Leadership | Feb 9

Digital tool consolidation: How to simplify your tech stack

Leadership | Feb 9

Why simplifying your tech stack is as much about people as platforms

Ian Wylie Journalist, broadcaster, educator

Reading Time 5 minutes

For many small business leaders, the ‘tech stack’ has grown accidentally rather than strategically: a finance system here, a CRM there, a project tool layered on top… each solves a local problem, but together they create complexity.

At Birmingham manufacturer Instinct Hardware, Technical Director Nil Chohan recognised this pattern early. ‘Our “tech stack” wasn’t really a “stack” at all,’ he says. ‘We had various pieces of software operating individually with their own systems and workflows. Replication and multiple data entry points were the biggest frustration.’

That fragmentation wasn’t just inefficient. It was risky. Duplicate data increased errors, disconnected systems obscured visibility, and staff were forced to bridge gaps manually. The first lesson for leaders, Chohan suggests, is to acknowledge when your tools are no longer serving your operations but actively undermining them.

Consolidation means letting go… even of good tools

One of the hardest parts of simplifying a tech stack is not choosing what to adopt but choosing what to abandon. Chohan found that many of the tools Instinct had relied on worked perfectly well in isolation but failed as part of a wider system.

‘It was a hard choice to leave behind systems that worked well on their own, but didn’t work well when it came to integration, and their associated workflows which staff were used to,’ he says.

To avoid destabilising the business, Instinct ran old and new systems side by side during transition. But Chohan is clear that disruption cannot be eliminated entirely. ‘Ultimately, disruption is part of the risk that can’t be avoided but has to be managed,’ he says.

The practical implication for SME leaders? Consolidation is not a technical upgrade, but an organisational change process. Systems encode habits. Changing systems means changing behaviour, and that requires patience, planning, and leadership.

Efficiency gains are real, but only with solid foundations

When consolidation works, the benefits are tangible. At Instinct, the shift towards a streamlined, digitalised approach, which included implementing the latest Computer Aided Design (CAD), rendering software, and Material Resource Planning (MRP) systems, was driven by a desire to improve manufacturing efficiency and the customer experience. Chohan says the projects has had many benefits. Workflows are more efficient, data entry centralised, human error has reduced, and margins have improved.

‘We’ve now got a much more efficient and effective workflow – data entry is consolidated, and therefore less human error, less mistakes, which leads to better margins,’ he says.

But the most important lesson was not about software. It was about groundwork. ‘You can’t build a system on a poor foundation,’ Chohan says. ‘For us, this meant stripping right back to the basics. We had to rename and recode every single raw material, component, and finished product to ensure that the system worked properly.’

In other words: consolidation exposes hidden inconsistencies. If your data structures are weak, integration will magnify those weaknesses rather than solve them.

Fragmentation is not just technical, it’s human

Dr Alex Kevill, lecturer in enterprise and entrepreneurship at Leeds University Business School, argues that many leaders misunderstand what really goes wrong with fragmented tech stacks. Cost and complexity matter, but the deeper damage is relational.

‘Our recent research with 77 SME practitioners on this topic indicates that the human and relational aspects of digitalisation in SMEs are equally critical – perhaps even more so – than purely technical concerns,’ Kevill says. Fragmented tools ‘can discourage collaboration… causing frustration, reduced confidence, and resistance to the technologies’.

Kevill emphasises that technology shapes how people feel about their work.

When systems cause duplication and lack clarity, people disengage. And when people disengage, adoption fails. ‘Ultimately, it’s people’s perceptions of technologies that is crucial for adoption,’ he says.

This reframes consolidation as a leadership challenge, not an IT one. Leaders must actively manage emotions, expectations, and trust alongside system integration.

Why consolidation projects fail

Kevill’s research (conducted with colleagues Selen Kars-Unluoglu, Mariana Estrada-Robles and Shelley Harrington) suggests that many rationalisation efforts fail not because they are technically difficult, but because they are poorly governed.

‘Many rationalisation projects fail because they lack clear goals, roadmaps, and regular reviews,’ he says. Leaders often lack time for strategic planning, leading to ‘unclear goals and drifting priorities that create confusion and frustration.’ Fear also plays a role: fear of unfamiliar systems, and fear about job security.

Successful leaders behave differently. They set explicit goals, define roadmaps, review progress incrementally, and critically, invest in relationships. ‘They empower, build strong relationships, and build trust with subordinates. They communicate openly, involve subordinates, and celebrate successes and progress,’ Kevill says.

Start with people, not platforms

Kevill’s proposed ADAPT model begins not with software selection, but with engagement. ‘In the first instance, I’d recommend that leaders engage with the individuals within their enterprise to understand how they currently engage with technologies in their work and their hopes and fears for digital change, but also to generate their suggestions’. Only then should leaders define strategic goals and build a roadmap.

Systems matter. The data matters. But people matter more. Simplifying your tech stack is not about having fewer tools. It’s about having a clearer purpose, stronger alignment, better foundations, and more confident teams. Get those right, and the technology can finally do what it was always supposed to do: make the business work better.

Ian Wylie Journalist, broadcaster, educator

Ian Wylie is a journalist, editor, and broadcaster for the Financial Times, Guardian, BBC, Monocle, and others. For 16 years he was a staff writer, feature writer, and section editor at The Guardian newspaper. He also teaches on Newcastle University’s undergraduate and postgraduate journalism programmes.

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