Making the case for investment in legacy remediation

How can digital and AI professionals in the public sector make a compelling case for investment in legacy remediation in a world where everyone wants something brand new?  

AI is taking the world by storm, and rightly so. Our heads are filled with ambitious, futuristic visions of us engaging with public services emulating sci-fi films of our childhoods. Want to book a doctor’s appointment? One has already been booked for you based on the NHS assessing the data they access from our smart watches. Need to fill out your tax self-assessment form? Your personalised AI assistant has already completed the forms for you with your latest paycheck.  

In a world where politicians, public servants and tech leaders are making our heads spin with opportunities for radical transformation of government services, it is no wonder trying to convince decision makers that spending tax-payers money on the underlying systems is a pretty tough ask. 

But if the UK Government is serious about a “wholesale reshaping of the public sector”¹ delivering “easier lives, faster growth, firmer foundations, smarter organisations and higher productivity and efficiency”² then not only can we not ignore the underpinning systems of our public services, we must prioritise investment in them, often over the shiny new things. The ‘easier, faster, smarter’ outcomes the government is looking for in the UK’s public services will only be possible if we have modern systems underpinning them.  

At Baringa we are excited by the Government’s vision for our public services, and across our digital and AI engagements with our clients we are ensuring we keep ourselves, and our clients, legacy-aware at all stages of delivery.  

Based on our experience we recommend three considerations when making a compelling case for investment in legacy remediation, and how these considerations can mean that every digital investment can contribute to a more agile, efficient, and future-proof technological landscape. 

1. Programmes should articulate improved technical health as a core benefit of any economic and financial appraisal 

Improved technical health should be enough of a success factor to guarantee funding for a programme. Improved technical health means better agility to respond to future changes, enabled by… 

• Better tooling and options for development teams, which can therefore make services more citizen-friendly at a faster pace. 

• Use of modern technology that doesn’t require niche technical skills to maintain. 

• Streamlined integrations across the ecosystem and effective and efficient testing and deployment pipelines. 

• Scalability (up and down) and real time tech health monitoring and alerting. 

• Less wasteful money spent on maintaining legacy, which drives soaring costs and increased reputational and business continuity risks. 

We supported a government programme where the initial investment case centred on cash-releasing benefits. We saw an opportunity to elevate improved technical health as a core component of the value story. By broadening the case to reflect outcomes such as reduced technical debt and risk, enhanced data quality, greater operational efficiency and better decision-making capacity, we helped shift the narrative from short-term savings to long-term value. Legacy remediation was reframed not just as a cost-saving measure, but as a strategic enabler of transformation.  

2. Costing cyber risk could be a gamechanger for demonstrating the value of any legacy remediation business case 

Legacy tech usually comes with higher cyber risk, and remediation could and nearly always should be part of any digital transformation programme. But too frequently the benefits of investing in it are not understood, and therefore often missed out of any programme business case.  

Baringa are supporting the Government in maturing their approach to costing cyber risk. We have developed a holistic model to systematically map the propagation of harm caused by cyber-attacks, to identify the areas of greatest vulnerability and to capture how cyber risk evolves with the technology estate.  

We have developed unit cost estimates that quantify the full range of socio-economic and financial harm from cyber-attacks on public service provision. 

Although we believe improved technical health should stand on its own, being able to add costs from reducing cyber risk to a financial picture could be a game changer.  

3. Once legacy systems have been decommissioned there are likely to be financial savings in the run state, but programmes must think long term to realise them 

Longer term thinking (5+ years) creates a more compelling financial picture. Suppliers are more likely to invest in migration activity if they will be rewarded with a longer-term run arrangement. The additional benefit is supplier motivation; the quicker they remediate the legacy technology, the quicker they reach the run-state, allowing programmes to leverage risk reward commercial mechanisms to achieve the best outcomes for government.  

New procurement regulations³, which came into force in February, allow for a more flexible competitive procedure with the market. If the competitive dialogue phase is used well, government departments have the flexibility to incentivise suppliers to come up with innovative cost-effective solutions to resolve legacy issues; “working with bidders throughout the procurement process is valuable for complex technology procurements, where cutting-edge innovation and capability will reside in the market rather than the public sector”⁴. Using these new regulations to their potential should achieve improved technical health outcomes, in shorter periods of time, than was previously possible.  

As the strategic commercial partner to a large government department, we are leveraging the New Procurement Act in the strategic procurements we are supporting, identifying where the new regulations offer opportunities to deliver greater technical health outcomes, in more cost-effective ways.  

By framing legacy remediation as a strategic investment that delivers long-term value, reduces significant cyber risks, and enables future efficiencies, public sector transformation leaders can make a stronger financial case for spending valuable tax-payers money.   

If you’d like to learn more about how Baringa can help achieve better outcomes with your legacy remediation programmes, please get in touch. 

1. A blueprint for modern digital government (HTML) - GOV.UK

2. A blueprint for modern digital government (HTML) - GOV.UK

3. Procurement Act 2023

4. Competitive Dialogue for technology procurement