Legacy technology is driving IT overspending and transformational challenges across the UK’s public sector.  

A recent report showed that £2.3B is spent annually just to keep outdated public sector systems running, but costs aren’t the only concern. Legacy tech can hinder software efficiency and performance, causing risks like security vulnerabilities, compatibility issues and service user complaints. 

And then what about the future? Organisations working with older technologies are missing out on newer solutions that can boost local economies and improve public service delivery. 

If you’re concerned about legacy tech, you’re not alone. We surveyed hundreds of public sector IT leaders to understand their pain points and our findings showed that many are struggling with outdated tech while striving to prioritise modern solutions. To add to this, a news report earlier in 2024 revealed that at least 43 legacy IT systems across Government are at a critical level of risk too. 

So, we’re here to help. Read on to delve into our survey results, understand what your peers are doing, and discover the steps you can take to move on from legacy tech. 

What is legacy tech and what are the issues with it? 

Legacy technology and infrastructure can encompass a variety of issues. It might be outdated software that no longer receives updates or hardware with unfixable security vulnerabilities. It could also be a custom-built tool with too few experts to maintain it, or infrastructure that no longer meets your business needs. The Government recently put together its own guide about what constitutes as legacy tech, click here to read it. 

In the public sector, legacy tech can cause significant problems. It can lead to downtime for critical public-facing services like telecare alarms, or result in high operational costs for outdated systems, diverting funds that could be better spent on service-users or residents. And often, legacy technology means data isn’t being analysed effectively, preventing public sector organisations from fully understanding the people they serve or identifying potential efficiencies. 

By adopting newer systems, public sector organisations can harness the power of digital transformation, enhancing their services to deliver more value and prepare for the future. 

Keep reading to learn what your peers think about legacy tech and discover strategies to overcome these challenges.  

Public sector views on legacy technology  

Understanding your peers’ views on legacy tech can help you assess your current position, facilitate internal discussions about your plans, and shape your future strategy.

We partnered with Surveys in Public Sector for a comprehensive study on the challenges and opportunities in modern public sector communications. Many responses highlighted issues with legacy technology:

• We asked public sector leaders to identify the biggest challenges facing organisations in relation to their technology strategy. Our participants told us that meeting the expectations of ‘service users’ (56%) was the biggest challenge, followed closely by ‘legacy technology’ (49%),which includes IT solutions that were custom built over a decade ago and are now extremely costly to run. With 1 in 2 participants identifying legacy tech as a challenge, it’s clear this issue is widespread. It is worth noting that the challenges of legacy tech and meeting service user expectations may be closely linked, as modern technology solutions can enable more responsive communication with service users.

• To understand the drivers for cloud services, we asked participants about the biggest barriers to adopting this vital technology. ‘Legacy technology’ was a frequent response, with 31% of participants admitting it was holding them back. Meeting future service user expectations will depend on cloud-based technology, another crucial reason to address these legacy tech barriers.

• Nearly 80% of respondents indicated that modernising their older technology stacks is a medium or top priority. Despite the challenges of maintaining older connectivity solutions, it’s clear that everyone is looking to the future.

In this unique report, many respondents expressed concerns about managing legacy tech while also wanting to modernise. This indicates that although the UK government’s ‘digital first’ aspirations are progressing, the transition from old to new remains complex. The public sector shares a similar outlook and familiar challenges, but together, we can tackle them. Keep reading to learn how we can make this happen.

What can the public sector do about its legacy tech?

If you’ve read this far, you may be considering what actions you need to take to start moving away from legacy tech. Here's our key starting points:

1. Identify Legacy Technologies: This could include CCTV architectures built over decades or lift communications and telecare alarms connected to the soon-to-be-shut-off PSTN. You can’t do this alone; your IT team will need buy-in from across your organisation to start identifying everything.

2. Explore the ways you could replace legacy technology to enhance efficiency and value. You can start by identifying all of your legacy technologies and examining them for inefficiencies, high costs, and potential disruptions. Then use this report to understand what you need future technology to do, this will guide your next steps in creating a modernisation plan.

3. Secure Organisational Buy-In: Your modernisation plan should include a business case showing how the initial costs of new technologies can lead to long-term savings and improved service-user experiences. Conduct simulations to evaluate potential benefits, risk mitigation, and the feasibility of digital investments. Remember to identify the impact on service users too!

4. Choose the Right Technology: Will it be SD-WAN that can help you manage multiple public sites through a single interface, or do you need MPLS for transferring critical public data? Finding the right technology will enable you to transform your public sector organisation for the better.

5. Partner with Experts: Consider partnering with a technology and connectivity supplier. Working with other public sector experts can simplify the process and help you develop a plan for updated connectivity solutions, focusing on integration, scalability, security, and maintenance.

How can TalkTalk Business support the public sector? 

TalkTalk Business is proud to assist public sector organisations in overcoming the challenges of legacy systems by offering scalable, secure, and integrated connectivity solutions. We are passionate about citizen-centric technology and proudly serve many clients in the sector, from major city councils to renowned NHS trusts.

Our services are diverse including: Software Defined networking, LAN, WLAN, high-capacity connectivity, SoGEA, 4G and 5G cellular solutions, IoT to enable smart spaces, unified communications and much more - all supported by a suite of compelling managed services. There are numerous ways to support and modernise legacy tech stacks and we love to help our customers implement them.

Additionally, we also provide unique solutions that provides extra time for organisations transitioning from PSTN to Digital Voice. TalkTalk Business can still provide telephony and broadband services over Metallic Path Facility (MPF) as an alternative, as these Openreach lines are unaffected by the PSTN stop-sell, allowing users continued support to existing devices. Click here to read more about this.

As an approved supplier to the public sector on various frameworks, we make it easy for public sector organisations to work with us too.

Contact us today to learn more from one of our friendly experts and together, we can continue leveraging technology for societal benefit.