There’s No Hiding from the Tech Debt ‘Tsunami’

By the time a tsunami hits, there’s little to do but run, hide and hope. Its destructive waves can radiate out at alarming speeds comparable to a jet plane’s. When they reach the shore, tsunamis often lead to dangerous flooding, as well as the destruction of nearby buildings and infrastructure. Comparing the risk of tech debt to a tsunami, therefore, is about as stark a warning as you’ll ever receive.

Forrester raised the alarm late last year as part of their annual predictions about trends in technology and security. They released findings that 75% of organizations will see their technical debt rise to either a moderate or high severity level by 2026. Their analysts said the tsunami of tech debt must be stemmed.

Market research firms like Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester are no doubt well aware that it’s difficult to get senior leadership teams to care about a topic like tech debt. Many in the C-suite might not even understand the term, which refers to the accumulation of aging, outdated and in some cases near-obsolete legacy software and hardware.

It may be worth taking that metaphor a little further to understand not only why tech debt is a serious issue, but how business leaders can address it before it’s too late.

1. Monitor for warning signs

Real tsunamis are generally caused by a powerful but unexpected event like an earthquake, a landside, or a volcanic eruption. According to Forrester, the tech debt tsunami’s origin can be traced to the explosion of interest in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies over the past two years.

With so many AI tools entering the workplace, Forrester argues a lot of existing software will need to be upgraded or replaced. Its said technology leaders will respond by tripling the adoption of AI operations (AIops) platforms.

AI is not the only contributor to tech debt, however, and investing in AIops is not a cure-all solution.

Three years ago–before generative AI was making almost daily headlines–the Consortium for Information and Software Quality published a report that estimated tech debt costs the U.S. $2.41 trillion a year. It pointed to a much different cause: organizations that “go for a short-term solution to a software development problem, instead of a more exhaustive, long-term solution.”

A good example might be investing in a digital experience platform (DXP) that seems to offer an all-in-one solution to common business needs. Before long, though, DXPs can require extensive (and expensive) upkeep, and they still might not perform or scale as expected.

If you really want to get ahead of the tech debt tsunami, look for multiple forces that may be at play, including run-down components of your tech stack that may have been neglected or ignored.

2. Raise awareness

Emergency preparedness professionals often develop extensive communications strategies aimed at educating the public about the danger of a tsunami and how to prepare themselves when threats seem imminent. That’s exactly how IT leaders should be approaching their C-suite counterparts.

Start by sharing these stats:

• 15% of budgets are already allocated towards addressing tech debt. IT leaders go into their fiscal planning recognizing they need to address legacy systems that are dragging them down, but the more they could reduce that amount, the better.
• 47% of CIOs who expect to overspend within the next 18 months blamed excessive tech debt. Propping up an antiquated or poorly-performing DXP, for instance, could funnel a lot of dollars away from more value-adding IT projects.
• Nearly two-thirds of business spend an average of $3 million a year maintaining and upgrading legacy systems. Even if you’re close to that figure, senior leaders should begin to recognize the urgency.

Explain that tech debt accrues just like any other form of debt. What you want to avoid is tech bankruptcy, where performance failures bring operations to a complete standstill and jeopardize customer relationships. Emphasize that it doesn’t have to turn into an unstoppable tsunami, however, if appropriate steps are taken.

3. Develop an evacuation (migration) plan

By definition, evacuation is the process of removing yourself and others from a place of danger to somewhere safe. Within an IT context, that means migrating from legacy systems to a modern solution before the tech debt tsunami gains momentum.

The Ford Foundation learned this lesson first-hand. Their legacy CMS had reached a tipping point where it was nearing end-of-life and would no longer receive security updates. Tech debt was manifesting itself in other ways long before, however.

There was an inability to scale from publishing two or three pieces of content a month to between three and four each week. Employees were also struggling with a steep three-week learning curve. After the Ford Foundation migrated to WordPress VIP, training time has been reduced by 95% and there are now nine times as many creators publishing content through a more efficient workflow.

Stop fighting the waves, and start riding them

The best part of modernizing a core piece of technology like a CMS is you get access to an ecosystem of partners with integrations, plugins and other services that make your organization future-ready. In a sense they’re similar to the protective structures like dikes and breakwaters that limit the damage tsunamis can do.

The difference is that the right CMS not only avoids performance and scaling issues but also opens up growth opportunities. Instead of drowning in tech debt, you can finally ride the wave of innovation.