Is your development team spending more time fixing old code than building new features? It’s a common frustration for many design and development teams. They want to move on to new projects and build innovative applications, but they are held back by technical debt.

So, what exactly is technical debt? It refers to the cost of maintaining and fixing code that was not developed properly in the first place. 

This can be things like poorly written code, outdated tech or shortcuts during development. Over time, this accumulated “debt” slows down progress and hinders future development.

But what if you could build apps (faster!) without accumulating technical debt in the first place?

What exactly is technical debt and why you should care

Think of technical debt like taking shortcuts when building a house. You might save time and money initially, but those shortcuts will come back to haunt you and require costly repairs and renovations.

In software development, technical debt occurs when organizations choose quick solutions over better solutions that would take longer.

The cost? Just like financial debt, tech debt accumulates “interest” in the form of:

• Soaring maintenance costs

• Slower feature development

• Frustrated devs and users

• Increased security risks

• Higher operational costs

Here and there, a bit of technical debt can feel like a necessary evil. But left unchecked, it can quickly get out of control, slow down progress, and damage your software overall.

So why should you care?

Technical debt is dangerous for your business

While your competitors are innovating and releasing new features, your team is stuck maintaining problematic code. 

Forbes has found that engineers spend one-third of their time managing technical debt instead of building new capabilities. This translates to real numbers: in a team of 50 developers with an average salary of $100,000, you're potentially losing $1.65M annually just managing technical debt.

But the cost isn't just financial. When your developmental hands are tied up with fixes, you’re not spending time on innovations or researching consumer needs. This puts you at a significant disadvantage in the market, as your competitors can move faster and keep up with changing customer demands.

As systems become more complex, you need more resources just to keep things running. What started as a small shortcut can turn into a major drain on your budget. What does this look like in reality?

• Increased development cycles and time-to-market delays

• Higher maintenance costs for legacy systems

• Need for specialized developers to handle outdated technologies

• Customer support costs dealing with system issues

• Resource drain from constant firefighting

Here’s a stat that might surprise you: 60% of CIOs report their organization's technical debt has increased significantly over the past three years, creating a snowball effect of mounting costs and complications.

AI-powered development minimizes technical debt

The risks of technical debt are real – and can quickly derail even the most promising project. So, how can you enhance your processes to keep the debt down?

AI app builders like Sutro are changing how organizations approach software development – offering a fundamentally different way to build applications that prevent technical debt from accumulating in the first place.

Traditional development often forces teams to choose between speed and quality. That means you’re left with a trade-off – you can move quickly but sacrifice quality, or focus on quality and sacrifice speed. But with AI-empowered development, you don’t have to make that choice.

When you can use AI to run tests and make decisions alongside development, you’re able to continuously improve the quality of your code without slowing down development. This means you’ll be:

• Generating production-ready code that follows best practices

• Maintaining consistent architecture across your application

• Automatically implementing security best practices

• Ensuring scalability from day one

The future of software development is here, and it doesn't include the burden of technical debt. 

That means you can equip your people with the best tools and keep them focused on creating innovative solutions – instead of constantly playing catch-up with outdated systems.

Don't let technical debt hold your business back. Try Sutro today and experience the future of application development without the burden of technical debt. It’s the best way to build – and stay ahead of tomorrow's competition.

Let’s level the playing field.