Why keeping the legacy IT ‘lights on’ is not enough for local government

14th Sep, 2018

For many councils, both IT and the business are stuck between a rock and a hard place. How do you transform while keeping the lights on?

Forbes confirms, most of the IT budget and resources goes on maintaining legacy IT systems, and managing vital, back-office systems. So, with continued budget cuts how can you meet service targets without affecting “business as usual”?

Decision time for legacy systems – maintain or innovate?

Do you A: Divert money away from critical systems and focus on delivering the new apps you desperately need?

Or B: let your digital transformation journey get bogged down in the sand?

The answer is – neither. Instead, explore a new way of working that supports both. Let’s not forget that option A is simply maintaining – not to be confused with asset sweating. Extracting the most you can from an existing solution is, well, okay actually. And necessary in our age of public austerity.

But tech, in the form of the legacy systems at many councils, has become the “frenemy” of innovation. And we say frenemy (friend and enemy – see what we did there?), as the technology is still critical and does some extremely complex work. Which, if harnessed correctly – does empower greater transformation coupled with modern, digital tools fit for the future.

Digital Transformation together

Designing sustainable services means reinventing them to put the citizen at the centre. But very few in local government have the time, budget or resources to deliver this. So it’s time to be more disruptive. Follow a path set by innovative and forward thinkers, such Adur & Worthing.

Low-code in local government means real returns at low-risk

So one thing is clear. Accelerating transformation requires both new ways of working and new tools. Introducing Liberty Create, our low-code solution. Low-code is built for both business users and dev, so more people can develop apps, fast.

Low-code for Local Government helps councils reimagine services. Helping them flexibly design, create and integrate all the digital features and communications they need.

The Netcall difference

Liberty Create gives you everything you need to build, deploy and improve applications without coding. And what’s more, our community of peers and library of free to share apps means you can start today. Sharing the load in order to focus on what matters the most – making a real impact on the communities you serve.

Learn more about how low-code can help local government.