Address ‘Monumental' Tech Debt The Right Way: With CX Front And Center

Forbes

23-04-2025

Customer Experience Software
This year, companies across the world are working to tackle a problem that has been eating up a big chunk of operating costs and lowering profits every year: technical debt. It's about time. The heavy debt has weighed down organizations far more than many realize.
The global consulting firm Protiviti reports that technical debt is a 'critical burden' in the business landscape. 'On average, an organization invests more than 30% of its IT budget and more than 20% of its overall resources to manage and address technical debt,' the company wrote in a study. 'Further, nearly seven out of 10 organizations believe technical debt has a high level of impact on their ability to innovate.
Our team surveyed more than 1,000 business leaders for The Leader's Guide to CX Trends in 2025. We found that in 2025, 'more companies will work to reduce the amount of tools and technical debt they've accumulated over the years, simplifying their vendor landscape and optimizing total cost of ownership.'
While reducing technical debt is crucial, so is doing it the right way. Changes must be designed to improve and expedite the customer experience (CX). Otherwise, they're unlikely to have the desired effect. As Protoviti put it, 'Focus on the experiences of users and consumers (both positive and negative) to drive interaction through a modern, innovative operating model. Decisions based on insightful customer and user analytics are more likely to achieve business success.'
While different organizations use slightly different definitions, 'technical debt' generally refers to the losses that businesses experience when they go for quick technological solutions that have long-term downsides. As three authors (Neil Ernst, Rick Kazman and Julien Delange) of a book on the subject put it, 'Technical debt in software is incurred when developers take shortcuts and make ill-advised technical decisions in the initial phases of a project, only to be confronted with the need for costly and labor-intensive workarounds later.'
Given the speed with which new tools have been coming to the market, it's no surprise that businesses have accrued more of this debt. Each new tool promises to make business better and save money quickly. But 'today's cost savings might add to your technical debt later, especially if you mainly use multiple tools in your support ecosystem,' our team at Nextiva has explained. Often, additional tools require 'extensive resources to manage, connect (via APIs), or sync with other applications in your tech stack.' Businesses are better off with a unified solution that includes support, allowing them to build the best possible customer experiences across a range of channels.
Case in Point: New York State
For a powerful example of erasing tech debt while vastly improving the customer experience, look at an achievement of the New York State Office of General Services. 'The challenge was immense, with hundreds of websites and thousands of applications contributing to what was described as 'monumental tech debt,'' the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University explains.
The team transformed the state's digital ecosystem not only by reducing this debt, but by following an approach in which technology is 'just one piece of the larger puzzle, where the true challenge lies in empowering agencies to take ownership of the customer experience (CX).' The office also created the role of chief CX officer, reflecting this commitment. The woman who holds this position, Tonya Webster, 'champions a customer-centric organizational culture, ensuring that every initiative prioritizes meaningful outcomes for the public,' the Beeck Center wrote.
Excellent customer service experiences have become a cornerstone of successful business. And while short-term steps have long been enticing, organizations large and small are now seeing the price they pay.
The good news is that there does not have to be any conflict between improving CX and adopting technology that will avoid long-term tech debt. Today, single platforms can provide a wide range of tools that seamlessly work together. When designed well, these platforms can also evolve as new and more advanced technologies become available.
This kind of flexibility is particularly essential in the age of AI. The revolution underway is coming at such a rapid pace that businesses can't know what's in store. If they choose solutions that are designed to function with minimal or no friction and the ability to adapt rapidly, they'll be empowered to stay on the cutting edge -- and their customers will feel the difference.