From NHS waiting lists and digital GP appointments to online tax services and local authority support, public services underpin daily life across the UK. Yet, as demand rises and budgets remain under pressure, organisations are being asked to deliver better outcomes with fewer resources. As satisfaction with public services in the UK has dropped from 79% to 68% over the last decade, technology more so than ever has a pivotal role to play in helping public sector bodies improve efficiency and ultimately provide an improved service.
To meet rising public expectations, organisations across the public sector continue to invest in in digital transformation. However, too many programmes are slowed by ageing infrastructure, from decades-old case management platforms to fragmented back-office systems that underpin critical services. The challenge is rarely the technology itself. In many cases it’s the assumption that innovation can only begin once legacy systems are replaced, rather than finding ways to integrate and modernise them incrementally.
Rethinking transformation
or many public sector organisations, transformation efforts are shaped by technology estates that have evolved over decades. These legacy systems remain deeply embedded in the delivery of critical public services. In central government alone, it is estimated that legacy systems account for almost a third of public sector technology infrastructure. But despite their importance, public satisfaction with 70% of the UK’s top 75 public services remains below private sector benchmarks, highlighting the challenge of balancing operational demands with rising public expectations.
Too often organisations approach transformation with the belief that meaningful progress depends on deploying new platforms and retiring legacy technology. Citizens, however, do not judge public services through infrastructure or architecture. They experience outcomes, rating services based on speed, accessibility and the ease with which they can interact with government. That is why a broader mindset shift is needed, so that success is measured not by what has been replaced, but by what has been improved.
Innovation alongside legacy
Delivering improvements alongside existing systems, rather than overhauling entire technology estates, may not be the most glamorous approach, but it’s often the most practical and doesn’t mean sacrificing innovation. Technologies such as low-code and no-code platforms enable organisations to modernise services more efficiently by delivering a range of benefits, including faster prototyping and accelerated time to value. For example, a local authority looking to improve its social housing repairs service could use a low-code platform to rapidly create a citizen-facing reporting portal, test and refine it based on user feedback, and integrate it with existing back-end systems all without waiting years for a large-scale replacement programme. This allows teams to improve user experiences and connect workflows and service data more effectively.
Low-code and no-code technologies can also help make AI more effective within public sector transformation programmes. For instance, the growing adoption of AI has highlighted many longstanding challenges associated with legacy data and processes. If data is incomplete, duplicated or poorly governed, AI tools will struggle to deliver accurate, reliable and trusted outcomes. This is where low-code and no-code platforms can play an important role by connecting systems, improving data quality, and creating the conditions needed for AI-driven innovation and service improvement. For instance, an NHS trust could use these tools to bring together data held across appointment, referral and patient administration systems, creating a more complete view of service demand. This not only improves day-to-day decision-making but also provides a stronger foundation for AI applications that can help with tasks such as forecasting demand and identifying service bottlenecks.
Delivering value at scale
Public sector organisations have a significant opportunity to improve services. However, as leaders pursue these benefits, they are often (rightly) concerned about the growth of uncontrolled technology estates and fragmented data. Low-code and no-code platforms can help address these challenges while supporting service modernisation. Rather than adding to existing complexity, they provide a structured framework for innovation, with centralised security models, role-based access controls, audit trails and data management policies built into the development process. As a result, organisations can accelerate service improvement while retaining control and governance across their tech stack.
This foundation is important because successful transformation requires more than developing applications more quickly, it relies on creating consistency across an organisation. By providing a common environment for designing and scaling digital services, low-code and no-code platforms help reduce duplication and prevent the creation of new silos as transformation programmes evolve. This approach addresses one of the biggest barriers to AI adoption, this being fragmented and poor-quality data.
A practical example of this could be a police force connecting information from community engagement, incident reporting, and case management systems, to provide a more joined-up view of public interactions and improve operational efficiency.
Moving beyond the legacy debate
As pressure on public services continues to grow, organisations cannot afford to view legacy technology as a barrier to progress. The most successful transformation programmes will be those that focus on improving productivity and outcomes, not simply replacing systems. By combining existing technology with low-code, no-code and AI-enabled innovation, public sector leaders can modernise services faster while maintaining governance and control. Now is the time to move beyond the replace-versus-retain debate and instead focus on unlocking greater value from the technology already in place.
John Donoghue,
John Donoghue is Strategic Digital Solutions Practice Director at Sopra Steria. An experienced Chief Technology Officer (Private Sector) and Capability Director, John oversees capabilities in Data Management and Engineering, Analytics & Automation, Digital Experience, and Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure, all delivered securely and ethically to build business and consumer trust.
