Sep 26 2024
Software

Businesses Are Consolidating Their Tech. What Does That Mean for Your Infrastructure?

Facing tech sprawl, businesses opt to streamline.

Gartner predicted last year that worldwide IT spending would grow to about $5 billion in 2024 across data centers, software and IT services. But too often, supercharged spending can cause tech sprawl, and if organizations are acquiring new tools too fast, not everything may be compatible.

So far this year, an average of $18 million was wasted on “inefficient SaaS management,” according to a report from Zylo. With inefficient spending and too many choices comes an inevitable “desire to make fewer choices,” writes Stephen O’Grady, principal analyst and co-founder of Red Monk, in a company blog. “Consolidation and centralization are real, and they are here,” he notes.

IT leaders are embracing tech consolidation. This trend stems from several factors, including global economic challenges such as inflation, recession and supply chain disruptions and the cost cutting required to modernize IT infrastructure.

IT leaders are looking to integrate multiple services and platforms into one consolidated ecosystem to reduce costs and improve efficiency. 

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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IT leaders that follow this second route are often looking to identify any outdated hardware or software that no longer meets business requirements.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.

RELATED: How are companies finding success with observability tools.

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.

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The Benefits of Tech Consolidation

Consolidating tech has many benefits. It allows for centralized cybersecurity and “enhances risk posture by collectively sharing intelligence to prevent zero-day threats in real time,” according to Palo Alto Networks. It also helps reverse “the hidden costs of tech bloat,” such as runaway spending and employee frustration. Tech consolidation can even help combat shadow IT — “the practice of individual departments finding their own solutions to meet needs and managing them independently, outside of IT’s control” — a growing issue that Gartner predicts 75% of employees will find themselves involved with by 2027.

Reducing IT complexity also helps IT leaders modernize their infrastructure. A unified platform streamlines workflows, making it easier to integrate cloud and on-premises systems, which enhances flexibility in hybrid environments. With fewer tools to manage, teams can improve visibility across systems, allowing for better resource allocation and faster troubleshooting.

Working with a tech partner can help businesses evaluate any redundant software, licensing fees and out-of-date hardware. After reducing tech bloat, IT leaders can reallocate funds to emerging technologies that are better positioned to help the business grow.

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