Every business is a technology business these days. Your company, like most others, relies on technology infrastructure and applications to get work done.
But are you spending too much on tech? Too little? Often, it's a bit of both – too much on maintaining outdated tech and too little on more efficient new tech.
A periodic technology review can help boost your return on investment (ROI) in tech by finding opportunities to optimize systems and processes wherever possible.
How a Tech Review Can Eliminate ‘Tech Debt’
Over time, your IT team adds technology to fill needs or respond to opportunities. Fairly quickly, your tech stack can become a complex patchwork of old and new, which makes it more time-consuming and costly to manage and maintain. This so-called technical debt, or"tech debt," accounts for about 40 percent of IT balance sheets, according to McKinsey & Co. research. It also prevents your IT team from working on value-generating projects.
A March 2024 survey of CIOs by IDC, found that CIOs recognize technical debt as a significant barrier to key strategic initiatives, but find it easier to get buy-in from business leaders to invest in tech that helps the business innovate (e.g., cloud) or reduce risk (e.g., cybersecurity) than tech that addresses tech debt.
That decision comes at a high cost. Of the 38 percent of IT pros IDC surveyed that expect to overspend on tech this year, nearly half said it was because of excessive technical debt. Indeed, addressing tech debt from sprawl, bespoke or isolated tech stacks requires an upfront investment. According to Forrester's Budget Planning Guide 2025, leading IT organizations will spend on average 30 percent of their budgets to reduce technical debt.
A technology and systems evaluation can help you target and eliminate tech debt and shed light on more efficient ways of doing things. These include optimizing:
- Hard costs by eliminating unused software licenses or ensuring service contracts match actual needs.
- Soft costs by replacing outdated equipment to cut maintenance overhead and automating manual IT tasks like system updates to reduce or reallocate labor costs.
- Opportunity costs like making changes to security protocols to cut down on cyber insurance costs or outsourcing instead of insourcing to speed time to value (TTV).
How to Conduct an Internal Technology Review
An internal tech review takes just a few steps. Use these pointers to guide you through the process.
1. Create a Team— Start your tech review by ensuring the right employees, advisors, and stakeholders are involved.
2. Assess Trends— Look at the latest technology trends to see what solutions are succeeding in the market, particularly with other businesses in your industry. AI, for example, may offer opportunities to innovate or reduce costs if deployed with proper governance.
3. Evaluate Processes— Look at how employees use technology for daily operations and processes to identify opportunities for efficiencies.
4. Identify Gaps— Pay close attention to what technology may be missing from your current tech stack and what existing solutions no longer work well for your team.
5. Eliminate Excess— Find underused or unused tools to optimize or eliminate. Don't forget to look at software licenses; you may be paying for seats you no longer need.
6. Seek Third-Party Guidance— Consider bringing in a trusted third party like Cox Business to help with your tech review or conduct it for you. External experts like Cox Business can provide valuable guidance based on their experience in the field.
How Cox Business Can Assist Your Tech Review
Engaging Cox Business to assist with your tech review is easy. All you have to do is ask—we offer tech reviews as a complimentary service. Our analysis begins with open-ended questions designed to uncover pain points and challenges that help our experts align your tech environment with your business's overarching goals. The team might also recommend procedural or solution changes that could benefit your organization.
Is it Time for a Cox Business Technology Review?
Cox Business is committed to providing you with ongoing support and consulting. The initial sale and contract are just the beginning of what we hope will be a long partnership. We're here to make sure your tech keeps performing for you. The Cox Business team can help you optimize your tech and find money in your budget to save or put toward new initiatives to boost your ROI.
