technical debt

Technical debt is a concept that originated in software development, where it refers to the cost incurred by putting off upgrades or modernization (i.e., technical obsolescence). Today is is also be applied to other technology areas such as hardware, security and compliance, infrastructure, skills, measurement, and suppliers. Technical debt can lead to poor customer experience, loss of business opportunities, unsustainable cost structures, and less resilient and secure systems.

Discover how Forrester supports IT leaders. 

Insights

Blog

Master Tech Mayhem: Why Technology Leaders Can’t Miss Forrester’s 2025 Technology & Innovation Summit North America

Stephanie Balaouras 3 hours ago
Technology leaders need to get comfortable navigating relentless technology disruption, making bold decisions in the face of uncertainty, and building organizations that are ready to thrive no matter what comes at them. Learn how our upcoming Technology & Innovation Summit North America can help.
Blog

Where Technology Executives Will Be Investing In 2026

Greg Zorella July 15, 2025
For technology executives trying to build an investment plan for 2026, the picture is unclear. Find out where most IT organizations will be investing next year and where you may be able to scale back to fund more experimentation in the year ahead.

Don't Let Technical Debt Hold You Back

Learn how to reduce technical debt and make the most of technology investments with this playbook.

Blog

Midyear CIO Check-In: Are You Crushing It Or Barely Treading Water?

Mark Moccia July 10, 2025
Life as a CIO is hectic, the environment around you is increasingly volatile, and you continually have to achieve more with less. Get some tips on managing tech debt and building engagement for your technology strategy.
Blog

Master Tech Mayhem: Technology & Innovation Summit Comes To London

Pascal Matzke July 9, 2025
In an era of change and uncertainty, technology leaders can either stay reactive or seize the new opportunities in front of them. Find out how Forrester’s Technology & Innovation Summit EMEA can help technology leaders prepare to master tech mayhem and achieve high performance in today’s volatile environment.
Blog

HPE Discover 2025: AI Is Infrastructure; Infrastructure Is AI

Naveen Chhabra July 7, 2025
Get Forrester's take on seven key announcements coming out of the event and find out how these developments may shape or disrupt your IT roadmap.
Blog

The Public Sector Must Navigate The “Everything Everywhere All At Once” Efficiency Conversation With Portfolio Rationalization

Linda Ivy-Rosser June 2, 2025
We’re in an era defined by constant disruption and rapid shifts — a true “everything everywhere all at once” scenario.
Blog

Introducing Forrester’s IT Spend Management Framework

Frederic Giron June 2, 2025
Learn how mastering three indispensable capabilities — visibility, control, and optimization — can help you and your team align expenditures with strategic imperatives, realize cost savings, and fuel the innovation needed to thrive. 

New For 2026! Tech Budget Planning Guide + Workbook

Simplify your 2026 tech budget planning! Download our guide and workbook for recommendations, benchmarks, and actionable templates to help you assess, prioritize, and implement investments.

Blog

Public-Sector IT Leaders: It’s Time To Prioritize The Right Emerging Technologies

Sam Higgins May 29, 2025
Learn the 11 emerging technologies that all public-sector IT leaders should be watching and get insight on how these technologies will shape the next decade of government transformation.
Blog

Rethinking Government Reform: Can In-House Government Consultants Deliver Lasting Impact?

Sam Higgins May 21, 2025
Internal consultancies — mission-driven capability centers for innovation, strategy, and execution — are emerging as key vehicles for governments seeking to do more in-house. As many jurisdictions adopt internal consultancies, we need to ask: Are we building them to last or simply building them fast?
Blog

Once More Unto The Breach: Tech Leaders Face Another Year Of Volatility And Cuts

Lauren Nelson April 3, 2025
In today’s era of volatility, technology leaders will need to do more with even less. This means dusting off the cost-cutting playbook to seek out additional optimization opportunities without sacrificing your AI ambitions. Here are a few cost-cutting measures to focus on in the near term.
Blog

Call For Entries: The 2025 Enterprise Architecture Awards

Charles Betz March 24, 2025
Forrester is thrilled to announce the opening of nominations for the 2025 global Enterprise Architecture Awards. Learn more about this year’s awards and how to apply here.
Blog

Key Questions For Tackling Technical Debt

Linda Ivy-Rosser March 10, 2025
Technology leaders are more focused on technical debt today to ensure that they can fully leverage tomorrow’s emerging tech. Find out the questions that you should be asking to manage the technical debt in your organization.
Blog

The Product Model Solves For Tech Debt

Charles Betz January 27, 2025
Product management and technical debt are top priorities for many digital and IT organizations, but many tech and business leaders may be unclear on the relationship between these two areas. Learn how one can actually be a solution for the other in this post.
Blog

The Enterprise Architecture Tool Market Starts 2025 With A Notable Merger

Stéphane Vanrechem January 10, 2025
In a Forrester landscape report published in May 2024, we predicted that M&A activity would continue to change and disrupt the enterprise architecture management suite (EAMS) market. This trend started in 2023, continued throughout 2024, and now, amazingly, as we enter 2025, the market has reached a further peak.
Blog

Technical Debt By A Thousand Cuts

Charles Betz October 23, 2024
Every week, I get inquiries about technical debt, whether from enterprise architects, CIOs, CTOs, offices of the CIO, or strategic portfolio managers. It’s a broad concern in IT and digital management, as well as in the minds and operating models of Forrester clients.
Blog

Manage Tech Debt Urgently To Prevent Tech Bankruptcy

Biswajeet Mahapatra September 17, 2024
The longer tech debt remains unresolved, the more resources are required to fix it. Learn how it can impact the delivery of new projects and weaken operational resilience in this preview of a new report.
Blog

Why Forrester’s SAP Services Landscape, Q3 2024, Is So Important

Akshara Naik Lopez September 16, 2024
We recently completed The SAP Services Landscape, Q3 2024. A lot has changed in the SAP ecosystem since the last edition of this Forrester landscape. SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA cloud migrations are taking center stage for the vast majority of SAP clients. The RISE with SAP offering has undergone massive changes in the last […]

Stop The Friction: Align CIOs & CISOs For Smarter 2026 Budget Planning

In uncertain times, teamwork is everything. Join Forrester analysts live on August 6 to align CIOs and CISOs on budget plans, prioritize smart investments, and fortify your security for 2026.

Blog

How India’s National Stock Exchange (NSE India) Builds Its Critical IT Infrastructure

Ashutosh Sharma August 22, 2024
Learn how one of the largest stock exchanges in the world uses information technology to deliver services that meet stringent regulatory standards as well as unique investor needs.
Podcast

How Should Business And Tech Leaders Spend In 2025?

What It Means August 8, 2024
Business and tech leaders expect (slightly) bigger budgets next year. How should they use them? On this episode of What It Means, VPs and Group Research Directors Stephanie Balaouras, Keith Johnston, and Srividya Sridharan dive into Forrester’s Budget Planning Guides’ recommendations for tech, marketing and sales, and customer experience (CX) leaders.
Webinar

2025 Budget Planning Guides: Technology And Security

Watch Now! And hear analyst insights on where to invest, divest, and experiment with 2025 tech and security budgets for maximum business impact. 
More posts