NSW is at a turning point in its digital journey, and legacy technology, or outdated digital solutions, can be a challenge in this progress. Government agencies must have the right technology so that they can meet their objectives.
Digital NSW are currently working on the NSW State of Legacy Report, which will help address this. On 20 March 2024, the team held a Legacy workshop with CIO-level representatives from government agencies to answer some key questions that will inform the report.
The Legacy workshop was hosted by Mark Howard (Executive Director) and facilitated by staff including Paul Bateman (Director of Customer Success) and Johnny Lehnemann (Senior Solution Designer). In this article, we spoke to Johnny and Paul to hear why it’s important to address the challenge of legacy technology, and the key outcomes from the workshop.
What is legacy technology and why is it important?
Legacy technology refers to outdated systems that no longer serve their intended purposes, or the risk appetite of the agency. Addressing legacy technology in NSW government ensures that the right technology is in place and allows for quality service to be provided to citizens.
Moving forward with the NSW State of Legacy report
The NSW State of Legacy report aims to address fundamental questions related to legacy technology. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the NSW Productivity Commission have highlighted that the use of digital solutions can improve productivity, and addressing legacy technology is a part of this.
Once a baseline is established regarding legacy technology, strategic recommendations will be put forward to help agencies address the potential challenges of legacy.
Outcomes from the Legacy workshop
The Legacy workshop, a crucial part of the report’s research, focused on creating a measurable baseline for legacy systems and developing strategic recommendations to mitigate associated risks. Both Johnny and Paul affirm that the workshop fostered collaboration and provided valuable insights for the report.
“It was great to see the collaboration from all agencies as we develop a sector-wide approach to tackling the problem of legacy. The Legacy report is one of several position papers being developed by Digital NSW to provide central government advice and direction,” says Paul.
“We had six recommendations based on research and wanted to test those out and see where the priorities lay,” says Johnny. The recommendations are focused on an all-of-Government approach to reducing legacy technology. The workshop feedback suggested prioritising implementation of a risk framework and improving the measure of legacy first.
Next steps for the NSW State of Legacy Report
Moving forward, the NSW State of Legacy report will incorporate feedback gathered from the workshop. The workshop also highlighted the need to work together on this challenge. “Everyone agreed we need a shared of unified view on legacy – we can’t work in silos. We get the benefits from each other and varied knowledge. Some agencies are further ahead than others and we need to work together more to support each other,” says Johnny.
The updated report will undergo consultation with agencies around mid-May, marking a crucial step towards addressing legacy technology in NSW Government.
For more information about the NSW State of Legacy report, email the Enterprise Architecture team at ea@customerservice.nsw.gov.au.