Reversing the Sprawl… And Why Adding More Technology isn’t Always Transformation
22 September 2026
For years, organisations have responded to new challenges by adding new technology.
Need a new capability? Buy an application. Need to connect two systems? Add an integration. Need to bridge a process gap? Create a spreadsheet, an inbox or another workaround.
Individually, each decision can make perfect sense. Collectively, they create something much harder to manage: Technology sprawl.
And as organisations now look towards AI and autonomous agents for the next wave of transformation, there is a danger that we simply add another layer to the problem.
The gap, the tangle and the trap
Most organisations are trying to achieve broadly the same thing – joined-up operations, seamless experiences and the ability to change quickly and cost-effectively.
But years of technology investment can make that increasingly difficult.
First comes the gap. Core systems rarely support everything an organisation needs, so additional applications are introduced and teams create manual processes to fill what remains.
Then comes the tangle. Applications overlap. Data sits in different places. Processes move between systems, spreadsheets and email. People become the integration layer, moving information from one place to another simply to keep work flowing.
Finally, the trap. Every new requirement appears to demand another piece of software, adding another licence, another supplier, another integration and another system to support and change.
The technology estate grows, but the organisation does not necessarily become more capable.
The hidden cost of application sprawl
The obvious cost is software licensing. But that is only part of it.
Every application brings support, training and administration. Overlapping systems duplicate functionality and data. Integrations need maintaining. And when a process needs to change, the impact can ripple across multiple applications and teams.
The result is a compound change overhead.
That matters because transformation is not simply about delivering something new. Organisations need to be able to keep adapting it. A fragmented technology estate makes every subsequent change harder.
Don’t release autonomous agents into the sprawl
AI creates an important new dimension to this challenge. Autonomous and agentic capabilities promise to perform tasks, make decisions and move work forward with less human intervention.
But where are we asking those agents to operate?
“If the underlying environment consists of disconnected applications, duplicated data, inconsistent processes and manual workarounds, giving AI more autonomy does not resolve the fragmentation. It risks automating the mess.”
Richard Farrell
Chief Innovation Officer, Netcall
Before asking how autonomous an AI agent can become, organisations should understand the process it will operate within, the systems and data it needs and the rules governing the outcome.
AI works best when it becomes part of a joined-up process rather than another isolated technology.
From application accumulation to composable capability
There is an alternative to continually buying another application for every requirement.
Many seemingly different applications are built from the same underlying capabilities: capturing a request, managing a case, presenting the right information to the right person, automating workflow, connecting systems and using data to support decisions.
A composable platform approach allows organisations to reuse those capabilities across multiple services and processes.
That does not mean ripping out every existing system. Some systems of record will continue to do their job extremely well.
The opportunity is to simplify around them by replacing duplicated point solutions where appropriate, connecting what needs to remain and building new services from capabilities the organisation already owns.
Rationalisation can deliver tangible returns
We can see the impact of this approach at Newcastle City Council.
The council identified applications that could be replaced using capabilities already available within Netcall’s Liberty platform and aligned replacement with existing licence renewal dates.
That rationalisation programme has delivered more than £1 million in cashable licence savings, after the cost of Liberty licences. The council has since identified further opportunities to replace software providing functionality it can already deliver through its existing platform.
It is a useful reminder that transformation investment does not always mean spending more.
Sometimes the biggest opportunity comes from making more of what you already have.
Simplify first, then automate intelligently
The next phase of transformation will undoubtedly involve more AI, automation and autonomous capabilities.
But organisations should resist the temptation to add them indiscriminately to an already fragmented estate.
Map the process. Understand the gaps. Remove unnecessary applications. Connect the systems that need to remain. Then introduce automation and AI where they improve the end-to-end outcome.
Because the objective should not be to make the sprawl work faster. It should be to reverse it.
About the author
Richard Farrell
Chief Innovation Officer
Richard began his career in contact centres in the mid-1990s, building his expertise in customer contact management. Today, Richard is Netcall’s long-serving Chief Innovation Officer, having been with the company for an impressive 23+ years and serving as the company’s CTO for several years prior. He currently focuses on researching, innovating and delivering solutions that meet the needs and challenges that Netcall’s clients face.