Why Organizations Are Streamlining Their Infrastructure
Consolidating tech stacks takes two forms. The first is an “urge to merge” entire businesses, helping to maximize economies of scale and productivity. According to Nancy Rose, Charles P. Kindleberger professor of applied economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, this urge is often driven by a desire to gain market power and efficiencies (lower costs, better processes or products, etc.).
The second form is streamlining disparate business technologies into a singular system, such as MACH (microservices, API-first, cloud-based and headless) architecture. A system in which tech is consolidated into one unified setup allows for more observability and flexibility.
IT leaders that follow this second route are often looking to identify any outdated hardware or software that no longer meets business requirements. This audit forces teams to make sure that all software and hardware are interoperable so that any necessary updates to the IT infrastructure can be made smoothly without interrupting core business functions.
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This approach also reduces tech sprawl, a major problem in the industry.
“With IT sprawl, every new application or service requires additional time, money and expertise to manage and secure properly. The organization’s tech stack becomes increasingly bloated and complex, burdening IT teams with growing time and budget demands, all while IT spend is wasted. In fact, recent research into IT asset management reveals that approximately one-third of spend on IT (e.g., for desktop software, SaaS and data center software) is wasted,” notes Rajat Bhargava in Forbes.
In response, companies are cutting “software spend up to 30% as it hits $3,500 per employee,” according a recent CloudEagle report. Experts say it’s also a symptom of a cost-conscious culture where IT leaders want a transparent evaluation of ROI.
Ninety-five percent of senior IT executives plan to consolidate vendors within a year, according to a recent poll by CIO. And 75% of organizations plan to consolidate their cybersecurity vendors.
