Technical debt is a term that gets thrown around all the time in large enterprise businesses, but it’s not just for the big guys. It comes for all of us.
If you have a sinking feeling that something about your IT is slowing you down, then you need to read this post.
Let’s start things off with a definition…or two.
What Is Technical Debt?
So what is technical debt exactly? Good question. IBM defines it as “the future costs associated with relying on shortcuts or suboptimal decisions made during software development.”
That works if you’re, you know, in software development, but it’s a little too specific if you ask us.
Because technical debt affects everyone.
Go a little broader and a little simpler, and you can think of technical debt as the cost of falling behind on tech. Everything works a little slower, a little worse, and there are nebulous but major costs just over the horizon.
Windows Is the Biggest Example of Technical Debt for Most Small Businesses
If this term is still a little too nebulous, here’s a good example. One that might hit a little too close to home.
You may have heard that Windows 10 has officially reached end of life. It still works, but it isn’t receiving regular security updates anymore, which means that over time it will grow less and less stable — and less and less secure.
Because of this end-of-life designation, businesses that are still running Windows 10 are dealing with technical debt:
- They’re running an OS that could start creating security problems for them.
- They’re in a position where they’ll need to upgrade rapidly (and deal with all the hurdles that can bring).
- They’re missing out on the capabilities and innovations that came with Windows 11.
Over time, the technical debt of sticking with Windows 10 will keep growing, slowing you down more and more and opening you up to potential attacks.
But what if you can’t upgrade?
If you’re still running Windows 10 because you can’t upgrade on your current hardware — then you’re accumulating even more technical debt. Some older PCs can’t run Windows 11, and some older specialized software (like the software that runs specific industrial machines) can’t run on Windows 11.
If that describes your business, then your technical debt is deeper. Because to get out of the Windows 10 technical debt, you first have to get out of your hardware technical debt.
And of course, it never ends with just an operating system. These kinds of ripple effects happen throughout your business IT.
How Technical Debt Happens
Technical debt happens because businesses are putting off expenses that don’t seem exactly urgent today. It’s stuff they know they’ll have to deal with at some point, but it isn’t grinding business to a halt, so today is not that day.
But the day will come when you can’t avoid that technical debt any longer. Wait until that day hits — until something fails completely — and you’ll end up spending way more fixing the problem and dealing with the downtime and/or business fallout.
So… What Do You Do About Technical Debt?
You fix it.
No, but seriously: over time, and with a plan, you incrementally work to address your technical debt. This could look like replacing ancient machines in phases, or finding modern applications to replace those legacy programs that aren’t keeping up or are locked to an old version of Windows.
Ultimately, the best solution is to work with a managed service provider like us. We can audit your IT infrastructure, identify the biggest risks, and craft a comprehensive yet manageable plan to get ahead of your technical debt.
Ready to get out of debt? Give us a call.