Due to rapid technological developments, software is rapidly becoming obsolete. This is currently a particular problem in sectors that automated relatively early, such as the banking sector. Software obsolescence affects the durability and reliability of our digital infrastructure. It also makes that digital infrastructure vulnerable to deliberate attacks from outside. In addition, maintaining existing outdated systems becomes complicated and expensive. Finally, technical development affects the way new software is developed. Because of the increased complexity of ICT projects, the reliability of software is decreasing. Also, it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict how certain software projects will be realised. At the same time, software will play an increasingly important role in our society because more and more everyday systems will be equipped with computer programmes, making them function autonomously.
Connecting character
The obsolescence of software, and the effort involved in maintaining obsolete systems, are primarily important societal challenges. This challenge can be addressed with research that deals, for instance, with the mapping of digital infrastructures, the redesign of generic, system-independent data structures and information models, and the establishment of performance agreements in complex distributed software systems to optimise their functioning. Such research should lead to a future-proof virtual infrastructure. Scientific challenges lie in new ways of developing software, developing software that can repair itself, research on adaptivity and configurability of systems, and new methods to detect vulnerabilities and errors in software. Economic opportunities lie in designing and building innovative methods and techniques and in keeping the costs of software development and system maintenance manageable. Recently, there has been much attention on the out-of-control cost and lead time of all kinds of software projects, both in government and in business. This ultimately weighs heavily on our economy, as the resources spent cannot be used more effectively elsewhere and the productivity of the organisations involved is limited during the transition period.
