Is your IT team burdened with unresolved bugs, poor architecture, outdated code, missing documentation and legacy systems that haven’t seen updates since MC Hammer topped the charts?

A Forrester survey found that “only 21% of US IT decision-makers report no significant technical debt.” However, a whopping 30% struggle with critical tech debt levels. Just like MC Hammer’s iconic lyrics remind us, “You can’t touch this,” likewise, technical debt creeps into our codebase, making it harder to move fast and break things (in a good way).

Seek and find technical debt

Technical debt starts innocently enough. It refers to the extra development work that arises when code that is easy to implement in the short term is used instead of applying the best overall solution. The fine print with technical debt is that these shortcuts lead to a “debt” that must be paid back later in rework and refactoring.

When this unresolved “debt” accumulates, it takes on different forms. For instance, teams that knowingly take shortcuts for immediate benefits create deliberate technical debt. If they messed up the codebase, it’s accidental technical debt. As systems age and updates are overlooked, good old-fashioned rot settles in.

Prioritizing technical debt management in 2025 will keep your systems smooth, efficient and ready to bust those agile Go-to-Market moves. So, let’s hammer out those bloated, chunky issues that cost your company big money and keep our tech in tip-top shape!

If you need motivation, here are five reasons why 2025 should be the year for trimming technical debt. (And this year, we’ll keep it off!)

1. Sustainability and scalability

Technical debt, when unmanaged, can interfere with sustainability and the scalability of your technology infrastructure. With growth, company systems need to adapt quickly. However, excessive technical debt makes it difficult to scale up or modify systems without facing significant roadblocks, which can slow down growth and innovation.

2. Cost efficiency

What would you do with an extra $3 million? Instead of investing in innovative initiatives, companies using old technology must divert limited resources, averaging $2.9 million each year, to maintenance or frequent system failures. By addressing technical debt proactively, companies can save money in the long run by reducing these ongoing costs.

3. Improved performance and reliability

Technical debt can lead to degraded system performance and reliability issues. Systems burdened with technical debt often experience more bugs, crashes and downtime, negatively impacting user experience and business operations. Prioritizing technical debt management helps maintain high-performing and reliable systems.

4. Employee morale and productivity

Developers and IT staff are often frustrated with technical debt. It can slow down development cycles and create a sluggish work environment. A groundbreaking study that measured productivity among IT teams found that 23% of their time is spent managing and repairing outdated systems.

With the growing allure of AI-based applications that deliver faster Go-to-Market strategies, it’s also hard to overlook the positive impact these new technologies can have on employee productivity. Ninety percent of surveyed businesses believe GenAI will free up 75% of their employees’ workload, so it’s no surprise that 57% of these surveyed businesses have plans to update up to 50% of their legacy systems to prepare for GenAI integration.

By prioritizing technical debt management, companies can improve morale and productivity, allowing teams to focus on creating new features and improvements rather than constantly fixing old issues.

5. Enhanced security

During the 2022 holiday season, cyberattacks on Google, Apple and Microsoft contributed to 13,000 canceled Southwest Airlines flights. Along with many consumers vowing never to fly Southwest again, the price tag for this chronic cocktail of operational failures, poorly maintained systems and cybersecurity debacles hovers around $1.52 trillion. By addressing technical debt, companies ensure that their products and services remain efficient, reliable and secure, leading to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Managing technical debt is more than just a technical necessity — it’s a strategic imperative. In 2025, make your IT systems “too legit to quit” by eliminating costly technical debt and implementing processes that position your company to achieve sustainable growth, maintain cost efficiency, enhance security, improve performance, foster innovation, boost employee morale and ensure customer satisfaction.

J’Nel Wright is a content writer at Fullcast, a Silicon Slopes-based, end-to-end RevOps platform that allows companies to design, manage and track the performance of their revenue-generating teams.