Anyone who works in IT will have stories of technical debt – those times you have to tape software together to get it released by the deadline, or a cheap solution staves off a more costly overhaul of old systems.
No matter how far you push it down the line, though, everyone has to pay up eventually. Ignoring technical debt only compounds the eventual problem of addressing it and IT teams around the world are saddled with technical debt that bites into their yearly budget.
In this episode, Rory is joined by Karen Worstell, senior cyber strategist at VMware to explore the impacts of technical debt and what can be done to address it.
Highlights
“In my role as a CISO in the role of IT risk management many years ago, when we tried to roll out a new CRM implementation … the lack of understanding of the debt that had accumulated in the environment made that implementation fail, and it was a significant cost to the company. I think they lost about $350 million in one calendar quarter.”
“Technical debt is a defect, if you think about it in terms of six sigma and quality management. I would say having your IT operating, understanding very clearly that there is a tolerance level that the IT organization should operate within… there's always going to be a certain amount of technical debt, but I need to set my parameters for what that manageable number is, how to quantify that.”
“In my observation over the years has been that there's a strong tendency for executive management to assume that people are doing the right thing. And in my role as an IT risk manager, I frequently had the very distinct displeasure of being the one to tell them that they're not.”
Footnotes
- What is technical debt and how can businesses tackle it?
- Zscaler CEO: Successful digital transformation requires simplistic thinking
- IT teams need to optimize and tackle tech debt ahead of economic downturn warn analysts
- Breaking technical debt’s vicious cycle to modernize your business
Subscribe
- Subscribe to The IT Pro Podcast on Apple Podcasts
- Subscribe to The IT Pro Podcast on Google Podcasts
- Subscribe to The IT Pro Podcast on Spotify
- Subscribe to the IT Pro newsletter
- Subscribe to IT Pro 20/20
-
Cleo attack victim list grows as Hertz confirms customer data stolenNews Hertz has confirmed it suffered a data breach as a result of the Cleo zero-day vulnerability in late 2024, with the car rental giant warning that customer data was stolen.
-
Lateral moves in tech: Why leaders should support employee mobilityIn-depth Encouraging staff to switch roles can have long-term benefits for skills in the tech sector
-
Four-day weeks and Nadella's AGI skepticismITPro Podcast As the Microsoft chief casts doubt on ultra-advanced AI systems, a famous security blogger has fallen victim to a classic attack
-
Creating space for women in techITPro Podcast Tech's huge gender divide can only be tackled with more welcoming, proactive sectoral efforts
-
What is the EU's AI plan?ITPro Podcast As the EU moves to enable AI innovation, it could end up striking the perfect balance between regulation and public support – especially as US AI laws become more complex
-
The trends we’re watching in 2025AI for security and sovereign cloud could be top driving forces in the coming year
-
The 2024 that didn't happenThese are the megatrends of the year that failed to materialise
-
What DORA means for businessITPro Podcast Stringent requirements for third party monitoring and ongoing resilience testing could help put businesses on the best track for security
-
Can the four-day week work for tech?ITPro Podcast As the four-day week gives Icelandic workers a boost, we also look at whether AI coding is up to scratch – and if OpenAI can keep its funding momentum
-
How to sell cyber security without the FUDITPro Podcast A trusted network of cybersecurity marketing professionals can help professionals cut through at the board level
