Do I Need To Review My Internal Tools Stack?
Tech Stack Audit 101

By: Lucas Mitchell

Several things are included in a company’s internal tools stack: a CRM, marketing platform, social media accounts, and even things as simple as a sticky note. If it’s a tool you use to run your business, count it.  

What is An Internal Tools/Tech Stack Audit?  

An internal tools audit is when you evaluate your current stack to find out what’s working (and what’s not). Start by listing out every tool. Include each tool’s function, price, and any features – marking which ones you use and don’t – and how frequently you use the tool.  

Compare the total costs of your entire suite of products and how well they integrate to create smooth flows in your company.  

After making this list, evaluate pain points in your stack and seek out new technologies that act as a solution to these issues. 

For example, if your business is currently managing one process using multiple tools or platforms, it can save you dollars and headaches to switch to an all-in-one software. This way, everything for one company workflow is easily managed under a single roof.  

Main takeaway: Your goal is to always benefit your business and run it efficiently. 

Is it Time To Review My Internal Tools Stack?  

Some signs that it’s time to review your internal tools stack are if your communication channels are getting messy, team members are missing key information, your business has scaled in complexity, size, structure, or operations have slowed down and are no longer keeping up with the speed of your business.   

In addition, technology is constantly evolving. Perhaps you aren’t running into many issues at the moment. However, you should still routinely explore new technologies and platforms as other emerging tools could support your business objectives better than your current stack.  

6 Questions You Should Ask When Performing An Internal Tools Audit:  

(Write These Down!)  

1. What benefit does my current workflow have or technology stack provide? 
2. What are some pain/pressure points my current technology doesn’t address?  
3. Are each of my internal tools worth the price I’m paying for it? Does it still fit the company budget? 
4. Is my business fully utilizing each product or are there many extra/nice-to-have features we’re simply not using?  
5. Can certain functions or processes be done (better, faster, easier) using a different software or platform? 
6. Are my internal tools bringing the company closer to its primary business objectives? 

Outsourcing Your Tech Stack Audit 

Sometimes, you don’t have the bandwidth to perform an entire tool stack audit yourself. If that’s the case, you can always outsource this potentially time-consuming task to someone else. Nourish & Sow’s technology division, Sow Labs, regularly performs tech stack audits for its clients. To get started, book a discovery call.  From there, you’ll provide information about your company, current technologies used, budget, and business objectives so our team an accurate picture before commencing.  

Our team members will research your technologies to ensure your company is utilizing them fully to reach your goals. Our business technology experts will prove extremely valuable to your company. 

How Often Should I Review My Tools Stack? 

While there is no regular cadence necessary to review your technology stack, pay attention to when things just don’t seem to be working. Is anything missing? Are you running into the same issues over and over? Are you scaling too quickly for your current flows? Is your current stack becoming outdated?  

These are all indicators that it’s time to perform a tech stack audit again.  

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Keeping an eye out for new technologies and reviewing your current tools regularly could prove to be the difference between company setbacks and reaching your business goals as fast as possible.  

So, don’t neglect re-evaluating the tools designed to get you there.