Technology and Legacy Industries
These things can be chalk and cheese. Something we see day to day in our work. The inertia of the status quo, the sunk costs into the existing model, the bias to preference existing business models is strong. The mental capacity of users, and leaders to adapt to change is increasingly less.
However one thing that is inescapable is the need to change.
This was felt by many in the first era of the internet, and then again in the software era. These era's changed business and made leaders really consider their processes and how they compete. This next era, the one that's here now will require a quantum of change quite different to the last. If we thought the pace of change was fast before. It's just hit hyperdrive. This presents a serious problem for legacy industries that have an operating model and cost structure that just simply will not work. The competition parameters are changed. The winners and losers in this next step changed will be defined by leadership's ability to adapt strategy cost models.
The NextChapter Is Here—and It’s Not What You Expect
For over a decade, “digital transformation” has been both a rallying cry and a moving target. ERP systems, cloud migrations, data lakes, and AI pilots have filled roadmaps and boardrooms alike. But for leaders in agriculture, food processing, and other primary sectors, the term often feels like an aspirational abstraction—oversold and under-delivered.
As someone recently said A.I is like teenagers and sex, everyone is talking about it. Nobody is actually doing it, doing it well or in any meaningful way and often unaware of the consequences or potential pitfalls.
At Backstory Services, we believe a new era of transformation is not just arriving—it’s already underway. But unlike the first wave, which was driven by tools and tech stacks, this next chapter is defined by systems thinking, strategic discipline, and cross-functional intelligence.
And it’s arriving just in time. Because for many legacy industries, the competitive gap is no longer digital—it’s structural.
Imagine for a moment if your competitor can now do 90% as well as you, but at half the price. That changes the game.
Why Legacy Industries Are Stuck in the Transformation Middle
In the agriculture and primary sectors, many firms are only now finishing (or just beginning) major ERP implementations. Others are facing the realization that their systems don’t talk to one another. Data is trapped in PDFs, spreadsheets, siloed platforms, or human memory. There’s no data governance function, no trusted source of truth—just local know-how and years of hard-won expertise.
This isn’t a technology problem. It’s a systems maturity and Strategy problem.
Cloud migration? A risk assessment nightmare.
SaaS platforms for every function?Too expensive, too fragmented.
Data science initiatives? Hard to justify when your core data is patchy, offline, or poorly structured.
Meanwhile, newer entrants—born digital, vertically integrated, and capitalized by venture dollars—are outpacing incumbents.They’re not just disrupting product categories; they’re redefining the cost structures, margins, and speed that the rest of the industry is measured by and competes on.
If you’re a CEO or director in a legacy industry, the question is no longer, “Should we transform?” It’s “How do we evolve without destabilizing our core?”
FromOne-Off Projects to Strategic Operating Models
Here’s the shift Backstory helps leaders make: stop treating transformation as a checklist of tech deployments, and start treating it as a business operating model evolution.
The next era demands:
- Integrated, not fragmented systems: Your ERP, CRM, supply chain data, and field operations need to function as a coherent nervous system.
- Data fluency as a leadership competency: It’s no longer enough to “have a data team.”
Every business leader must be fluent in what good data looks like. Boards need to prioritise data governance. - Technology as leverage—not lifestyle: SaaS for everything is not a strategy.
Identify what is core vs. context, and invest accordingly. - Digital architecture that supports scale, not just survival: Choose platforms that allow for flexibility and future integrations—not quick-fix apps that solve yesterday’s problem.
Transformation That Respects the Realities of Legacy Systems
The myth that legacy means laggard is just that—a myth. These industries know scale, they know resilience, and they know complexity. What they often lack is transformation pathways that respect their operational DNA.
At Backstory, we don’t prescribe trends—we architect evolutions. That means:
- Designing fit-for-purpose data strategies for companies still running on spreadsheets.
- Advising on hybrid cloud architectures where full-cloud isn’t feasible—or even desirable.
- Building governance frameworks that make use of local knowledge, not just digital systems.
Disruption is real—but so is the value locked inside companies that have been feeding, fuelling, and building the world for generations.
The Strategic Choice Ahead
For the C-suite, this is a moment of clarity—not panic. Your transformation doesn’t need to match Silicon Valley’s playbook. But it does need to become a core leadership agenda, not just an IT function.
The firms that thrive in this next era will
- Treat transformation as a continuous capability, not a one-time project.
- Anchor their strategies in systems, not software.
- Align digital decisions with economic models and field realities.
Because in legacy industries, transformation isn’t about speed—it’s about coherence.
Conclusion: The Advantage Is in the Architecture
The next wave of digital transformation will be quieter than the last. Less about the flash of new tools, more about the deep work of aligning operations, technology, and leadership.
It’s not about chasing disruption. It’s about building the systems that make you resilient to it.
