How to Transition Your Organization to a New Technology Stack

by Tom Salonek

Adapt or die. That’s standard advice for any company competing in our speeding bullet global economy. This is doubly true for software development… new languages and new technology stacks, evolving methodologies like agile, and new team members all mean mastering change is essential.

But here’s the truth: change is hard. So, why transition?

Why Move to a New Technology Stack?

There are many reasons to move to a new technology stack. Chiefly: faster development turnaround time because the latest technologies are vastly improved. Newer front-end technologies available today, such as React, provide compelling advantages such as delivering solid reuse, being easy to use and supported by good tools. Here’s a residual but important benefit of a new technology stack: Recruiting and retaining top talent is easier when a project uses current technology.

I’m asked, “When is the ideal time to transition to a new application?” My advice is making the transition when a business shift requires significant changes to the capabilities of what the system needs to do.

Avoid the Pitfalls

While it seems self-serving, leveraging an experienced consulting organization provides your employees with on-the-job learning and avoiding the pitfalls of a technology from having “been there, done that.” Also, because consulting organizations work with many clients and technologies, they can recommend what’s truly best for your situation. Whether it’s Intertech or another consulting firm, a skilled consulting team will understand what to replace and what to keep. They’ll also bring or recommend frameworks, add-ons, and tools to speed up and improve development.

In addition to upgrading the technology stack, another positive result a consulting firm can deliver is mentoring and coaching on Agile and Scrum and improving overall software development operations (commonly called DevOps) with processes backed up by automation.

About Intertech

Founded in 1991, Intertech delivers software development consulting and IT training to Fortune 500, Government and Leading Technology institutions. Learn more about us. Whether you are a developer interested in working for a company that invests in its employees or a company looking to partner with a team of technology leaders who provide solutions, mentor staff and add true business value, we’d like to meet you.