Subj : Technical debtmuch like financial debtis a cumulative beast To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Tue Feb 25 2025 10:00:07 Technical debtmuch like financial debtis a cumulative beast Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2025 09:47:20 +0000 Description: It represents all the extra hours and resources poured into keeping a solution technically current, often without making real progress toward innovation. FULL STORY ====================================================================== Technical debtmuch like financial debtis a cumulative beast. It represents all the extra hours and resources poured into keeping a solution technically current, often without making real progress toward innovation. Its like a bucket with a hole in its base: no matter how much water you pour in, the water level barely rises. In this case, thats because needless upgrades and patching keep draining your efforts. Where it relates specifically to software systems, technical debt can stem from decisions made in the momentthose quick fixes or stopgap measures that seem like the easiest solution at the time. These might involve implementing solutions to plug a gap in your infrastructure or rushing to adopt new ERP software functionality, even when it doesnt fully align with your strategy or staff expertise. Over time, these little compromises accumulate into big frustrations, leaving you spending all your time involved with patch management over issues rather than addressing root causes. Its like spending your entire paycheck on debt repayments without being able to save or invest for your future. Its incredibly frustrating. The good news is that paying down this technical debt is possible. Its not an overnight fix, but with the right strategy, you can gain time and budget to gradually reduce that debt while balancing affordability, innovation, and ROI. Why We Accumulate Technical Debt In the ERP world, the dominant playersOracle, SAP, and otherssignificantly contribute to the accumulation of technical debt. Their strategies are built around locking you into their ecosystems--pushing you to upgrade on their timelines and, crucially, use their in-house support and maintenance, preventing you from focusing on projects that drive true value for the business. Lets be clear: upgrading your software system doesnt inherently create technical debt. The problem lies in how upgrades are imposed. Its the pressure to upgrade before youre ready or to align with vendor roadmaps that dont match your business priorities. For example, SAPs push toward S/4HANA adoption has left many businesses scrambling to meet tight deadlines, fearing the loss of support for older systems. Support for SAPs widely used ECC software will end in 2027, with an optional extended maintenance period available until 2030 at a significant premium. This impending deadline is pressuring organizations to upgrade to S/4HANA, even if they are unprepared for the transition. Many businesses face challenges in terms of the time, resources, and financial investment required to migrate, leaving them at risk of running unsupported systems and exposing themselves to potential compliance and security vulnerabilities. Similarly, Oracles aggressive move to cloud-based solutions has forced customers into costly transitions under the very legitimate concern that theyll fail to meet critical compliance and security standards if they dont. Oracle frequently emphasizes the security and compliance advantages of migrating to its cloud services , leaving customers with limited alternatives. The message is clear: Youve got to move to the cloudsecurity implications demand it. Hows that for flexibility, independence, and control? This approach places enterprises in a difficult position, pressuring them to adopt Oracles roadmap rather than sticking to their own strategy. Then there are the maintenance contracts. These multi-million-dollar agreements often apply to aging products with limited ROI, yet theyre non-negotiable. Worse, the costs often escalate annually, leaving enterprises paying more and more and getting back less and less. Technical debt often starts with compromises--choosing systems based on budget constraints or sleepwalking into vendor lock-in. Over time, these hidden costsmandatory upgrades, expensive support, and abandoned legacy systemspile up. While upgrades themselves dont directly cause technical debt, they can exacerbate it, but not being able to focus on your business goals. The Cycle of Technical Debt So, your aging systems are no longer meeting your needs, and your technical debt is at an all-time high. Every effort to keep things running feels like pouring water into that leaky bucketyoure working harder but making no real progress. So, what can you do? While theres no silver bullet that will allow you to eliminate technical debt instantly, it is possible to pay down this debt sustainably while prioritizing growth and innovation. Start by rethinking how you manage and support your current systems. Breaking Free You cant always get rid of aging systems, but you can support them more effectively. Third-party software support offers a way to regain control over your IT strategy. Think of it as fast-tracking your journey out of technical debt. Third-party software support shifts the focus away from vendor-imposed roadmaps to your unique business needs. If you need a highly customized setup or prefer a best-of-breed approach, your support partner enables you to maintain stable, familiar systems while selectively modernizing the parts that align with your strategy. And the cost savings? On average, enterprises save over 60 percent on maintenance and support contracts when they switch to third-party software support. This frees up budget for innovation, employee training, maintaining existing systems, and ensuring they operate as expected without the unnecessary, vendor-mandated bells and whistles. Strategic Innovation Over Vendor Roadmaps Vendors dont want you to know about these alternatives because it threatens their entire business model, which is built around those lucrative maintenance contracts. They rely on keeping you locked into their cycle of mandatory upgrades and ever escalating fees. But technical debt doesnt have to be an inevitable cost of doing business. With third-party software support you can keep your systems supported, compliant, and aligned with your business goalsall while freeing time and budget to reduce technical debt. Youre no longer forced to upgrade for the sake of compliance or to access critical updates and support. Enterprises that break free from vendor lock-in experience a twofold benefit: reduced technical debt and the freedom to allocate resources toward strategic innovation. By rethinking how you manage your software lifecycle, youll finally be able to pay down that debt and plan your future systems on your termsnot your vendors. We've listed the best RPA software . This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/technical-debt-much-like-financial-debt-is-a-cum ulative-beast --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .