the NHS and local police forces likely having a higher percentage of ‘red-rated’ tech – as much as 70% in some organizations, a Re:State report says.
Quantifying the extent of legacy tech isn’t quite as easy as it seems, though, with 15% of public bodies admitting they can’t provide an accurate view or asset inventory of their legacy IT portfolio, highlighting major gaps across visibility.
Legacy tech is a public sector burden
Further adding to the complexity, Re:State criticized public bodies and government agencies for patching issues with temporary fixes.
Just like bandages, these fixes tend to be applied over existing and legacy systems, resulting in extra complexity on top of old code which makes upgrading at a later stage harder.
With legacy hardware in particular known for its inefficiencies and higher energy consumption, there are both environmental and fiscal costs to not upgrading.
Financial modeling from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) shows that this failure to upgrade could be costing the UK an estimated £45 billion annually 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 expenditure.
Adding AI on top of legacy systems isn’t the answer
While artificial intelligence promises to bring major productivity enhancements to administrative workloads, its deployment isn’t without its own challenges.
Fragmented technology, poor data quality and complex software layers stand in the way of a full government AI rollout, despite the Tony Blair Institute projecting that the government could realize £200 billion in AI-related savings over the next five years.
However, Re:State doesn’t shift the entire blame onto public bodies and government agencies. The report also acknowledges that many departments routinely extend contracts as a result of commercial models, which can induce vendor lock-in or make it technically challenging or costly to migrate.
The 50-year-old Police National Computer (PNC) was cited as a key example – it’s been in place 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 isn’t an overnight task, the research calls for the establishment of a Digital Modernization Taskfare, similar to the recent Vaccine Taskforce, which would work across departments and collaborate directly with the relevant ministers.
Mandatory Technology Impact Assessments (TIAs) are also advised, whereby logistical feasibility, lifecycle costs, legacy dependencies and cybersecurity risks should be discussed with ministers ahead of tech changes.
There’s also merit in a centralized procurement system, much like centralized purchasing under the US General Services Administration (GSA) designed to drive procurement costs down under the Trump administration.
“Technology will not stop changing, and no government will ever finish modernising,” the paper concludes. “But ageing systems need not inevitably become a source of enduring State weakness.
