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Modern IT leaders face a constant battle against complexity and fragmentation.
As organizations embrace new technologies and expand their digital footprint, the number of tools used to manage IT operations can spiral out of control. This “tool sprawl” not only creates security gaps but also hinders efficiency and strategic planning.
So, how can IT leaders simplify their environments, mitigate risks, and position their organizations for future success?
In a recent episode of the Make Work Happen podcast, we tackled this critical topic with JumpCloud partner and IT expert Ricky Jordan. Drawing on insights from JumpCloud’s Q3 2025 IT trends report and Ricky’s extensive experience, we explored the strategic imperative of unified IT and its profound impact on business outcomes.
The High Cost of Fragmentation
The data is clear: fragmentation is the norm, not the exception.
The latest JumpCloud report found that only 19% of organizations have a fully unified IT environment. The average company juggles nine different tools just to manage their IT. This creates significant pain points, from operational inefficiencies to strategic risks. Worst of all, it hampers your ability to truly see what’s going on.
Visibility – everybody’s you know – SOC, compliance, security. For me visibility is everything.
Ricky Jordan
Ricky highlighted how a fragmented IT environment often leads to a lack of visibility, making it difficult to maintain control and address security vulnerabilities. Without a centralized view, crucial information like user access, device status, and application usage is scattered across multiple systems, creating a chaotic and insecure landscape.
This is particularly risky when it comes to “shadow IT“—unmanaged tools and applications adopted by departments without IT’s knowledge.
Casting IT Into the Shadows
What you can’t see CAN hurt you when it comes to shadow IT. Learn six key shadow IT risks and how to address them proactively.
A Unified Approach to Security and Efficiency
Unifying your IT environment means bringing core management functions, such as identity, access, and device management, under a single, centralized platform. This approach offers several key benefits:
- Enhanced security: A unified platform provides a single source of truth for identity and access, enabling consistent application of security policies like multi-factor authentication (MFA) and conditional access. This is crucial for managing both human and non-human identities, which are a growing security concern in the age of AI and automation.
- Streamlined operations: Ricky explained how a unified platform dramatically simplifies tasks like user onboarding and offboarding. Instead of spending a week configuring access across multiple systems, a new employee can be set up in under an hour. This automation saves time, reduces manual errors, and allows IT teams to focus on more strategic initiatives.
- Strategic insight: With all data consolidated, a unified approach provides a clear, holistic view of the IT environment. The JumpCloud report found that 70% of organizations with a unified environment reported improved strategic reporting and planning. This empowers IT leaders to move beyond reactive problem-solving and participate in high-level business decisions.
Embracing the Future of IT
The conversation concluded with a powerful message on working “smarter, not harder.”
Ricky’s advice for IT leaders is to leverage automation and new technologies like AI to their full potential. By automating repetitive tasks, IT professionals can free up their time to innovate, anticipate future needs, and provide more value to the business.
I’m a big ROI person. It’s not necessary to replace bodies or automate things to to replace other things out there. I like to be efficient. I like to be secure.
Ricky Jordan
A unified platform serves as the foundational core for this kind of strategic growth, allowing IT to scale operations without increasing complexity.To learn more about the trends shaping the world of IT and how a unified approach can transform your organization, you can explore the full JumpCloud IT trends report and watch the full episode:
