Realising the future: Delivering innovation whilst optimising legacy systems
Leidos’ Business Development leader Roz Barrance, hosted a panel discussion exploring how organisations can deliver innovation while continuing to optimise legacy systems. Joining Roz was Brian Kennedy, Head of Efficiencies and Technology at Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB), Steve Thomson, Programme Director at the Home Office and Mark Watson, Chief Architect for Leidos.
Here are three things we learned from the discussion:
1. Going paperless saves more than trees
The march towards a paperless society has driven a large amount of digital transformation across government agencies. Digitalisation has streamlined many heavily administrative, paper-based data processes, and brought significant time savings for the citizen. Through digitalisation, AiB reduced their workflow for bankruptcy allowing online applications to be dealt with in just 1.4 days instead of 10, the benefits to people facing the uncertainty of bankruptcy are immeasurable.
2. Moving to the Cloud requires considerable stakeholder education
Navigating the buy-in and approval to move to a system that people may not have had exposure to is not without its challenges. Users need to be able to imagine the future, but importantly feel like they own the requirement. An example explored in the discussion is the National Law Enforcement Data Programme designed to replace and supersede the functionality contained in two policing systems which provide criminal records and critical intelligence information to police forces across the UK. At the time of project inception, neither system was on the Cloud, with one a 45-year-old mainframe-based ecosystem. One of the main challenges early in the programme was securing stakeholder buy-in so the team could move data sets to a cloud environment where permission didn’t currently exist. Over the past five years, maturity of thinking and appetite for acceptance has grown hugely but it is still a huge undertaking.
3. People are the most important asset on your journey to innovation
The right skills and the right number of people to support modernisation projects is key. There is often a common misconception that digital modernisation comes at the expense of existing jobs, whereas in reality upskilling the existing workforce is the only way to succeed. Existing skills will be required for an extended period whilst the transformation takes place and existing staff must be retained through good management practices and upskilling opportunities. There’s often anxiety around automation, especially how this will change people’s roles, yet there are huge benefits to the workforce. Leidos’ Mark Watson provided insight to the challenges faced, commenting that the automation of standard processes allows workforces to concentrate on more complex issues. It frees people from the mundane every day and allows them to add real value where it is needed most and benefits end-users through the pace at which they can be assisted. To make effective change and move off legacy systems requires people to buy in and help design the future. Involving user groups in the transformation process is required so they can provide their input into future systems allowing users’ contributions to feel ‘valued’ and helping mitigate risk by using their knowledge.
The panel discussion recognised the need for an agile approach, strong relationships, collaboration across organisations, and communication to enable innovative public services of the future. You can watch the full panel discussion here:
