Technical Debt Liability: Expert Solutions to Scale Without Breaking
As companies race to adopt AI, migrate to the cloud, and build modular systems, one thing often gets left behind: foundational stability. The result is technical debt liability—accumulated compromises in code, architecture, and process that quietly drain productivity and innovation capacity.
Once a developer gripes it, tech debt becomes a board-level concern. It slows product rollouts, inflates IT budgets, and increases risk exposure. And yet, many organizations don’t know how much debt they carry, let alone how to reduce it.
This article outlines practical strategies for helping CTOs detect, prioritize, and eliminate technical debt liability before it undercuts growth.
Under the hood: Why innovation carries hidden baggage?
The relentless drive to innovate has become a hallmark of modern business. But with speed comes sacrifice, and often, it’s the underlying infrastructure that bears the brunt. According to Gartner, 77% of IT leaders say the pace of technological change has accelerated significantly over the past three years. From AI adoption to cloud migration and the rise of microservices, today’s Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) are steering through near-constant disruption.
In the race to ship new products, integrate emerging tools, or meet aggressive deadlines, many companies defer clean implementation in favor of expedience. Over time, that strategy accrues a hidden liability: technical debt.
Kodak, once an icon of American ingenuity, offers a cautionary tale. Its sluggish transition to digital wasn’t merely a missed business opportunity; it revealed how legacy infrastructure, left unaddressed, can paralyze even the most storied brands. The company’s hesitation to modernize its systems became a liability too great to overcome, underscoring a larger truth: innovation without foundational readiness can become its own undoing.
Poorly maintained code isn’t just a nuisance for engineers; it’s a drag on the entire business. The effects ripple far and wide, whether it’s slowing development, compromising performance, or creating security vulnerabilities.
Behind the bugs: How top CTOs are addressing technical debt
In recent discussions within the software engineering community, two thought leaders have put forward valuable perspectives on the often-underestimated issue of technical debt.
In posts on LinkedIn, Martin Spickermann, a Principal Engineer with over a decade of experience, and Morgan Fox, a software and product team expert, have shared thought-provoking reflections on the nature of technical debt. Both of their views offer critical takeaways for companies navigating the complexities of scaling their digital infrastructure.
Martin Spickermann, who has been building Ruby on Rails applications at scale since 2006, shared a particularly striking analogy:
“Technical debt is a measure of the amount of duct tape holding your system together, plus the amount of rust that it has accumulated.”
This analogy cuts to the heart of the problem, emphasizing both the immediate patches (duct tape) and the slow erosion of functionality over time (rust). According to Spickermann, while engineers are acutely aware of these two aspects, temporary fixes and long-term degradation—other disciplines, particularly non-technical stakeholders, often fail to recognize that software is not a static, everlasting asset. Instead, it rots over time, requiring continuous maintenance to preserve its functionality.
Spickermann also pointed out a common misconception: “People typically see software as something that can be stored safe and secure on a disk and kept like gold in a treasury. But that is not the case. Software and even data accumulate rust because of non-obvious external dependencies that are not under your control.”
This statement sheds light on the complexity of modern software systems, which are influenced by numerous external factors, ranging from third-party libraries to evolving security threats. Over time, what was once cutting-edge can become increasingly outdated and vulnerable unless actively maintained.
From analogy to action: Fox’s warning on compounding costs
Morgan Fox, a passionate advocate for building diverse software and product teams, also weighed in on the technical debt conversation with a similar analogy:
“Technical debt is a measure of the amount of duct tape holding your system together, plus the amount of rust that it has accumulated.”
Fox, building upon Spickermann’s idea, stressed the severe consequences of allowing technical debt to go unchecked, particularly its impact on the productivity and well-being of development teams. He listed the following outcomes:
- Employee churn: As technical debt compounds, frustration grows within development teams, often leading to burnout and higher turnover.
- Lost productivity: With every new feature, developers are forced to contend with the underlying technical debt, causing delays and reducing the speed of delivery.
In his post, Fox asked an essential question: “What additional consequences could result, and how can we control technical debt?” It’s a call to action for organizations to recognize the long-term costs of ignoring technical debt and to take strategic measures to manage it before it becomes an overwhelming burden.
Also, in a compelling LinkedIn post, Stephan Schmidt, CTO, AI coach, and author of Amazing CTO, draws a sharp line between strategic and accidental technical debt.
These thoughts challenge the notion that systems can simply be built and then left to run indefinitely. Whether you’re maintaining a legacy system or scaling up for future growth, proactive investment in backend infrastructure is non-negotiable. Failing to address technical debt doesn’t just harm operational efficiency; it puts companies at risk of missing key growth opportunities, damaging employee morale, and increasing security vulnerabilities.
Leadership strategies for CTOs to neutralize technical debt liability
McKinsey estimates that 70% of companies struggle with substantial technical debt, with some dedicating up to 40% of their IT budgets just to manage it. While the pace of innovation continues to climb, so does the risk that it leaves organizations exposed.
Before introducing new systems or rewriting architectures, conduct a thorough technical audit. Tools like SonarQube, CAST Highlight, or Veracode can analyze code quality, legacy bottlenecks, and architectural inefficiencies. Track areas where technical debt intersects with innovation goals and flag them as high priority.
This is not a one-time activity. As technology evolves rapidly, so should your assessments. Continuous review is key to managing technical debt liability proactively.
1. Track metrics that matter
From code health scores to security vulnerabilities, track everything. Tools like Datadog and Dynatrace provide actionable insights into system behavior, bottlenecks, and drift from architectural principles. Keep a close eye on:
- Deployment velocity
- Bug fix rates
- Downtime frequency
- Security patching windows
When teams are held accountable for quality, not just speed, technical debt naturally shrinks. Routine tasks like code testing, infrastructure provisioning, and security scanning can (and should) be automated. Tools such as Jenkins and GitLab CI/CD help reduce manual errors and free up engineering bandwidth for more strategic work.
2. Plan for both progress and maintenance
Most roadmaps focus on what’s next. Few account for what needs to be fixed first. An effective innovation strategy includes a technical debt paydown plan. Transitions to microservices or AI-driven workflows must be staged, not rushed. Stakeholders across development, security, and product must align on priorities, risks, and timelines.
Building modular systems—through containerization, Kubernetes, or other decoupled frameworks—can future-proof architecture and ease future integrations.
Automation isn’t a cure-all, but it is essential. Continuous integration, automated testing, and infrastructure as code reduce manual errors and free up engineers to focus on strategic improvements. The goal is to have fewer reactive patches and more proactive stability.
3. Don’t wait for permission to modernize
For many leadership teams, technology upgrades are a hard sell. Infrastructure work doesn’t flash across a marketing slide. Database migrations don’t excite investors. And no one wins awards for optimizing an API. But that’s precisely where technical debt breeds. Quietly. Repeatedly. Until it becomes a business risk.
Technology modernization must be normalized in your roadmap. Even when the exact tools are still undecided, you need to leave space for them. A roadmap without room for backend maintenance is like a budget with no line item for support—it’s not sustainable.
Technical upkeep shouldn’t be discretionary. It should be expected.
4. A framework for disciplined innovation
The rush to adopt new technologies can feel exhilarating, until it starts eroding your core stability. That’s why responsible technology evaluation is less about excitement and more about discipline. Ask these six questions before integrating any new technology into your environment:
- Does it solve a real and current product weakness?
- What’s the full ROI—upfront and over time?
- Is it tested in real-world conditions like ours?
- Is it backed by a stable, reputable vendor?
- What’s the risk of not adopting it?
- Will it meaningfully improve the user experience, without sacrificing more than it’s worth?
This isn’t about resisting change. It’s about avoiding disruption disguised as progress.
5. Make maintenance a cultural norm
True technology strategy means building for the long term—even when the benefits aren’t immediately visible. This starts at the top. Executives must:
- Hire with future technologies in mind.
- Allocate space for experimentation and refactoring.
- Communicate the why behind invisible investments.
Done right, this creates a culture where maintenance isn’t seen as a pause—it’s seen as progress.
6. Plan for uncertainty
It’s impossible to predict exactly which frameworks or tools will dominate next year. But the absence of certainty doesn’t justify the absence of planning. Add placeholders to your roadmap. Reassess them quarterly. Remove what’s no longer relevant. Promote what’s matured. And prepare, always, for change. It’s easier to cut a well-considered upgrade than to squeeze one in under pressure.
7. Stay focused on the endgame
Technology is not your product. It’s how your product survives. Customers don’t care if your backend is shiny, they care if your solution solves their problem. That’s why aging tech is only dangerous if it makes your product less relevant. If your system works, and adapts as needed, it will outlast many trend-driven competitors. Steady, intentional modernization is how you earn that trust.
If it’s not on the roadmap, it doesn’t exist. The harsh truth? If your roadmap doesn’t account for:
- Platform re-architecture
- Security upgrades
- Library and dependency management
- Integration refactors
- Staff training on emerging tech
…then you’re not avoiding technical debt. You’re just ignoring it. And when the cost comes due, it won’t just hit engineering, it will hit customer satisfaction, revenue growth, and credibility.
8. Foster a culture of ownership and collaboration
Technical debt liability is not just an engineering concern; it’s a leadership one. Create cross-functional teams that own end-to-end systems. Daily standups, sprint retrospectives, and brown-bag training sessions foster accountability and alignment.
Celebrate small wins. Recognize developers who take the initiative to refactor problematic sections or document critical functions. Gamification, like internal scoreboards or incentives, can drive engagement.
No matter how well a product performs today, its architecture has a shelf life. And if you’re not planning for that truth, your roadmap is fiction. In agile organizations, architecture investment is routine, not reactive. Most sprints should include at least one component tied to backend improvement. These don’t need to be headline features, but they do need to be intentional.
Drop the illusion: every product has technical debt. The difference is whether it’s controlled or compounding.
Treating debt as a surprise only delays the reckoning. In reality:
- Regular upgrades are easier than late-stage rewrites.
- Technical debt isn’t just about speed, and it’s about trust.
- Roadmaps that ignore backend needs aren’t strategic, they’re aspirational.
And aspirational planning breaks under pressure.
In brief
In the breakneck race to innovate, companies risk turning progress into peril. As CTOs chase AI, microservices, and cloud-first strategies, unchecked technical debt is quietly ballooning into a strategic liability. Experts warn that without deliberate investment in infrastructure and maintenance, tomorrow’s breakthroughs could collapse under yesterday’s shortcuts.
