Modernizing Government ERP: How to Stay Agile and Cut Costs Without a Full Overhaul

Author: Rick Bivin, Principal Solutions Architect, Appian

ERP systems are critical in government agency operations for integrating internal and external management information. They are intended to optimize processes, improve collaboration, and connect with customers, vendors, and partners. Government ERP systems typically include modules related to financial management, human resources, sales, procurement, inventory, and operations like contract and project management.

But traditional government ERP software can’t keep up with quickly changing needs and is costly and time-consuming to update and customize. Government ERP systems end up stifling innovation and hindering agility—the exact opposite of what they are intended to do. Their often-outdated design and inability to fit easily into the modern technology landscape make them a common pain point for public sector agencies trying to improve business processes.

At the same time, IT leaders are under pressure to implement technologies like data fabric, real-time analytics, private AI, and responsive design to improve transparency, efficiency, and the user experience.

At public sector organizations, ERP systems fall short in several ways, including:

• Failure to provide the specific functionality required by government organizations, such as specialized budgeting and fund accounting capabilities, complex reporting requirements, robust citizen engagement features, granular data analysis for policy decision-making, geospatial data integration, and regulatory compliance
• Poor user interface, inconsistent user experiences, slow load times, and lack of mobile accessibility, which increase training costs and reduce efficiency and productivity
• The need to customize the ERP vendor’s proprietary technology stack, static data models, development and integration tools, and business logic to meet government requirements

These issues affect adoption and lead to high operations and maintenance (O&M) costs and lengthy deployment schedules.

Important shift: Composable ERP with a low-code agility layer

Before we explain this game-changing approach, let’s define some terms.

Low-code development is a software creation approach that enables users to build applications with minimal hand-coding. Using visual interfaces, drag-and-drop tools, and prebuilt components, developers and even non-technical users can design and deploy applications faster and with less complexity.

Low-code development allows for greater agility, enabling rapid iteration and modification, while also reducing development time and costs compared to traditional coding methods. It’s especially useful for automating processes, integrating systems, and improving operational efficiency.

Composable design refers to the ability to create software applications by assembling reusable, modular components or building blocks. These components can be easily customized, combined, and reconfigured to meet specific business needs, allowing developers to quickly adapt solutions without starting from scratch.

Composable design enhances agility and efficiency by enabling teams to leverage prebuilt modules, such as workflows or data integrations, to build complex applications with minimal coding effort. This approach supports scalability and flexibility in software development, making it ideal for rapidly changing business environments.

Low-code design lends itself to composability because it uses modular components that can be copied, reused, and rearranged.

In low-code design, an agility layer refers to a flexible framework that sits on top of existing systems, allowing for rapid changes and adaptations without altering the underlying infrastructure. This layer enables organizations to build, modify, and deploy applications more quickly by leveraging prebuilt components and integrations while maintaining connectivity with legacy systems.

The agility layer enhances responsiveness to evolving business needs. It provides a way to implement new features or workflows with minimal disruption to core systems, fostering innovation and speed in development.

A low-code agility layer that sits on top of your government ERP software is a low-cost way to connect all the systems in your environment. It is the fastest approach for unifying data and processes across your enterprise.

An agility layer empowers your organization to build modern, new applications and integrate them with your ERP and existing applications. By seamlessly bridging the gap between old and new systems, an agility layer extends the life of government ERP and other legacy systems while driving business agility, improving the user experience, and unlocking new possibilities.