Your business is growing, your revenue is increasing, and your customer base is expanding at a rapid rate.These are great things! However, what does this growth mean for your technology stack?

Think about technology and company growth like this - young children age, they quickly outgrow their previous shoe size. Likewise, as a company expands, it quickly outgrows its current technology stack and needs more robust systems to match demand.

When faced with a technology challenge, some search for quick fixes or try to do the bare minimum, versus taking a serious look at their stack and thinking strategically about their needs.

Spoiler alert: “applying band-aids and duct tape”to close a technology gap for the time being only increases your technical debt in the future.

When a company results to quick fixes, technical debt is incurred, and at some point, that debt comes due, and it cost more than it should.

In other words, the result of prioritizing speedy delivery over fixing the issue with critical advancements only harms your business in the long run. Keeping your technology stack aligned with your company growth will take more than quick fixes.

Taking the time required to think strategically about your business needs and the best technology to support those needs (and your future growth) is the only solution to keep your business operation running at a fully optimized level.

Four Ways To Avoid Technical Debt:

1. Avoid the temptation to save time and money. Yes, technology needs to be advanced quickly to prevent stalling your company’s growth. However, quality should not be the tradeoff for speed. Cutting corners will only waste your money and time in the long run.

2. Establish a suitable testing procedure. Make sure each phase of technology updates or implementation is checked twice for possible mishaps. Never skip the step of testing software because it could find preventable issues.

3. Set an annual system audit. It’s crucial to conduct yearly audits on your technology software to identify mishaps and advancements areas. Also, the audit will allow for a timeline and budget for the fixes to be implemented correctly and not rushed. ‍

4. Commit to annual technology budget. Pay down your debt and get ahead of the game.Companies will continue to grow with no consideration for technology or put a technology budget in place until it is too late - a seven-figure ordeal (who wants to spend that!). It is essential to incorporate 3 to 5% of revenue as your technology budget every year.

Do not settle for the quick fix that will only lead to increased cost and loss of time that could be used on other business growing tasks. Advance your technology systems the right way with T-Minus Solutions. We specialize in developing advanced technology systems that meet our client’s unique needs through audits, workshops, and consultations. Email us today at info@tminussolutions.com.