Conclusion 4

The Bank took the strategic opportunity to move the RTGS to a new technology structure which better supports innovation, rather than patch up the existing legacy system. The Bank made an early strategic decision to move away from its old, existing (but not obsolete) legacy system to a more modern modular technology, one of the first central Banks to adopt this approach. It realised it needed a new technical solution to accommodate future capabilities and requirements, such as extended operating hours. By acting early, the Bank avoided a situation where the ageing legacy system became a ‘burning platform’ dictating the programme’s scope and timetable. The programme also included a major upgrade to payment messaging standards, improving interoperability through a consistent data structure, and enabling more detailed analysis. The Bank’s understanding that it could not indefinitely defer technology investment informed its early decision to replace the legacy system. It told us that lessons learned from the programme are now influencing how it approaches wider IT modernisation and its management of technology obsolescence.