Uncovering Tech Complexity

Companies will spend trillions on new technology investments in 2025 alone — yet the result is often a proliferation of disconnected, overlapping and ineffective tech. Ivanti’s 2025 Technology at Work report gives some clear answers on the challenges, even if they aren’t the answers folks want to hear. Tech sprawl has jumped four points since last year, with 38% of IT teams now calling complexity a serious operational barrier. 

This fragmentation can lead to inefficiencies, increased costs and a lack of cohesive strategy, as different departments and teams adopt solutions that do not integrate well with each other.  

What’s blocking IT teams from getting a handle on this? Three sticky problems keep cropping up: 

• Too many tools, too little coordination. Nearly one in three (31%) say their organizations do not track unused/underused software licenses, possibly because they may not have a complete inventory of the total. Money down the drain. 
• Old tech hanging around. One in three IT workers calls tech debt a "very serious" problem. Almost half (48%) confess they're running software that's reached end-of-life (EOL). And 34% say outdated hardware sucks up budget that could go to innovation. 
• Teams that don't talk to each other. While improving, 55% of IT pros report their security and IT data still sits in separate silos. This drives real problems: slower security responses (62%), weaker security overall (53%), and IT teams spinning their wheels (40%). 

The costs hit harder than just wasted licenses. Lots of IT pros (43%) point to redundant applications as major money pits. Cloud overprovisioning follows close behind (39%). 

But here's the scary part: 37% of IT teams admit their tech setup has gotten so unwieldy they can't maintain basic security practices. This is the perfect recipe for an inevitable breach forcing you into a costly crisis response. 

Leadership can’t fix what they can’t see 

More than half (57%) of IT pros say that leadership fails to fully grasp efficiency problems and what’s driving them. This isn’t an issue of lack of interest, care or effort. It’s specifically an issue of visibility. You can’t manage or fix what you can’t see. 

Part of the visibility gap stems from poor asset tracking. Only 35% of organizations track device age or location. Without these basics, IT teams fight complexity blindfolded. 

AI won’t fix inefficiency (yet) 

It’s pretty common for vendors to pitch AI as the fix for everything from help desk tickets to misconfigurations. Maybe someday. Don’t get me wrong; I’m a huge fan of AI and automation when deployed correctly, but our data indicates what a lot of us already know — that you can’t automate what you don’t understand.  

AI systems need clean, accessible data to function. With information trapped in departmental silos, even advanced automation won’t deliver high-quality, reliable and actionable results and companies’ tech investments may struggle to produce reliable results. This both limits companies' ability to capitalize on their investments and downgrades the trust leaders have in the insights these systems deliver. 

Getting out of this mess 

Enough talk of the problem. Now let’s talk about what works. For starters: 

• Cut the sprawl first. Before adding more tech, catalog what you have. Kill redundant applications. Track licenses and consolidate vendors. Make "reducing complexity" a formal program with executive sponsorship. 
• Pay down tech debt strategically. Create a prioritized roadmap for replacing end-of-life systems based on risk and business impact. Set aside budget specifically for modernization, not just new toys. 
• Break down walls between teams. Connect IT operations and security data. Make visibility a specific goal, not a nice-to-have. Measure how quickly teams can access information across departmental boundaries and run fire drills to ensure your crisis response time expectations are met. 

Taking on complexity and sprawl in your tech is a big task, but the payoff is so, so worth it. You stand to gain a lot more than just cost savings. Streamlined, efficient tech means moving faster on new initiatives, responding better to threats and attracting better talent who are tired of fighting the same old battles. 

This won’t get better on its own. (Instead, it’s very likely to get worse.) That bandage I ripped off earlier? Now it’s your turn. 

To learn more, check out Ivanti’s 2025 Technology at Work Report: Reshaping Flexible Work.