The Software Intelligence Pulse

Treat your tech debt like financial debt to have the best impact

Greg Rivera — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 14:15:00 GMT

Introducing the Portfolio Advisor for Technical Debt

The latest release of CAST Highlight introduces a new capability called the Portfolio Advisor for Technical Debt. Users get a centralized, comprehensive view of tech debt on a single dashboard that includes new insights on obsolete technology versions (e.g., old versions of .NET, Java) alongside previously available tech debt insights on custom code and outdated open source components. Automated recommendations prioritize which applications represent the ‘bad debt’ to tackle first.

Intentional Management of Technical Debt While Modernizing Systems

Vincent Delaroche — Tue, 06 May 2025 13:00:00 GMT

Your organization’s technical debt can be a massive drain on your financial and technical resources. Like financial debt, organizations must pay interest to service technical debt. Also, like financial debt, technical debt, can also spiral out of control and become an existential threat to the organization as a whole.

Is a Picture Really Worth 1,000 Words? No, Actually More Like 60,000…

Greg Rivera — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 15:30:00 GMT

It All Starts with Pictures

Many of us started learning using picture books before we started reading as children. The reality is, our brains are still forming images in our minds even when we are reading text as adults. The human mind is designed to process visual information and we process visual information significantly faster than text and numbers. In fact, according to a study by the University of Minnesota, human brains process visuals 60,000 times faster than they do text. So, it appears a picture is really worth 60,000 words. And, as we have heard many times, 93% of communication is non-verbal (source: Ubiquity). The science behind all of this is rather straight forward. The part of the brain that processes visual information (occipital lobe) works much faster than the part of the brain that processes text and numbers (temporal lobe). So, when visual information is presented along with other data, both parts of the brain can work in parallel increasing processing speed (and decision-making) dramatically.

Unwinding Tech Debt. The 8% Approach.

Vincent Delaroche — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 09:05:27 GMT

The key to unwinding technical debt expeditiously is identifying the few pieces of code that have the most significant negative impact on the business — a task typically more challenging than it may seem.

Green Software in the AI Era: Bridging Innovation with Sustainability

Greg Rivera — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 05:00:00 GMT

In the digital age, the advent of AI-generated code has been nothing short of revolutionary, heralding unprecedented speed and scalability in software development. This has enabled developers to automate complex coding tasks, significantly reducing time-to-market for new software applications. Yet, as the use of AI in coding practices becomes more widespread, it's increasingly becoming a double-edged sword for executives and technology leaders.

Which applications should you modernize first?

Eyal Yaron — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 05:00:00 GMT

The new Application Rationalization Dashboard offers actionable insights for prioritization, cost-efficiency, and streamlined migration by evaluating application readiness, complexity, cost, and risk.

Artificial Intelligence and Technical Debt: Navigating the New Frontier

Greg Rivera — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 05:00:00 GMT

The advent of AI-generated application code promises to be a significant boon to developers the world over. Tools powered by large language models (LLMs) are being integrated into software development environments, accelerating development timelines and reducing manual coding errors. The allure of AI in coding is undeniable, with its promise of boosting productivity and innovation. This new paradigm also brings with it a significant challenge: the potential for an exponential increase in technical debt.

Finally, a dashboard designed for software leaders

Greg Rivera — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 13:30:56 GMT

According to McKinsey & Company, organizations that are data-driven are twice as likely to be more profitable than industry average. This is one of many reasons why executives across the world rely heavily on a suite of analytical dashboards.

A smarter way to solve for VMware exit

Greg Rivera — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 13:20:28 GMT

Executive summary

Broadcom generated a lot of noise after acquiring VMware in late 2023. VMware client concerns range from price hikes to service disruptions, and many companies are struggling between weathering the storm or facing the daunting task of moving off VMware. Some organizations are taking a smarter approach to the latter option, leveraging software intelligence technology to migrate with speed, safety, and confidence.

Modernizing .NET applications on Google Cloud safer and faster

j.mamerto@castsoftware.com (Jibson Mamerto) — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 12:00:00 GMT

Modernizing legacy applications, particularly those built on .NET frameworks, entails a comprehensive shift from traditional, monolithic architectures hosted on on-premises infrastructure to more agile, scalable cloud-based models. The migration and modernization of these applications address the challenges often faced with on-prem deployments such as the management of on-premises servers, restricted deployment options, and difficulties in upgrading due to their monolithic nature.