3 Tips for Recession Proofing Your Tech Stack

By Milan Shetti, CEO Rocket Software

For several months now, pundits and economists alike have indicated that we are likely to enter, or already have entered, a recession. Regardless, The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) has the final say on whether any period of economic decline qualifies as a recession, and that determination might not come for months.

Whether or not the U.S. enters a recession, businesses must have a plan. By recession-proofing tech stacks, businesses can compete and thrive regardless of market conditions. Consider the following tips when planning to recession proof your technology stack. 

• Avoid single sourcing

When it comes to recession-proofing a tech stack, leaders should avoid single sourcing. Supply chains are especially vulnerable where single sources can hamstring a business by causing delays in shipments and leading to an increase in prices and generalized inflation. If a company’s entire product portfolio is made in one location and that location becomes overwhelmed, its operations could come to a halt.

The same thing can be said about IT processes. If a business is focused on a single cloud provider that can shut down operations, whether purposefully or accidentally, the outcomes can be catastrophic. As a recession becomes more likely, businesses must choose partners that do not box their customers into a single source cloud solution. A hybrid approach to IT is always best.

• Understand the power of automation

Understanding and investing in automation is a powerful tool when fighting the impacts of a recession. In a recession, businesses must do more with less. Automation can help fill the gaps and ease pressure on overworked employees.

But don’t automate just for the sake of automating. Over-automation could ultimately result in a business spending more resources than necessary. Instead, take stock of where employees are spending their most time, evaluate if the work being done is best done by an employee or automation, and adjust accordingly. Automation can help free up resources to allow employees to focus on more value-driven work.

Speaking of automation and technology in general, it’s always important to take stock of which technologies are considered mission critical and which are not. When the economy is on a downswing, this is especially true. If you’re continuously taking stock of which tools and technologies yield the most value, it will make trimming the excess easier.

• Always prepare for a recession

Even in times of economic prosperity, business leaders must operate like a recession is never too far away. As the late technology visionary and former chairman and CEO of Intel Andy Grove once said, “Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive.” A healthy dose of paranoia can help businesses lessen the blow of an economic recession by reducing the urge to overspend on unnecessary technology that does not bring a certain level of value to the company. It’s important to plan not just for the good days, but the days that might not be great, as well.

Businesses should view a recession as an opportunity: a chance to reevaluate what’s important and make sure its tech stack is fueled by technology that brings the highest level of return to the business.