Tech Debt is back!

Tech debt is getting airtime again and for good reason...companies wanting to capitalize on cloud and shiny new AI capabilities can't actually use these technologies because of their decades-old infrastructure.

Most people probably haven't heard of COBOL...because it's from the 60s. I had the joy of using back in the late 90's and early 2000s. It is EVERYWHERE in banking systems.

“Banking systems are loaded with Cobol, it was built ages ago, it’s not documented, and the guy who built it is probably dead,” Curtis says.

This quote made me laugh yet provides a stark reminder of how fragile the underbelly of the world's major organizations continue to operate on a daily basis...and at a heavy price-tag.

"technical debt would require $1.52 trillion to fix, and costs the U.S. $2.41 trillion a year in cybersecurity and operational failures, failed development projects, and maintenance of outdated systems"

The numbers make it clearly obvious that tech debt SHOULD be done. Leaders need to take that next step to strategically invest and rebuild their foundations.

Tech debt remediation should be a core business objective from the CEO...not something that the CIO or CTO has to push for and get a few million to try and do it side-of-desk.

Other heavy-hitting tech companies are now starting to be at the doorstep and these older organizations can no longer ignore tech debt.

-Adam