Managing Your Entire Tech Stack: 6 Strategies for Control, Agility, and Value

Managing technology today means more than simply purchasing software or hardware—it’s about orchestrating an interconnected tech stack that powers every business function. From SaaS applications and hardware devices to network and mobility solutions, energy management, and increasingly complex AI tools, each component plays a vital role. These technologies don’t operate in isolation. They form a complex ecosystem that must work seamlessly to drive operational efficiency, cost control, security, and strategic growth.

In this article, we’ll share six key strategies—drawn from expert insights and real-world data—to help you master managing your entire tech stack. Whether you’re responsible for procuring, managing, or recommending technology, these principles will guide you toward streamlined operations and unlocking greater business value.

About this article

This article is part of our Thrive 2025 Blog Series, offering a glimpse into the kinds of trends and insights we’ll be exploring at Thrive 2025 in Austin, August 25-27. Watch for new posts on our blog through August. This article draws on insights from several speakers who will address this topic at a session titled Manage Your Entire Tech Stack In One Place.

Why streamlining the management of your entire tech stack matters

Most companies still manage their tech stack in a fragmented manner, resulting in disconnected vendor systems, dispersed billing, shadow IT risks, and incomplete reporting. Industry data shows that organizations frequently juggle hundreds of technology vendors, creating layers of complexity and inefficiency. This siloed approach leads to wasted spend, operational blind spots, security vulnerabilities, and missed opportunities.

A unified approach to procurement and lifecycle management consolidates visibility, automates workflows, integrates security, and simplifies vendor interactions across the entire tech stack. It provides IT teams and business leaders with a single source of truth, enabling smarter decisions, cost savings, and greater agility.

Six essential management strategies to maximize the value of your tech stack

1. Gain full visibility and control across your tech ecosystem

Fragmented data and disconnected tools silently drain your organization’s efficiency and security. When SaaS subscriptions, hardware assets, network devices, energy usage, AI, and other technologies are managed in silos, it becomes nearly impossible to get a clear, real-time picture of spend, usage, and compliance.

The importance of visibility

Research indicates that lack of visibility into IT assets places a significant burden on business budgets and efficiency. Flexera reports that nearly one-third of IT budgets are wasted on unused or redundant technology, primarily due to poor visibility into expenses. Additionally, manual IT asset management processes can hamper operational efficiency by as much as 40%, caused by workflow slowdowns and bottlenecks. A 2023 report from Deloitte reinforces these findings, emphasizing that comprehensive, end-to-end IT visibility is critical—not only for asset tracking but also for pinpointing security vulnerabilities. Fast-evolving business conditions, regulatory requirements, and technological advancements further complicate effective IT asset management.

"Roughly a third of IT budgets are being thrown out the window, when they could be powering initiatives for the business"
—Flexera

Rick Duran, AppDirect VP of specialized services, highlights the SaaS spend challenge: “Companies can take up to six months deciding on software purchases, only to waste millions on unused licenses.” Meanwhile, Gary Storm, vCom Solutions President & CEO, points out that “patchwork network and mobility tools lead to millions in wasted expenses due to manual processes and lack of centralized reporting.”

The first step in managing your entire tech stack is building or adopting a platform that consolidates data from all technology categories. It should provide real-time insights, alerts, and consolidated reporting, empowering your teams to make faster, smarter decisions.

Key takeaway

Centralized oversight not only drives cost savings but also improves risk management by highlighting shadow IT and compliance gaps across your entire technology ecosystem. It sets the foundation for all the other strategies to work effectively.

2. Automate manual workflows to boost efficiency and accuracy

Manual processes across procurement, provisioning, billing, and support are major sources of error, delay, and wasted effort. When IT teams spend time reconciling invoices, managing license renewals by hand, or scrambling to provision hardware for new employees, productivity suffers and costs rise.

Chris Herd from Firstbase emphasizes this pain point with hardware provisioning: “When a new employee starts on Monday, often panic sets in as IT scrambles to provision devices and support.” By automating these workflows, organizations can dramatically reduce onboarding delays, minimize support tickets, and free IT staff to focus on strategic projects instead of firefighting.

30% of hardware assets are lost or unaccounted for in organizations, translating into millions in lost equipment and potential data breaches.
—Gartner

Emerging technologies like AI and process automation are game changers, accelerating automation across the tech stack and enabling real-time monitoring and expense tracking. Automation also reduces human errors, which are responsible for a significant portion of unplanned downtime and financial leakage.

Read more about how automation can transform hardware lifecycle management in our recent guide, 7 Signs You Need Better Hardware Management—And What You Can Do About It.

Key takeaway

Implementing well-integrated automated workflows across SaaS, hardware, network, energy, and AI environments ensures operational consistency, improves user satisfaction, and lays the groundwork for scalable growth.

3. Simplify vendor management with centralized, flexible procurement

Juggling a sprawling roster of vendors can overwhelm procurement teams, dilute buying power, and introduce operational complexity. Companies often manage hundreds of technology vendors across their SaaS, hardware, network, energy, and AI environments, making vendor management a full-time job.

The average midsize enterprise uses more than 240 applications, adding six new applications every month
—Zylo

Engaging with vendor-agnostic marketplaces or integrated procurement platforms provides a centralized hub to source, purchase, and manage technology across all categories. This reduces administrative burden and strengthens negotiating leverage.

Critically, these platforms offer the scalability and flexibility to easily add or adjust solutions according to evolving business needs—without vendor lock-in or complexity. Centralized procurement often includes expert advisory and managed services to guide organizations through implementation, optimization, and ongoing management, maximizing technology value.

Key takeaway

By streamlining vendor management through a centralized marketplace, your organization can focus on strategic partnerships, accelerate procurement cycles, reduce risk, and remain agile to changing technology demands.

4. Leverage data and analytics to optimize costs and forecast needs

Data-driven insights are critical to uncovering inefficiencies, enforcing compliance, and planning for future technology requirements. Predictive analytics and customizable reporting empower organizations to identify wasted spend, optimize contract renewals, and forecast demand across SaaS, hardware, network, energy, and AI domains.

Benji Coomer, co-founder and General Manager of Broker Online Exchange (BOX), highlights the importance of visibility for energy solutions: “Energy expenses can account for up to 25% of overall company spend, and without transparent data, controlling these costs is nearly impossible.” For small businesses, that number can reach 40%, according to the Small Business Administration. Meanwhile, Aaron Bailey, General Manager of devs.ai, points out the risks of unmanaged AI tools: “With 75% of employees using AI independently, shadow AI introduces both cost overruns and compliance challenges.”

Real-time analytics dashboards deliver the comprehensive visibility needed to react quickly and align technology consumption with business goals.

Key takeaway

Leveraging advanced analytics across the entire tech stack not only reduces costs but also enhances governance and fuel proactive planning, enabling flexible scaling and smarter investment decisions.

5. Seek expert advisory and managed services for maximum ROI

Managing your entire tech stack is an ongoing journey that demands continuous expertise and strategic support. Partnering with advisory and managed service providers enhances your internal capabilities with specialized skills in contract negotiation, compliance management, change enablement, and continuous optimization—areas that directly impact your bottom line.

Organizations leveraging managed services report a 45-65% increase increase in operational efficiency and a 25-45% decrease in IT costs, along with a significant reduction in costly human errors, which are a leading cause of unplanned downtime. These improvements result in lower operational costs, minimized risks, and faster time-to-value for technology investments.

Moreover, expert advisors help optimize procurement, automate workflows, and ensure compliance, unlocking hidden cost savings and enabling smarter, data-driven decisions that drive sustained ROI over time.

Key takeaway
Integrating expert advisory and managed services into your tech stack management strategy delivers measurable financial returns and operational resilience, positioning your organization for scalable growth and long-term success.

6. Integrate security and compliance across your tech stack

Security and compliance must be foundational elements—not afterthoughts—that permeate your entire tech stack. Shadow AI, in particular, presents a considerable risk that CFOs and CISOs must govern carefully, balancing control with fostering innovation, as Aaron Bailey highlights.

Integrating security and compliance into every lifecycle stage—including procurement, deployment, maintenance, and decommissioning—fosters a proactive security posture. It also mitigates risk, simplifies tracking and audits, and builds organizational trust by demonstrating a robust commitment to safeguarding data and maintaining compliance.

Managing a diverse technology ecosystem demands standardized security policies and access controls applied uniformly across all components—from SaaS applications and hardware devices to network infrastructure, energy systems, and AI tools. This consistency reduces vulnerabilities, simplifies audits, and ensures regulatory requirements are met.

Key takeaway
A unified, consistent approach to security and compliance across your tech stack enhances operational efficiency, strengthens risk management, and fosters trust with stakeholders—supporting growth without compromising innovation.

More resources

Managing your entire tech stack delivers operational excellence, cost savings, and strategic agility. Centralized procurement marketplaces, scalable platforms, automated workflows, expert support, and integrated security empower your organization to navigate complexity, adapt quickly, and unlock greater business value.

Explore these in-depth articles for a closer look:

• Streamline Software Management to Cut Costs and Reduce Risk

• How Outdated Network and Mobility Management is Costing You More than You Think

• 7 Signs You Need Better Hardware Management—And What You Can Do About It

• How to Easily Win Lucrative Energy Deals

• Fast-tracking AI Value: Strategies for Immediate Impact

Join us at Thrive for a deep dive

Explore these strategies in action at Thrive 2025, August 25-27 in Austin. Join industry leaders, experts, and peers to discover practical approaches, customer success stories, and live demos showing how unified lifecycle management across SaaS, hardware, network, energy, and AI creates lasting business advantage.

Whether you’re an IT leader, advisor, or provider, Thrive is your opportunity to align strategy, execution, and insight to unlock the full potential of your technology investments.

Register today and check out the many other available sessions and panels.