A study of business leaders by DXC Technology has revealed that nearly half (46%) of executives say that technical debt, or tech debt, is the silent saboteur inhibiting their ability to innovate and grow.
Tech debt is the implied cost of rework caused by choosing an "inferior but quick" solution over the "right" technology solution. In other words, while a past investment may have worked in the moment, it could fail to hold up well over time.
Tech debt tends to be a series of trade-offs that lead to sub-optimisation and becomes increasingly hard to undo. While different from obsolescence or depreciation it can be measured in billions for most large enterprises and have far reaching implications costing a business its talent, lower productivity, increase its security risk and ultimately be disruptive to an organisations success and stock price.
In a global survey of 750 C-suite information and technology executives commissioned by DXC Leading Edge, a team of experienced practitioners who create progressive thought leadership focused on business transformation. Embracing modernisation: From technical debt to growth research makes the case for reframing tech debt from a problem that needs to be solved to something that needs to be tackled as part of any organisations modernisation efforts.
According to the report, there is an accountability crisis when it comes to tech debt. Of the executives interviewed, 99% recognised that tech debt was a risk to their organisations, despite the fact that three in four still believe that IT leadership should shoulder sole responsibility for fixing it.
"We are at a point in time where technology innovation is rapidly accelerating. The way we build, grow, and enable our teams and customers is changing and with that, our approach to managing the process of modernisation must as well," says
Michael Corcoran, Global Lead, Analytics & Engineering.
"Sometimes the spread of tech debt across the organisation makes it hard for leaders to step outside of their team view, and this where a neutral third party can provide a holistic view that lets leaders consider a new perspective. If business leaders don't commit to addressing tech debt now, it will lead to loss of resources, productivity, talent, and have huge security implications," he says.
Lack of awareness amongst business leaders also has a significant impact on their ability to manage technical debt. Executives were clear that there are barriers to progress which hinder modernisation efforts in their organisations; 47% of respondents scored knowledge barriers as very or extremely significant, and 38% did so for cultural barriers.
DXC has found that organisations can experience 39% in cost savings from technical debt reduction, while being able to retire 37% of redundant applications and has therefore identified a four-step plan to pay down todays debt and discourage it in the future:
1. Reframe org debt as modernisation
Clearly articulating org debt is a way to ensure clarity of vision on the modernisation path. The mind shift toward future focus is essential. This is an appropriate time for candid executive conversations when taking stock of what you have.
2. Define opportunities
The first step in defining modernisation opportunities is to expand the circle beyond IT accountability. The CIO and CTO will lead modernisation, but the entire executive team is responsible for its success. Coordination between the business side and technical arm of the organisation is crucial. CTOs and CIOs are uniquely positioned to communicate org debt effectively to the C-suite and wider business stakeholders, with the CFOs support. Making the case clearly and convincingly to enable effective collaboration is the next step for these leaders.
3. Clear your barriers
Every industry has a unique profile, as would every organisation. Therefore, clearing organisational barriers is a matter of defining them in light of your inventory and Wardley Maps. Use your industry profile as a baseline and modify it for your organisations needs.
4. Organise for execution
Having shifted the conversation, defined the barriers and gained alignment, an organisation can then focus on the desired objectives and impact of the activities. Modernisation is an ongoing collaborative process, involves not just the IT circle but the entire organisation. When done properly, the benefits are felt across the whole organisation. From cost savings to carbon reduction, to making employees work lives smoother, theres a business case to be made across every arm of an organisation. When org debt is viewed clearly and articulated fully, it can be flattened, understood and managed thoughtfully as part of the balance sheet of a healthy business.
"Technical debt is an enduring topic across the intersection of business and technology, its long known about yet, often poorly understood.As it continues to accumulate, organisations around the world cite it as a top challenge, inhibiting their ability to transform and serve their customers into the future," says Dave Reid, Research Director of DXC Leading Edge.
"Today we are releasing our landmark study to help our customers and partners tackle this issue head on and begin to reap the long-promised but hard-to-realise benefits of modernisation and transformation," he says.
In addition to the four ways organisations can clear tech debt, DXC has introduced The Tech Debt Audit business leaders can take immediately to understand the level of tech debt in their organisations and where their barriers to addressing tech debt lie.